Garda forensic teams will begin investigations this morning into three fires in Dublin city centre yesterday. The first, early yesterday, destroyed a historic building at the Department of Education on Marlborough Street. At 6.45 p.m. Dublin fire service was called to fires at the junction of Upper Abbey Street and Jervis Street, as well as to another at Henrietta Street, near Bolton Street.
Six units fought the blaze at the disused warehouse near O'Connor's jeans store on Upper Abbey Street, where extensive damage was done before the blaze was brought under control.
The fire at a derelict house on Henrietta Street was fought by two units of the fire brigade.
At 5.15 a.m. yesterday a security guard at the Department of Education reported a fire at the old teacher training building there. It took 40 firemen, as well as eight units from Phibsboro and Tara Street fire stations, to bring it under control.
The building, which was undergoing a £1 million renovation by the Office of Public Works (OPW), was burned out.
Earlier this year it had been vacated by the Department to enable refurbishment to take place. Work began at the beginning of last month.
A Garda presence was maintained last night at the building, from which the public has been barred for safety reasons. Following today's Garda forensic investigation OPW structural engineers will make a full assessment of the damage.
The Minister for Education, Mr Martin, said yesterday the building would be restored.
He praised the fire brigade and gardai for preventing the fire spreading to other buildings in the Department complex, including Tyrone House, where his office is located.
Mr Martin Cullen, the Minister with responsibility for the OPW, said it was the intention of the OPW to fully restore the building. It was designed in 1835 by Jacob Owen, then chief architect with the OPW.
Owen was responsible for renovations of Dublin Castle, the King's Inns and Galway's Custom House in the last century, and designed the Church of Ireland in Dalkey.
Mr David Griffin, Director of the Irish Architectural Archive, yesterday described the Department of Education building as "a great example of a Greek revival building, and it was a pity that it was destroyed."
When built it was designed to complement nearby Tyrone House, the administrative headquarters of the Department of Education.
In recent times other historic buildings burned in Dublin include the Dining Hall at Trinity College. No significant damage was done when it went on fire in March 1995.
That same month a fire broke out in the basement of Government Buildings in Merrion Street, where confidential documents were stored before being shredded and recycled.