Single mother with 5-year-old lost Cork home in fire and her partner in the same week
Kelly Ryan and her daughter. Picture also shows some of the damage caused to their home.
A single mother and her 5-year-old daughter have lost everything they own after a fire ripped through their Cork home.
Her partner, Dylan Harkin, who was staying over with Kelly Ryan and her daughter on the night of the fire, passed away on Friday. His removal is on Monday.
Speaking on the Neil Prendeville Show on Monday morning, Kelly spoke of how her daughter Harper-Ellen alerted her to the fire in their Dromohane home shortly after 5am on March 17th.
She said the council cannot do anything for her until next week.
"It feels like a really bad dream that I just haven't woken up from since," she said.
"So I got up to put her back to bed. I felt an immense heat on the floor beneath my feet and I quickly checked her room, which is above the sitting room, and found it full of smoke.
"My partner, who was having a sleepover at our house that night thankfully was there...I woke him. I am awful in those situations, I just panic.
"He came back up the stairs. We got out a top window. We got Harper-Ellen out first then I went out then Dylan followed. Luckily we have a flat roof on our kitchen so we had just a small jump on to the grass and then he caught my daughter and then I went."
"We rang the fire brigade, they came, I think they were there for around three hours and we were just watching the house go up in flames basically."
After the fire completely destroyed her home, Kelly Ryan lost her partner Dylan, who had been instrumental in saving her and her daughter from the fire.
"I don't know what would have happened if my partner Dylan wasn't staying at the house that night. I lost everything this last week," she said.
On his passing, Kelly said Dylan's death was sudden and the cause is still unknown, adding that she is "absolutely devastated".
"She [Harper-Ellen] is struggling. She is with her dad because I am just sleeping on my friend's couch at the moment.
"She is very much routine-orientated. She is on waiting lists for an ASD assessment. So it's just so hard."
Following her appearance on the Neil Prendeville Show, John Looney from Cork Children's Hospital Fund was so moved that he is bringing Harper-Ellen and Kelly to Euro Disney and will replace some of Harper-Ellen's toys.
Here is a link to the fundraiser for Kelly and Harper-Ellen.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-kelly-after-tragic-house-fire.
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