Almost €13k raised for Corkman who lost everything in fire that killed his father

Neighbours and friends have rallied in support of David Lynch who 'was left on Christmas Eve with absolutely nothing.'

Garda forensics at the burnt-out house in Waterpark, Carrigaline, where Sean Lynch died on December 23. Picture: Dan Linehan

Close to €13,000 has been raised for a 40-year-old man who lost all of his possessions in a blaze which claimed the life of his 86-year-old father two days before Christmas.

The requiem mass will take place today of pensioner Sean (John) Lynch who was a familiar figure in the Waterpark area of Carrigaline in Co. Cork where he was regularly seen walking his dog. The dog also died in the fire.

Mr Lynch lost his life on December 23 after a fire broke out at his semi-detached home in The Court in Waterpark. His son David had gone out to do some Christmas shopping and returned back to the property at about 9pm to find it engulfed in flames.

The alarm was raised by neighbours and four units of the city and county fire service responded to the blaze. They managed to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjoining house.

Sean Lynch was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was recovered from a downstairs sitting room. A technical examination was carried out at the scene and it was determined that the fire started accidentally in a downstairs room. A file on the death will be prepared for the coroner in Cork.

Meanwhile, neighbours and friends have rallied in support of David Lynch. In a post on Facebook they said that David shared the house with his father and his dog Romeo.

"On the night before Christmas Eve David had left the house to get last-minute shopping. Tragically on his return shortly after the house was engulfed in flames with his Dad John, formerly of Fountainstown and ex-Dunlops Cork, inside. Tragically, despite the incredibly heroic efforts of our firefighters, they were unable to rescue John.

The requiem mass will take place today of pensioner Sean (John) Lynch who was a familiar figure in the Waterpark area of Carrigaline in Co. Cork.

"In a matter of hours David lost his only family, his father and their incredibly loyal pet Romeo. David was left on Christmas Eve with absolutely nothing. In the short time that has followed trying to manage arrangements and trying to salvage any family mementos that may have survived the fire David has been faced with having to rebuild his life from nothing.

"With no home or family, this terrible tragedy has made us want to reach out and try and fundraise to help David with the immediate costs that have already started, begin to fund alternative accommodation and try to, despite the horrific tragedy, begin to move forward.

"In the short term David needs to pay for funeral costs and new accommodation and remediation costs to just make the house safe in the interim."

Donations can be made on GoFundMe.