Large fire breaks out in historic village of Adare

A large fire is raging in the middle of one of Ireland's main tourist destinations, Adare, Co Limerick, causing major tailbacks on the N21.

The picturesque village known for its celebrity weddings, and attracting stars of the big screen to the Adare Manor golf resort, has been brought to a halt with "traffic chaos", gardaí said.

Part of Adare's heritage gone up in flames . Hope nobody hurt & they get it under control pic.twitter.com/T6QWj0uAcX

— Barry O Halloran (@HalloranBarry) June 6, 2015

The fire began shortly after 1pm in a thatched cottage across from the local church where Irish and Leinster rugby star Johnny Sexton got married in 2013.

A spokesperson for Limerick City and County Fire and Rescue Service said six fire tenders were at the scene battling the blaze, including two from Rathkeale, two from Foynes, one from Newcastle West and a back-up unit from Limerick City.

Three large water tankers are also being utilised by the fire service to douse the inferno.

"We have sent units to the scene. There is traffic chaos on the Main Street at the movement," said a Garda source.

It is unclear whether anyone was in the cottage at the time the fire broke out. However, there are no reports of any injuries.

Investigations into how the fire started will continue as soon as the blaze is quenched.