Community comes together to build new home for couple who lost all in blaze

A local community has pulled out all the stops to provide a popular French couple with a new home – just weeks after their thatched cottage was destroyed in a freak chimney fire.

And while homeowners Melanie and Jeremy Zanni, who watched helplessly as their Glenamaddy home went up in flames, may not understand the meaning of a ‘meitheal’, it was this collaborative effort that has provided them with a new home.

The finishing touches are being put to their new two-bedroom cottage within a few weeks of the fire that left them homeless.

Jeremy is a sourdough bread baker who sells his bread to many cafes and restaurant in the city and county – and the couple have also received the support of Galway’s food community who have rallied to support them and their nine-year-old son Finn.

Last month Galway chef Evan O Ceallaigh, who has worked in a variety of Michelin Star restaurants in Ireland, London and Paris, cooked a pop-up brunch in Sangrai Tapas Restaurant on Buttermilk Walk to raise funds for the Jeremy and his family.

But the real work has been seen on the ground, where building has progressed at a rapid rate.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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