The Sun.
London, England, 1850-01-18 00:00:00

IRELAND.
AWFUL CATASTROPHE AND LOSS OF
LIFE.

DUBLIN, TBURSDAY.—The Cork Examiner of
last night contains the following account cif an awful
disaster in Killarney, by which a workhouse has
been destroyed by fire, and 27 girls and two women
killed :
" Oar local reporter has furnished us with some of the
particulars connected with the burning of one branch
workhouse, formerly the College, and the fall of a loft
in another, called the Brewery, which occurred in kit-
Jamey on Mende), night. The consequences were
in-
deed frightful, and lave plunged the whole district into
gloom. The fire burst out about eleven o'clock, w hen
the cries c f the wretched inmates from the windows, for
assistance to save them from the most terrible of all
deaths were truly appall'ng. After ladders had been
procured, the work of rescue commenced most nobly.
Every man vied with his neighbour in his efforts to save
life. Protestant and Catholic clergymen, magistrates,
physicians, police, and people—all aid their duly. But
the result was a reported loss c f three lives. Toe most
dreadful part of the business, however, remains to be told.
The cry of fire' and the livid glare of the flames, a bich
forced its way it t i the Brewery (branch house) awoke
the sleeping children. A'arrn fir parer t., fiends, arid
relations in the other house, made distraction and con-
fusion. They beheld the burning pile from the windows.
In their eagerness to go forth, they rushed madly to the
doors ar.d windows, but they were licked or fastened.
They then sought an unused hfc fur the purpose c f
egress; but the ret'eu plarks gave way-28 persons
were ins tautly killed, and as many more f ightfully
mutilated."
" KILLARNEY, JAN. 15.—This town was last night
the theatre of a melancholy series of everti involvine
the destrintion of human life to a very serious and de-
plorab:c extent. The capacious and beautiful building,
formerly known as ' The College,' but for months in the
possession of the guardians of the poor as an hospital,
was found to be on fire at ten o'clock. So effectually did
the devouring element grapple w,th every crevice cf the
edifice as to leave it a blackened heap of ruins in about
two hours after the alarm was first giver. It contained
162 patients in the morning, and this day leaver, ft
is said, 15 of them missing. No exertion that huma-
nity could suggest was omitted on the part of the ar-
tisans to save lite, and no aid could be more efficient
than that afforded by Mr. M'Lean, the superintendent
of the lunatic asylum, who placed a body of his most
active and courageous masons at a ladder, saying to one
of the Catholic priests, the Rev. Mr. M'Donald—'
believe you have influence here, sir; hold by this ladder
and depend your life on Madden,' and well this Madden
did his work. Child afer child descended amid cheers.
On the other side, the south of the building, extra-
ordinary exertions were made on behalf of the poor
sufferers with astonishing success. With the exception
of one girl, who fell accidentally, all who could be
reached landed safely. Dr. Murphy, the medical officer
of the poorhouse, had a narrow escape in his successful
exertion to save a child. The police, under their very
efficient Sub Inspector Dubardieu, were most useful.
The medical men of every grade, and also the
Catholic and Protestant clergy were assiduous in their
attention to the poor sufferers. Meantime, as the
burning advanced, an alarm was raised in a
second auxiliary workhouse, the Brewery, tenanted
by nurses and girls. They- could see the fire dis-
tinctly, both buildings being only a few hundred yards
apart. They tecame clamorous that the doors of the
dormitories should be unlocked, and as the person in
charge was in the act of doing so, a portion of the floor-
ing on which they stood gave a ay, hurrying to instant
de,truction twenty-seven growing girls and two nurses.
One's heart sicken at so awful a calamity as this has
proved, and God grant it may prove a salutary warning
to all parties who are instrusted with the carrying outs f
the Poor-law Act, as to the amount of caution and care
they are bound to exercise in the ee'ection of branch
workhouses. In the present instance, and giving every
credit to the humane body of guardians of this union, I
fear much sufficient care was not observed with regard
to this portion of the Brewery—because, being the
common passage from the dormitory to the open air, it
should be inferred that a constant yet successive pres-
sure would be upon it, and this ought to have been pro-
vided for. Besides, if one argued from the numbers who
suffered from the falling in of this ricketty coacern,
including both those who lost their lives and those who
were more or less injured by fractures of limbs, contu-
sions, he., there could be no extraordinary pressure on
it. I believe this accident, as well as the fire at the
College, was unforeseen, unlooked for—one of those
casualties which might have been prevented, but was
never anticipated."