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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.
All photographs above are from
Local Papers
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.
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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
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Sadie
Dowdican, Tullaghan County Leitrim |
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James
Brennan, Naas County Kildare |
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Adreinne Kinsella, Artane County Dublin
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Anne
Brennan, Naas County Kildare |
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James Kinsella, Artane County
Dublin |
Deirdre
Brennan, Naas County Kildare |
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Mary Gallagher, Carrick County
Donegal |
John Brennan, Naas County Kildare
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Baby Nicola Lamount, Belfast Co
Antrim |
George
Lazenby, Malahide Co Dublin |
Ar dheis Dé go raibh siad
(May they be at
the right hand of God)
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