Garda drone to analyse burnt remains of Derrybeg church

Gardai will deploy a drone to assist in the investigations into a fire that destroyed St Mary’s Church in Derrybeg on Easter Monday.

The Church was gutted by a fire in the early hours of Monday. 

A team of structural engineers subsequently assessed the site on Tuesday.

It is understood that what remains of the iconic structure has been deemed to be too unsafe in its current guise for a Garda technical team to enter in person.

Instead, expert gardai were planning to deploy a drone to carry out an assessment of the charred remains of the 53-year-old church in a bid to determine the possible cause of the blaze.

Gardai and other agencies investigating the major fire, which has sent shockwaves through the Gaoth Dobhair parish, have still to establish the source of the fire and it is as yet unclear whether the fire was started maliciously. 

A fence will be erected around the perimeter to secure the location and prevent people from entering. 

Separately, a mammoth fundraising effort is underway to help rebuild the Church, which was opened in 1972.

A sizeable Garda cordon erected around the church on Monday morning remains with local diversions in place.

Seven units of firefighters from the Donegal Fire Service battled the fire, which was first reported at around 4am.

Several nearby properties were evacuated while the flames were brought under control. 

Thick flames and plumes of smoke sent haunting images billowing into the west Donegal sky. No injuries were reported from the fire. 

“The scene is being preserved for technical examination,” a Garda spokesperson said. "Enquiries are ongoing."

Evening Masses from St Mary’s are being held in St. Colmcille"s Church, Cnoc Fola this week while a decision will be made by the end of the week on weekend Masses in the parish.

The Gaoth Dobhair parish also includes the Churches at Cnoc Fola, St Patrick’s in Meenaweel and the Church of the Sacred Heart in Dunlewey, but Sunday Masses for St Mary’s churchgoers may yet be held in another venue in the parish.

The Diocesan Administrator of the Raphoe Diocese, Monsignor Kevin Gillespie, said he is “heartbroken” following the devastating fire in his home parish.

Parish Priest Fr Brian Ó Fearraigh said: “It is heartbreaking to see it as an empty shell. There is a wonderful resilience in the people here.”

An online GoFundMe soared to over €40,000 in the first 24 hours. Additional funds have stream in and by Wednesday evening in excess of €60,000 was raised.

Parishioner Mary Coyle of Coiste Forbartha Dhobair is part of a local committee that has rallied around since Monday to fundraise for the restoration of a centrepiece of the parish.

“We are a strong people, very resilient,” she told the Donegal Democrat. “It is very important to stay together as parishioners and we will get through this. The Church is so central to everyone in Gaoth Dobhair and it is lovely to see how everyone is working shoulder-to-shoulder to ensure that St Mary’s is rebuilt.”

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Gaoth Dobhair-based TD Pearse Doherty added: “There will be a rebirth here - we will see that Church rebuilt from the ashes”.