'If anyone had been under it, they were dead': Fire service have 'near miss' during Good Shepherd blaze

of Cork City Fire Brigade attending an overnight fire in a derelict former Magdalene laundry had what was described as “a near miss” when an overhead section of flooring holding two cast-iron baths collapsed in the blaze.

Arriving on the scene just before midnight on Wednesday, seven units of Cork City Fire Brigade, with at least 20 personnel, attended what was described as a serious fire at the former Good Shepherd Convent in Sunday’s Well. The blaze began in the former Magdalene laundry on the western extreme of the ruined building, and firefighters remained on site until 11am yesterday.

Victor Shine, second officer with Cork City Fire Brigade, said the derelict site was “well alight” when crews arrived on the scene.

“The main force of the flame came from two sections of flooring left in the western end of the building, the ground-floor section of the floor, which was extremely dry, and the first-floor section,” he said. “That was probably the last section of the building that could burn; the rest was pretty much gutted.

“The complete western end was on fire. Crews then started a defensive attack on it, using hand-held [hoses].

“They set up monitors because there’s a basement area which the floor would collapse into, so you couldn’t put anyone on that section, and they set up a hydraulic platform at the rear to set up what we call a water tower to get water into the core of the building.”

Mr Shine said the building was extremely dangerous and needed to be secured.

“We had a near miss with crews when a floor section collapsed with two cast-iron baths on it, and if anyone had been under it, they were dead,” he said.

Pádraig O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central, said Cork City Council needed to secure the former Good Shepherd Convent site as a matter of urgency after the latest in a semi-regular series of fires at the site.

“We’ve seen multiple fires up there, and I would have a very serious concern that someone will be badly injured or worse there,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“The site needs to be secured urgently before there is a tragedy there.”

Kenneth Collins, Sinn Féin city councillor, said Cork City Council needed to “ the developers and they need to tell them to secure the site, or they will compulsorily purchase it”.

Tony Fitzgerald, Fianna Fáil city councillor, said the owners of the former convent site needed to take responsibility for its safety.

“[Wednesday] night’s fire brought a serious risk to life and I want to pay tribute to the fire service, who arrived to an inferno,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

The latest incident is the most serious blaze at the derelict site since a major fire in 2022 gutted the eastern block of the convent.

The Good Shepherd Convent site has been on Cork City Council’s derelict sites since February 2019 and has an estimated current market value of €1,850,000.

The Echo has been unsuccessful in its attempts to Moneda Developments, the last known owners of the former convent site.

Tom Coleman, chairperson of the Blarney Street and Surrounding Areas Community Association, told The Echo that the former Good Shepherd Convent represented “a tragedy waiting to happen”.

A Cork City Council spokesperson said the site has incurred annual derelict sites levies since 2019.

“Cork City Council will continue to work with the owners through the planning process to facilitate the development of this large, complex, and important site,” they said.