THE CENTRAL HOTEL FIRE 8th AUGUST 1980

27th Anniversary - 2007

The Central Hotel, situated on Main Street, was one of Bundoran's most popular and old time Hotels. Owned for many years by the Cassidy family and in its last years by the Barrett family. It was an extremely popular Hotel, with top Clergy, Heads of State and Dignitaries from many Countries making constant visits here. It was also a popular venue for Weddings, Dinner Dances and a favourite place for the family holiday maker.

On August 8th 1980, the Hotel was at its height of the tourist season. There were sixty guests booked into the Hotel's 45 Rooms, which were mainly families and couples. A function was just finishing in the main dance hall next to the Allied Irish Bank, with a lot of people in the main bar.

At close to midnight, a fire started somewhere behind the main bar in a corridor leading to the main stairway, the alarm was raised and panic struck in with the people in the Hotel. Bundoran Fire Brigade was called some time just after midnight. The siren on the Firestation sounded as Firefighters made their way to the station. On the arrival of the brigade to the Hotel, the fire was spreading fast and furious, with flames coming from upstairs windows, doorways and cars parked in front of the building were alight.
The Fire Brigade quickly got to work to attempt rescues, but within minutes the Hotel was an inferno. Panic was unbelievable with parents who had children missing.  The people of Bundoran and tourists tried frantically to rescue everyone that needed help. People were being urged to jump from upstairs windows onto blankets below.

The next closest Brigade to arrive on scene was Ballyshannon, and backup of Fire Appliances were also called from as far away as Letterkenny, Sligo, Donegal Town and from Manorhamilton in County Leitrim to fight this fierce fire.  Large numbers of Ambulances from Sligo and Ballyshannon were also in attendance.

Brigades fought the fire and worked hard to prevent the fire from spreading to the next building, the Allied Irish Bank. When the fire was eventually under control and rescues completed, the grim task of finding dead bodies and removing them went underway. Ten people had lost their lives on that fatal night, 5 young people and 5 adults. One entire family of four - the Brennan family from Naas, Co.Kildare, perished; the body of toddler Nicola Lamont from Belfast was never found among the ashes and the Kinsella family from Artane, Dublin, lost two children that night, along with Sadie Dowdican Co Leitrim, George Lazenby Co Dublin and Mary Gallagher Co Donegal.

After the fire was totally extinguished and bodies removed, local Fire Brigades remained at the scene for three days, assisting Gardai and Forensics to remove every piece of rubble piece by piece, in a hope of finding evidence of the baby, and also to determine how the fire started. The hotel was totally gutted with only the walls standing, and remained smouldering for days afterwards.

All colour photos above courtesy News Footage

The Hotel lay derelict for over a decade and eventually it was demolished and only recently a new Hotel has been built on the site.

The Central Hotel fire was one of the most serious and tragic fires in Ireland ever, which sadly was followed by the Stardust Fire Disaster in Artane on Valentines Day, 14th February the following year 1981, in which 48 people lost their lives.

Further reading on the Central Hotel Fire is available in a recently published book about the Retained Fire Service in Ireland. It's called "Firecall" by Ruairi Kavanagh and is published by Gill & Macmillan.

RTE 1 (Irelands National Television Station) also recently broadcast a programme in the "Disasters" series.

The 5 Adults, 4 children and the little baby who died in this terrible fire and their families who survived, will always be remembered in prayer and never forgotten by the Fire Service and the people of Bundoran and surrounding areas.

We Remember those who died on that terrible night

Ar dheis Dé go raibh siad

(May they be at the right hand of God)