The grandstand at the former Phoenix Park racecourse in Dublin was destroyed in a fire last night, writes Roddy O'Sullivan.
Three Dublin Fire Brigade pumps and a water tanker brought the fire under control. The Garda Technical Bureau will examine the scene today.
The fire was first noticed at around 8 p.m. The Fire Officer on duty said the brigade "must have had at least a hundred calls" from people who saw the flames. Fire destroyed the commentators' stand at the racecourse last July.
According to Ms Pat Alison, Secretary of the Phoenix Park Racecourse Preservation Association, last night's fire was the fourth in the last two weeks.
"We're absolutely horrified at this fire. All security was removed from the racecourse a couple of months ago and nobody was protecting this important heritage site. It's a major loss to future generations of racing enthusiasts," he said.
The association was set up to have the racecourse reopened. It wrote to the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, asking him to make it a millennium project.
The last race at the track was held more than eight years ago, after 88 years of racing. Since then the site has been the subject of a number of development proposals.