'The Irish have come together': Actress says the Irish in LA are 'helping each other out'

Irish actress Jenn McGuirk with her partner Mat Raney and 15-month-old daughter Elowen McGuirk.

An actress living in Los Angeles has said the Irish community is rallying around and supporting each other through a WhatsApp group.

Jenn McGuirk moved to LA in 2017, where she is director of programming for the Contemporary Irish Arts Centre.

Hundreds of Irish there have been affected by the wildfires that have killed at least 24 people and displaced more than 150,000 since last Tuesday.

The home Ms McGuirk shares with her husband Mat Raney and their 15-month old daughter Elowen remains standing, and while there is much destruction in the city, she said the Irish are “all helping each other”.

“Part of the city is decimated, homes and businesses are destroyed,” she said. “But then there is strong sense of community, so it’s heartening and eerie at the same time.

“People don’t realise that LA is so sprawling so parts of it are fine, and then other parts are knocked to the ground.

Jenn McGuirk: 'We are preparing a ‘go bag’ as we speak, but we know families and friends have lost everything. We have so far been lucky.

“The Irish in LA have a WhatsApp group with around 200 people in it. The support has been so heartening and sad, but the Irish have come together from the four corners of LA and are pulling together, it is a strong community.

Even the Irish consulate has joined the group and that is great, everyone is helping. When the shit hits the fan, the Irish will roll up their sleeves and get on with it, but the wider community has come together too.

Ms McGuirk, who is seven months' pregnant, lives in an area in Palms in LA, which is outside the major zone, but she can see destruction from there.

The winds in LA picked up on Monday and despite breaking out last week, firefighters have struggled with containing the fires, with much criticism laid against politicians and the fire service there over the lack of preparation for such an event. 

“It only takes sparks and wind to change what is happening,” Ms McGuirk said. "We are avoiding it all at the moment, but the air outside is not great.

“We don’t know what will happen, we are completely blind. We are preparing a ‘go bag’ as we speak, but we know families and friends have lost everything. We have so far been lucky.

We are living on the edge it feels, with one foot out the door and one in. You would be really stupid not to have a ‘go bag’.

Ms McGuirk, a former producer and researcher with Virgin Media, said there were many talented Irish people living in LA. where she is working to support small artists in the community.

“We meet once a month and we have a very creative network of Irish writers, producers and actors,” she said.

“Despite the fires, we are going to try and meet this month. LA is very hard to live in, people have a broad sense of accountability in Ireland, but here they don’t care that much, and you have to find your tribe.”