Ireland

Church spire collapses in flames after lightning strike in Co Clare

Alarm was raised in Ruan in early hours of Sunday morning

The timber spire of Ruan Church in Co Clare was set alight by a lightning strike in the early hours of Sunday morning. Photograph: Press 22
The timber spire of Ruan Church in Co Clare was set alight by a lightning strike in the early hours of Sunday morning. Photograph: Press 22
Pat Flynn
Sun Dec 22 2024 - 11:15

The timber spire of a church in Co Clare crashed to the ground in flames after it was struck by lightning in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The alarm was raised at around 3.45am when emergency services were alerted to a fire at the church in the village of Ruan. The spire caught fire after the lightning strike, which also left the village without electricity.

A big flash of lightning was seen and a loud bang was heard across a wide area of Co Clare around the same time. Moments later, the first calls reporting several incidents in the Ruan area were received.

One firefighter said: “We weren’t long back from a call and I was lying bed when I saw a flash and heard a large bang. Five minutes later, the pagers went off.”

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Units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service from Ennis station were sent to the incident. They found the timber spire atop the church’s bell tower “well alight”.

Emergency services attending the scene at Ruan Church in Co Clare in the early hours of Sunday. Photograph: Press 22
Emergency services attending the scene at Ruan Church in Co Clare in the early hours of Sunday. Photograph: Press 22

While firefighters prepared to tackle the blaze, the timber spire collapsed to the ground.

Once it was safe to do so, fire crews deployed a hydraulic platform and commenced battling the blaze which they soon brought under control, preventing the fire from spreading to the rest of the building. Fire crews also carried out an inspection of the building’s interior but found no fire inside.

While the main building suffered some water damage, it was otherwise relatively unscathed, apart from damage to the church’s electrical system.

A house in nearby Toormore also caught fire, believed to be as a result of a lightning strike. It was extensively damaged but nobody was injured.

The collapsed timber spire of the church in Ruan, Co Clare, which was hit by a lightning strike. Photograph: Press 22
The collapsed timber spire of the church in Ruan, Co Clare, which was hit by a lightning strike. Photograph: Press 22

Fire crews left Ruan shortly before 8am after the scene had been declared safe.

Locals have set up fencing around the church to make the area safe.