On December 23, 2002, David Lynch's life was turned upside down in an instant. After leaving to go shopping for some last-minute Christmas supplies, he returned to find his home in flames.
His father, Sean 'John' Lynch, was killed in the tragedy. The 86-year-old is believed to have nodded off by the fire after dinner, with his little dog Romeo by his side.
David, an only child, had been living at his father's home in Carrigaline after moving home from Dublin during the pandemic to look after his elderly dad, Cork Beo reports.
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"It was almost like the roles were reversed," he said. "You know he had been looking after my whole life, and now I was looking after him."
David said his father "struggled" after the death of his wife Noirin, who passed away in 2016. David said his dad was "heartbroken" and "fell depressed" after she passed.
"He adored her," he said, "He told me that for three or four years after she died, he told me he would dream about her every night, even recently we still talked about her."
"One of my favourite memories with Dad was when we went on a trip, in 2018, to Rome. Dad didn't have a passport since the 90s, so we went and got him one... we went to the parish church in the Vatican where Mum and Dad got married, travelled to where they went on their honeymoon, down to Sorrento,
"Dad always had a great memory so it was great to hear him recall all those days, that will always be a great memory for me."
While Sean was originally from St Luke's in the city, David grew up in Fountainstown with his adored parents.
"I have great memories from my childhood," he said, "Mum was like my best friend, we were a close-knit family, I had great relationships with both my parents, you could always be yourself around them, I'm an only child, so my parents were like my best friends."
"Mum went back to work around a year after I was born, but dad was made redundant from his job at Dunlops in the 80s, so most of my childhood it was Dad at home with me,
"One of my earliest memories is Dad feeding me my mashed potatoes on a Mickey Mouse spoon when I was just a toddler,
"I'd wake up early on a weekend morning, when my parents hadn't gotten up out of bed yet, and dive in between them and get my dad to tell me a story,
"He'd make one up on the spot about animals or something else that always caught my imagination and they were different each time and I was transfixed listening to him and picturing the characters in the story,
"It's nice to still be able to remember growing up... and feeling so loved."
Sean moved to Waterpark in Carrigaline after his wife died. While it "really was hard for him," David said his dad still had a love for the community and vibrant social life, travelling across Co Cork to attend dances and trad sessions.
"He always loved music, loved dancing," said David, "He was a quiet, reserved man, but he was good at making connections,
"One of the things he did was the traditional sessions, he played the bodhran, he wasn't very good but he enjoyed it,
"I went with him a few times to hear him play and enjoy the music," he said, "And he loved to dance, like waltzes, and he would travel around to the dances,
"One of the things I recently found out, and he never told me at the time because he knew I'd have been worried, I found out he had been travelling far to go to dances, as far as Mallow and Drimoleague,
"So he would have been travelling back late, and he's in his 80s, I think he knew I would have been worried about it if I knew," he said, "But he just loved to go and get out."
"And he loved Romeo, Dad got him as a little puppy after Mum died," said David, "And I was worried that he wouldn't have been able to look after a little dog, but Romeo has been a great companion for him, he used to take him out walking out and around in all weather, so all the neighbours would have seen him out or stopped for a quick chat."
David moved in with his dad at the start of the lockdown in 2020.
"I felt it was my duty, being the only child, to come back and look after him,
"His health hadn't been great... so he was happy to have me back to take care of him."
Most recently, David said Sean had a "clean bill of health."
"It would have been our fourth Christmas here," said David, "Dad had been on to me about doing a full turkey and ham, it was what he wanted."
Recalling the evening of the fire, David said "we had been shopping in Douglas that Friday, and I had come home to make the dinner, he was just finishing his food and I had to back out to the shops, I was out at the shop when I heard the sirens," he said.
"Coming back up to the house was just surreal, overwhelming," he said, "there were four fire engines and the gardai and everything."
It's understood the alarm was raised by a neighbour. Sean was found deceased at the scene. It's not known whether Romeo, a small Shih Tzu cross, was killed in the fire.
"They (the fire crew) told me that when the heat blows out the windows he could've escaped, but I don't know yet."
"The firefighters heroically tried to save my dad so I really want to thank them for that night, and the gardai who were so supportive."
"In an instant, you have nothing, I had nowhere to go, it was just like a nightmare."
"There was very little we could salvage from the house after," he said, "I did find some photographs which were on top of my wardrobe which could be saved,
"I'll treasure them, it's like a little miracle and I'm so glad to be able to have those memories."
David was offered a flat to rent by a neighbour in Carrigaline.
A fundraiser has been set up to help David rebuild his life following the tragedy.
The house insurance had lapsed, so the property was not insured.
The Kilworth-based John O’Brien and Co Structural Engineering company have offered to do an assessment of the home to see if it will need to be demolished.
The assessment is due to be completed on Thursday. David is hoping that the home will not have to be knocked down.
The fundraiser has raised over €21,000 with donations from over 500 people.
"Everyone has been so good," he said, "so many neighbours, in the community, it's very heart-warming to know that there are people there for me,
"It's still day-by-day but the community support, it's what keeps me going."
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