Fire brigade tackles blaze at Dublin church

Dublin Fire Brigade scrambled eight units to tackle a blaze at a derelict church tonight, causing serious traffic disruptions.

The fire broke out at the church on Jones’s Road near Croke Park on the north side of the city at around 7pm.

Up to six surrounding homes had to be evacuated as a precaution as fire crews battled to get the situation under control. There were no reports of injuries.

The exact cause of the fire is unclear tonight.

The fire brigade said it had initially sent out eight tenders to tackle the blaze and reduced that number to five and then three as the threat was downgraded.

However, there were traffic disruptions. Gardai put a number of diversions in place and expected the road to remain closed for some time.

There was also some disruption to rail services at Drumcondra Station due to the close proximity of a bridge to the fire. They resumed at around 8pm.