This was the devastating scene after a historic golf clubhouse went up in flames.
Kenmare Golf Club in Co Kerry was all but destroyed when an early morning fire ripped through it today.
Emergency crews were quickly on the scene and personnel remained there for several hours but the blaze gutted the building, wrecking much of the roof as well as internal walls and furnishings.
The fire service were alerted at 4.30am and several units from Killarney, Sneem and Kenmare attended.
Water tankers were also brought in to help contain the blaze.
A post by the Kenmare Golf Club on social media expressed “shock” at the large fire and
gratitude to the fire service.
Local councillor Patrick O’Connor-Scarteen said: “People are shocked by this. It is at the heart of the town.”
The 117-year-old timber-framed building was empty and closed at the time of the fire.
The clubhouse was originally a cricket pavilion in use in the Punjab, India, and was not installed in Kenmare until the 1930s.
It has been the centre of much social activity in the area ever since.
Each year it holds a world-famous brothers tournament, as well in more recent times
a sisters tournament in which siblings play together on teams.
Garda forensics assisted by fire officers were at
the scene today and are now carrying out an investigation into what caused the blaze.
