What a tragedy that Belcamp College in Dublin 17, a remarkable building boasting a fine connection to James Hoban, architect of the White House in Washington D.C, should fall victim to fire.
There are some excellent images of the college in this 2009 video:
By remarkable coincidence, there was an article in The Sunday Times last week detailing the condition the building was in now, noting its historic importance and the sad condition it is currently in. The report noted that the council had begun removing stain glass windows of importance from the premises.
There is some video footage of the fire last night already making its way onto YouTube:
Local Counciller Larry O’Toole raised some good points this morning.
Belcamp College was an historic building and its destruction by fire is a major loss. After it was closed as a school it was taken over by a developer, Gannon Ltd. and had lain unused since, ending up in NAMA with other Gannon properties.
This fire raises major questions for Gannon and NAMA. Why was this building not secured better? Was security increased after previous break-ins?
July 1922 Irish Times report on fire at the college.
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Click on the book for more.
Donal
Ciarán
Sam
Come Here To Me! 