A bolt of lightning destroyed a family home in Co Cork this morning.
The family of six were not in the house in Bantry in the west of the county when lightening struck at around 10.30 a.m.
The house - on Old Barrack Road - was set alight and one side of the structure was completely destroyed. Emergency services from Bantry, Skibbereen and Schull attended the fire.
Windows in nearby buildings were also blown out by the lightning and many homes and businesses are now without electricity and phone lines.
A meeting will be held in a local hotel tonight as the community rallies around the now homeless family. The owners of the Bantry Bay Hotel have already offered to loan the O'Connell family rooms until they can find suitable accomodation.
