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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.
“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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Would it be possible for signs to be erected on Irish roads telling idiot drivers to stop at the red lights
stop? why?
A road sign to tell people to look up from there phones. I can see no problem here at all.
I hope we don’t follow ..
If you can’t pay attention, let natural selection take place..
Put the signs on the footpaths.
instead of on the ground saying LOOK LEFT or LOOK RIGHT isy should just say LOOK UP(from your phone)
She doesn’t look Korean to me
South Korea lets in foreigners.
Forget your signs.. Just do what Dublin has done. Flood the streets with jun*ies & pick pockets who only love to sneak up and whip your phone from your hand! Makes me look up more often!
Nobody gets run over in the DPRK.
The sign company must be giving out more brown envelopes. We have way too many signs and councils keep adding to that number. Procurement officers are never fired for corrupts payments yet evidence is all over the country. Cycle lane signs and Bus lane signs on the Merrion Road are over the top. There are 482 road signs between Merrion gates and Blackrock. Booterstown to Blackrock is littered with signs and road markings. Somebody is getting a kickback.
Yet drivers are forever crashing into the Merrion gates. Maybe it’s an underpass they need.
Sure all they need is a visual Street quiz, “What Seoul Street is this?”. The recent Dublin one made me realise how often we don’t look up. The Journal could offer their services!
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