Large overnight fire destroys church

Shows a shell of a church with a firefighter on the left, a red hose to the bottom right and a grey skyRTÉ

The fire at St Mary's Church in Derrybeg, County Donegal, broke out in the early hours of Monday morning

A church has been destroyed in a large fire in County Donegal, in the Republic of Ireland.

Five units of the fire service and gardaí (Irish police) attended the blaze at St Mary's Church in Derrybeg, Gweedore, and remain at the scene on Monday morning, Irish broadcaster RTÉ News has reported.

The fire was first reported at about 04:00 local time.

The church was built in the 1970s and is one of the biggest in the diocese of Raphoe.

St Mary's Church is a large grey and brown building that has a spire at its top. It has a number of windows at the front and has several plants and trees at its side. Google

The church, which was built in the 1970s, was one of the biggest in the diocese.

'A new parish church will rise again'

Monsignor Kevin Gillespie, administrator of the Raphoe Diocese, said he was "heartbroken" to see the destruction caused by the fire.

"I wish to express my support to Fr Briain Ó Fearraigh, parish priest, who has the full support of the community as he faces this challenge," he said.

Three firefighters are seen standing beside a large red hose and two fire appliances. The hose is outstretched on the ground and a small cafe can be seen in the background opposite a wooded area.RTÉ

FIrefighters and police were thanked by church leaders for their efforts in tackling the blaze

He thanked the firefighters and police "from near and far in the county who did their very best to save the building".

"With the support of the community and the hard work of the clergy, a new parish church will rise again in one form or another.

"In the meantime, the life of faith will continue and will guide and sustain the parish."

A police cordon can be seen with three officers, two of which have their faces blurred and the other with their face turned away, standing beside it. A Garda white van is also seen near the cordon with orange police signs. RTÉ

A police cordon remained in place at the scene on Monday morning

Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty told BBC News NI that the whole community had been left "completely devastated" following the fire which has now been brought under control

"The chapel, this community house, has stood at the heart of the community for many years, many decades, and to see it gutted by the fire last night has been just devastating," he said.

"The people of Gweedore, the parishioners, are just gutted.

"We are just thankful that it was just physical damage that we are dealing with and not loss of life given the scale of the fire last night."

Irish country star Daniel O'Donnell said he was "shocked and saddened" to hear the news.

"Sending thoughts and prayers," the County Donegal singer posted on social media.

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In a statement, An Garda Síochána (Irish police) said they helped firefighters during the operation in the early hours of Monday morning.

"There are no reports of injuries at this time," a spokesperson said.

"The scene is being preserved for technical examination and enquiries are ongoing."

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