Music legend Bacharach to play Irish gig
Irish mum’s home wrecked in Oz flood
Burt Bacharach LEGENDARY songwriter Burt Bacharach has announced an Irish gig this summer.
The 90-year-old American, whose work was performed by Frank Sinatra, The Beatles and Tom Jones, will play Galway’s International Arts Festival in July.
Bacharach is a threetime Academy Award winner with Grammys under his belt.
I Say a Little Prayer and Do You Know The Way To San Jose are among his hits.
Tickets for the fullyseated concert are €59.50 and go on sale on Monday.
Also playing at the festival which runs from July 15 to 28 are Orbital and Two Door Cinema Club.
The hardest thing is trying to stay strong for the children
CORA SEGAL
TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA
AN Irish mother of two said she is heartbroken after her home was destroyed by Australia’s flood of the century.
Cora Segal, from Wicklow, is picking up the pieces after the devastating deluge left her home in Townsville submerged.
She said: “We have cleared our house. It’s heartbreaking to see all your worldly possessions thrown out in the garden like rubbish.
“Especially when most of it was less than a year old but it’s already being removed as we speak so it’s time to move forward.”
Cora, her husband Brett and children, Aimee, 13, and
10-year-old Myles were forced to evacuate on
Sunday.
She added: “It’s really tough.
It’s more the psychological effect of it. Your head says it’s just possessions but it’s the psychological feeling of this is my home.
“The hardest thing of it all is we are going through all of this and trying to stay strong for the kids.”
Cora, who has lived in Australia for 12 years, said the family will need temporary accommodation for at least nine months until their home has been renovated.
She added: “The floors are destroyed and the walls are bubbling out.
“Everything wood that touched the water is swelling. I can’t imagine getting back in the next six to nine months. I haven’t brought the kids in. I don’t think they should see it like that.”
Mick and Rachel Doyle, from Dublin, are another Irish family who lost everything. He said: “I’m standing here in my frontgarden looking at all our belongings out on the streets.
“It’s worse now than when the floods hit because now we know how bad it is. My wife has been crying every day. It’s the little things that upset you most. Our kids’ toys and photos of grandparents – they are all gone.”
Mick and Rachel and their children, Conor, nine, Eimear, four, and two-year-old Diarmuid have found temporary accommodation. Insurance will cover the rent for six months but if the renovation takes longer, they could have to pay for alternative accommodation.
And as they work hard to clean up their home, the Doyles are facing another big challenge – mould is setting in.
Mick explained: “A lot of our stuff has already gone mouldy and needs to be thrown out. There’s mould on the walls and yesterday we thought we could save a table that my dad made for us but that was mouldy also so we had to throw it out.”
Local news reported 1,500 homes in Townsville have been damaged by the floods but that number is expected to rise sharply.