Blast from the Past: 'Cork Opera House is destroyed by fire: thousands watch huge blaze'

Examiner 180: The latest of our arts-culture pieces from the archive is the report of the fire at one of Cork's favourite cultural institutions

Crowds look on from Lavitt's Quay as fire engulfs Cork Opera House in 1955. Picture: Irish Examiner Archive 

The second of our pieces to mark the Examiner's 180 years in existence isn't just an important account of what happened to Cork's old Opera House – it's also a brilliant piece of writing.

Back then, journalists' names weren't used in the paper, but the unknown scribe was clearly a master of their art.