Fire causes major damage to disused Cork hotel

Gardaí are investigating the cause of a fire that caused major damage to the roof of a leisure centre at a disused hotel in Cork last night.

Nine fire crews were dispatched to tackle the blaze at the Blarney Park Hotel, which was reported at around 6pm.

It took six hours to bring the blaze under control as firefighters were hampered by a lack of pressure in local water hydrants and had to bring water from the River Martin.

The hotel closed last October and gardaí are examining whether the fire, which appears to have started near the roof, may have been caused by an electrical fault.