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Fire crews attend incident at former Ennis hospital

Fire crews have dealt with a fire at the former Our Lady’s Psychiatric Hospital in Ennis this evening.

It’s the third time since last Friday that the fire service and Gardaí were called to the scene.

Shortly before 8 o’clock, emergency services were alerted to a fire at the former hospital. Three units of Clare County Fire and Rescue Service responded to the incident. On arrival at the scene, fire crews met two people walking out of the premises carrying duvets.

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Firefighters entered the building where they discovered two fires and extinguished both.

Gardaí also attended the scene and located the two people seen leaving the building earlier. Gardaí spoke with the pair and an investigation into the fires is expected to be carried out.

Fire crews and Gardaí also attended fires at the same location on Friday and Saturday last.

At around 11.30pm on Friday night a section of the main building at Dulick on the Gort Road was reported to be on fire. Three units of the fire service responded to the incident along with Gardaí. It was the second fire at the same building in the past year.

Fire crews spent several hours tackling the blaze before leaving the scene after 4.00am. Gardaí are investigating the circumstances of the fire. Firefighters were called back to the scene again on Saturday to deal with another fire.

Gardaí attended the scene each time and are investigating the causes of the fire which are believed to have been started deliberately.

The fire service has responded to several fires at the site since the former HSE psychiatric hospital closed in the early 2000s including one in 2017 and another in June 2022.

Fire crews at tackling a fire at the former hospital in June 2022

The building is a listed protected structure in the Ennis and Environs Development Plan and also forms part of an Architectural Conservation Area. The building was constructed in the 1860s.

Ownership of the site has changed hands a few times since the building was sold by the former Mid-Western Health Board in 2002. Separate plans to develop the 16-acre site as a hotel and a private hospital never came to fruition.

The building is in a dangerous condition following previous fires which have caused floor to collapse. Despite a high fence being erected around the site, people continue to gain entry.

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