By Diarmaid Doherty
THE owners of a Donegal pub which suffered major damage in a fire last week say they have been overwhelmed by the support and goodwill of the local community.
Catherine and Paul Coyle who run the popular Teac Tessie in Meenaleck, Crolly say they are just thankful that nobody was hurt in the blaze which engulfed the pub and their home upstairs.
They said the rapid response of fire personnel to last Wednesday’s incident ensured that the fire was brought under control and the building was saved.
“It was a nightmare, something that you’d think could never happen,” Catherine said.
“But people have been so good. The neighbours and members of the community have been helping out with the cleaning and the repairs, and even those who can’t help are arriving with soup or sandwiches.
“This has been going on every day since the fire last Wednesday and it’s been so emotional for us as a family because everyone has been so kind.
“We are very grateful.”
Fortunately, the premises were empty when the fire took hold last Wednesday afternoon. Catherine and Paul had gone to Cavan for
the day while their two sons, Fionn (15) and Tiarnan (12) were at school.
The couple had made the journey to Cavan to collect a puppy as a Christmas surprise for the two boys after their pet dog recently died after being knocked down.
Catherine said the ‘hearth fire’ started in the fireplace in the upstairs sitting room.
The family had noticed a smell in the room in the days before and while there were no cinders or ashes in the fireplace that day, Catherine left the window open because of the worsening smell.
It’s thought the wood under the fireplace had been smouldering for some time because of a crack at the back of the fireplace.
“We were blaming the smell on a blow-down. We did not for one minute think there was something going on underneath.”
Fire eventually took hold later that day and when Catherine and Paul returned home shortly before 4pm, they saw thick black smoke inside.
“Right away I just thought I had left something on the hob because what else was I to think?” Catherine said.
“Paul wanted to try and save stuff so he went inside. But in those couple of seconds he was in, he was in a bad way with the smoke.”
The fire service was alerted and within 20 minutes the Gaoth Dobhair Fire Brigade were on the scene.
“I’d say it was the longest 20 minutes,” Catherine said.
“But when they arrived, the fire brigade were just amazing. They saved the house, otherwise it was gone.”
Once the fire was brought under control, the clean-up operation got underway and the community rallied to help.
Straight away, the Coyle family were offered accommodation from a neighbour and they gratefully accepted.
A lot of their possessions were lost in the fire, mostly due to severe smoke damage, but Catherine said anything that was lost can be replaced.
“We were sitting around having dinner here this week and I said to the boys that the four of us are here and that’s all I’m thankful for,” she said.
“We can replace anything there.”
Amazingly, Catherine said there’s every chance that Teach Tessie could be open again for Christmas and the family could have their Christmas dinner at home.
“The pub is a local pub. It’s there for the locals. They’ve said they’ll have it open again for Christmas so you never know.
“Even since last Wednesday, what they have managed to do has been amazing.
“They’ve gone room by room and gutted everything out.”
A GoFund me page has also been set up to help the family.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)