A suspected arson attack on a national school in Mallow, north Cork, yesterday caused up to €150,000 worth of damage and has resulted in the closure of the school for the foreseeable future.
The blaze destroyed the assembly room, the principal's office, the staffroom, and caused smoke damage to a number of classrooms.
Units of the Cork County Fire Service fought the fire at St Mary's primary school for girls after the alarm was raised at 12.30am. The blaze was brought under control at about 2.30am but firefighters from Mallow, Charleville, Kanturk and Cork city were at the scene until about 10am.
Gardaí believe the fire may have been caused deliberately. It is understood that rubbish close to a doorway at the back of the building may have been set on fire.
The blaze then ignited a gas main, which in turn led to an explosion. The fire then spread to the roof.
The area around the school was evacuated. Those affected included about 20 nuns at the Sisters of Mercy convent home.
St Mary's will remain closed for the foreseeable future. Its 180 pupils are expected to be taught at temporary accommodation in the town.
Local Labour town councillor Seán Sherlock described the incident as a tragedy for teachers, pupils and the Sisters of Mercy. He insisted that locals would rally around management at the school in the coming weeks.
Mayor of Mallow Cllr Jerry Mullally said he was shocked at the extent of the damage when he visited the school yesterday morning. "We do know there have been incidents of break-ins in recent weeks and all the indications are that the fire could have had malicious involvement.
"The school was due to celebrate its anniversary shortly - I think its 100th anniversary - so this is devastating for them. I spoke to one of the nuns at the convent this morning and she said they are trying to sort out temporary accommodation for pupils, but it is all very sad.
"The school is in a built-up area so somebody must have seen something. Anybody who knows anything about it should give any assistance possible to gardaí in the locality."
Mr Mullally said representatives of the Health and Safety Authority were due to visit the site. He said he building needed a lot of repair.
"A number of classrooms have been destroyed. There is smoke and water damage and the power supply has been cut off. It is a major setback for the teachers and parents' association who have put a lot of effort into improving facilities there for the schoolchildren. It will be closed for some time."
Meanwhile, five units of the Cork City Fire Service fought a blaze at the Bailey Bar, Courthouse Street, off Washington Street in the city yesterday morning. The alarm was raised shortly after 6am. A spokesman said there was an amount of fire and smoke damage to the premises.
The blaze was contained to the mezzanine area. An investigation is under way. No one was on the premises when the fire broke out.