Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland

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#OTD in 1926 – Forty-eight die when a fire breaks out in a make-shift cinema on the upper floor of the village hall in Drumcollagher, Co Limerick.

Stair na hÉireannHistory, Ireland, Irish History48 Deaths, Co. Limerick, Dromcollogher Burning, Dromcollogher Cinema Disaster, Drumcollagher, Fire, Irish History, Make-shift cinema, Timber barn

A timber barn being used as a temporary cinema in Dromcollogher caught fire when a candle ignited a reel of Nitrate film stock. Forty-eight people died in this tragedy, always known locally as the Dromcollogher Burning; forty-six of them are buried in a large grave in the grounds of the local church. It remained the worst known fire disaster in Irish history until the Betelgeuse incident in 1979 and the Stardust disaster in 1981, which claimed fifty and forty-eight lives, respectively.