WHEN father-of-five Brendan Walsh died following a fire at his home near the GAA pitch in Killeagh last year, his family and the local community were devastated.
He died suddenly on May 1, a week after the fire, and was survived by his wife Olivia and children Padraig, Sean, Chloe, Andrea, and Barry.
The tragedy, in which the family lost their home, prompted a remarkable response and a Cork GAA fund-raiser for the bereaved Walshes became the GoFundMe top earner for 2023, with 5,000 donations raising almost half a million euro.
It was a sign of how beloved the family are, and the strength of the local and GAA community.
“The Walsh family are very well known and very well liked in the community,” said Denis O’Sullivan, a close friend of the family, chairperson of the fundraiser, and who is vice-chairman of Killeagh GAA.
He and all the locals were stunned at the tragic events that unfolded on the morning of April 22 last year, when the Walsh home was destroyed after a fire spread from the adjoining garage. There was no-one home and when the alarm was raised almost nothing could be salvaged.
The family watched in horror as their house and all their belongings went up in flames. The family, whose world came crashing down, were now homeless.
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