A church built in the 1960's to accommodate the multi-denominational workers who were involved in the construction of the Shannon industrial estate in Co Clare was extensively damaged by fire tonight and as a result is at risk of being demolished.
Christ Church in Drumgeeley, just yards from Shannon Airport, was extensively damaged in the blaze which is believed to have started accidentally. It is believed that a fire which had been set earlier in the day to burn off timber at the rear of the building reignited with the wind and spread to the church.
The alarm was raised about at 5.32pm when the fire brigade received a 999 call from a passerby. A unit of the Shannon airport fire and rescue service responded to the fire while three appliances from Shannon Town were also quickly at the scene.
Several members of the local Church of Ireland and Methodist congregations rushed to the scene and help recover as much property as they could from the building. Fire fighters managed to bring the fire under control within half an hour however they remained at the scene until almost 9.00pm.
Canon Bob Hanna of the Drumcliffe group of parishes said: "This was one of the first and the most pioneering churches in Shannon and was built for the workers, many of whom came from England, to build the Shannon industrial estate. The church was used for many years by several congregations including Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist. Unfortunately it hasn't been used as much in recent times but it is still a sad loss."
"In recent years, the Methodist Church, through the lay ministry of Dr Rosemary Power, had been using the building occasionally. Dr Power was one of the first at the scene and she helped recover a lot of items of sentimental value including bibles and a visitor book. Unfortunately the church had not been used as much in recent times but it once had a very vibrant congregation," he added.
Canon Hanna believes the building could be beyond recovery. "We will have to wait and see where we go from here but I am not confident that it is not possible to save the building. It may be too huge a task to contemplate a recovery. The building has been badly damaged inside but we are sure it was accidental. It appears that the fire started at the back of the building following some cleaning up earlier in the day."
Heather Morton, who as a child made her confirmation in the church, said: "It is a very sad sad day for Shannon. It's a sad day for the community. This church represented old Shannon."
Gardaí have also confirmed that the fire started accidentally.