Midlands family plan return to native Finland in wake of devastating house fire

A Midlands-based family who lost everything in a devastating house fire at their 300-year-old cottage have been left with “no option” but to return to their native Finland due to a lack of affordable rental accommodation in the region.

“The reality of the housing crisis has left us with no option but to move back to my parent's home in Finland,” said Laura Lindholm, who, along with her husband, Daniel, and their two daughters, are currently living in a short-term holiday let on the outskirts of Portarlington in county Offaly.

“We spent the night before last staying with friends so this is not sustainable long-term and there is no affordable rental accommodation out there” says Daniel “it really is a damage limitation exercise at the moment until we can get back to Finland and assess our options at that stage.”

Having lived in their "dream home" for the past three years, Laura and Daniel and their two daughters, Juniper and Darcy, aged seven and nine, lost almost everything in the huge fire which broke out at their historic home in Bracknagh, outside Portarlington, on Monday of last week, during a power outage in the local area.

Local firefighters spent a number of hours bringing the blaze under control, but Daniel says the “lack of access to water” during the first 20 minutes of the fire, due to the local power outage, resulted in the historic cottage being completely gutted.

The family have now vaccinated their three dogs in preparation for their move back to Finland, and say it will be 21 days before their pets can travel. “In the meantime we will regroup and assess the situation as everything is completely up in the air at the moment” admits Daniel Lindholm, who says the family simply “don't know” if rebuilding their dream home is “even an option at this stage, it's just a guesstimate”

“We are not just looking at rebuilding, we are looking at restoration,” says Laura, “and we don't even know at this stage if restoration is possible, or if there is any assistance out there for someone who wants to restore what is a part of Ireland's heritage.”

In the wake of the devastating fire at their property, which not only destroyed their family home but also their livelihood – the Lindholms operated their Spinning Wheel Blooms cut flower and wellbeing farm business from the house – Laura set up a GoFundMe page with a view to raising enough funds to rebuild their home.

The fundraiser 'Help us rebuild our home & restore Irish heritage' has already attracted over 140 donations and raised in excess of €6,000 of the fundraising target of €200,000.

The Lindholms are very much aware of the role they played as custodians of Ireland's heritage by restoring their historical cottage and are critical of the lack of support from central government for the restoration of historic houses and, in particular, for thatched cottages. “The government, the banks and the insurance companies just don't want to know, the supports are simply not out there,” says Daniel Lindholm, who points out that due to their 300-year-old home having a thatched roof, they were only able to get partial home insurance.

Laura adds that, in Finland, thatched cottages are “protected” by the Finnish government and cannot be privately owned.

The Lindholms always harboured the dream of living in a thatched cottage and were chasing their dream for a number of years before the chance arrived to buy and restore the Offaly cottage which is known locally as 'The Spinning Wheel.'

They are very appreciative of the support they have received from the local Offaly community in Bracknagh who Laura says are “just as devastated as we are” at the loss of what was a very important part of their local heritage and history.

"We are extremely grateful for all the local support and also to each and every person who has donated so far to our fundraiser,” she says, adding that the GoFundMe page will remain in place for the foreseeable future while the family tries to navigate the logistics of whether it is feasible to rebuild their dream home at some stage in the future.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Lindholms' fundraising drive can do so here