Home of elderly lady destroyed in late-night Hallowe’en blaze

THE home of an elderly lady was gutted by fire on Hallowe’en night.

Gardaí declined last night to speculate on the cause of the blaze which destroyed the house off Clonakilty’s MacCurtain Street in West Cork in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The house, which is less than 100 yards from the town’s garda station, was unoccupied at the time.

Its owner, who is in her 80s and unmarried, has been in hospital for several months.

She is well-known around the town and has lived in Clonakilty for decades.

It was not clear last night whether she has been told about the blaze or whether she will be able to return to the house.

The fire broke out sometime after 3am yesterday morning. Gardaí and fire crews responded but the fire caused severe damage to the roof and interior of the house.

Garda forensic experts examined the scene yesterday.

Superintendent Pat Maher said they are awaiting the results of those tests before deciding the next course of action.

There was no evidence of drink cans in the area, he said.

Gardaí are also awaiting the results of ESB tests to establish whether or not an electrical fault could have caused the blaze.

However, neighbours said the electricity supply had been cut off for several months.

Supt Maher appealed for anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area between 2am and 4am to contact Clonakilty Garda Station on tel: [phone].