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# st kevin's asylum
'We wanted to mind it; now we're watching it burn' - Fire has gutted one of Cork city's best-known buildings
A massive fire broke out at St Kevin’s Asylum near the Lee Fields at about 6pm this evening.
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A FIRE HAS broken out at an iconic building in Cork City this evening.
Five units of Cork City Fire Services are in attendance at the blaze at the building formerly known as St Kevin’s Asylum, one of the city’s best-known properties.
It’s believed that the blaze broke out at around 6pm.
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“As of now, it looks like about two-thirds of the building has been burnt out,” local councillor Kieran McCarthy told TheJournal.ie at 10pm this evening.
The building, a large red-brick dating from the late 19th century situated just north of the Lee in the west of the city centre, has been closed and out of use since 2002.
“We’re calling for these buildings to be minded for years,” says McCarthy, adding that “ironically” the building was felt to be one of the most secure in the area.
It’s come as a real shock, it’s a fine summer’s evening, people are enjoying themselves, now we’re looking at this. It’s just really disappointing.
We were only talking about minding it, now we’re watching it burn.
James Scanlan / Twitter
James Scanlan / Twitter / Twitter
It’s understood that there have been no reported injuries as a result of the fire.
In McCarthy’s opinion, “there’s little chance that this is accidental”. “The building is too difficult to get into for that to be the case”.
“Look, it’s a very said night, people are just standing in shock looking at a beautiful building burning. The roof is collapsing now in front of us,” Lord Mayor of Cork Tony Fitzgerald told TheJournal.ie.
It has a dark enough history, but it’s still a beautiful building. It’s just a very sad night for the city.
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