Coolgreany Inn is gutted by fire

May 1983

One of North Wexford’s best known ‘night spots’, the Coolgreany Inn licensed premises and restaurant in Coolgreany, was completely destroyed by fire in the early hours of Monday morning last. No-one was hurt in the blaze as the premises are not occupied at night.

The cause of the fire is unknown and on Monday last, Garda Forensic experts examined the burnt-out shell of the building in an effort to determine the cause of the disastrous blaze.

Mr Sean Barnes, the owner of the premises, had locked up at about 11.45 p.m. on Sunday night. About twenty minutes later the burglar alarm on the premises went off in his nearby bungalow residence. He ran down to investigate and discovered smoke billowing from the roof of the single storey part of the premises.

Mr Barnes said that he managed to get into the rear of the premises. ‘I opened the door to get into the main part of the premises to get a fire extinguisher but it was blazing fiercely and I had to close the door,’ he said. He dashed out and raised the alarm.

Fire brigades from Arklow and Gorey were on the scene within a few minutes. However, when they arrived the fire had a firm grip on the building and it could not be saved. They concentrated on preventing the blaze from spreading to nearby buildings and it took them several hours to bring the fire under control.

Two units from each of the brigades were involved in fighting the fire. They had to lay hose almost half a mile to a stream at the bottom of Coolgreany village to get adequate water. Mr. Billy Kennedy, Acting Station Officer, was in charge of the Gorey Brigade and Mr. Ml. O’Neill, Station Officer, was in charge of the Arklow Brigade.

The firemen had to use breathing apparatus to fight the fire because of the dense smoke. Almost the entire interior of the premises was gutted, including the spirits and cigarette store.

The Coolgreany Inn, reported to be worth at least £150,000, was due to be raffled in a private draw limited to 1,700 subscribers at £100 each. The draw for the premises was to have been held on Thursday night last but had been postponed to June 18th by the trustees of the lottery to give subscribers an opportunity to return their tickets.

The draw was under the auspices of the Liam Mellows Hurling Club (Coolgreany), Coolgreany Handball Club, Johnstown Church Building Fund, and the Polio Fellowship of Ireland. All four groups were to have benefitted from the draw.

Mr Barnes said that the money would be refunded to all the people who had subscribed towards the draw.

The Coolgreany Inn (formerly Gardiner’s Lounge) has played host to all the country’s top entertainers and groups over the past twenty years and was a particularly popular rendezvous for people from Arklow and Gorey.

This was the third fire at the premises in the past twenty years. After the most recent of the two earlier fires, the premises were completely rebuilt.