‘Resilient community' in urgent ‘help to rebuild' plea as ‘parish in mourning' after blaze destroys church in Donegal
AN URGENT plea has been issued after a overnight fire left St Mary's Church in Co Donegal "burned to the ground" on Easter Monday.
And fundraising efforts are now underway to help rebuild the
The church, which is in the Diocese of Raphoe, saw a fire break out overnight on Easter Monday.
Five fire brigade units and
They first received reports of the fire at around 4am on Monday.
There have been no injuries reported following the blaze.
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An investigation is also underway in hopes of determining the cause of the fire.
Parish of Gaoth Dobhai took to
The parish said: "We are a resilient community and will stand together to support one another in this moment of deep grief and sorrow.
"We will rebuild our Church with a renewed hope for a brighter future.
MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN
"I wish to express my deep gratitude to all the members of Gaoth Dobhair Fire Brigade Service, supported by colleagues from right across the County, for their untiring dedication and tireless service."
The parish also thanked the emergency services, members of gardai,
The parish added: "To all members of An Garda Síochána who attended, for their professionalism and dedication.
"To Donegal County Council staff members for their selfless support and helping hand.
"And to the many members of this beautiful community in Gaoth Dobhair, and further afield who have offered help, assistance and sent messages of support and prayers."
The local community took to the comments section to share their thoughts.
'ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED & DEVASTATED'
One said: "We are all absolutely shocked and devastated, Fr Brian! To lose our beautiful church just as it was resplendent at Easter time!
"Unbelievable!-so many memories! So dreadfully sad to see it! it will indeed be rebuilt. We are all behind you in this. If there is anything we can do please ask."
Another added: "Sympathies to all your parish community on the loss of your beautiful church.
"May God grant you all strength and hope at this difficult time."
A third wrote: "So sad to hear this and see the devastating videos / photos of our family parish when over on holiday from Glasgow.
"The whole parish is in our thoughts and prayers."
The fundraiser was launched with the goal of €28,000, and in less than five hours it had raised over€20,358.
Already, more than half of the set amount has been raised through the
And the top donation out of 162 was for a whopping €5,000.
1
The church was ablaze on Easter Monday
Credit: X/PearseDoherty
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