Memorial to fire dead considered

A seaside town council is to consider erecting a memorial to 10 fire victims, 27 years after they died in a hotel blaze.

A seaside town council is to consider erecting a memorial to 10 fire victims, 27 years after they died in a hotel blaze.

The move follows last week's RTÉ television documentary on the disaster at the Central Hotel, Bundoran, Co Donegal, when five children, one only 18 months old, were among the victims.

The programme prompted much local criticism, including claims that it was painful for relatives of those who died. There was also criticism that no memorial has been erected to mark the spot.

Bundoran council chairman Billy Mulhern said he would table a motion at next month's meeting to have the victims remembered.

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The family of Sadie Dowdican, from nearby Tullaghan, Co Leitrim, the hotel housekeeper who died in the fire at the age of 60, welcomed the move. They said a small memorial would be a fitting and long overdue tribute to the dead and those who risked their lives in rescuing countless others.

Sadie's nephew, Noel Dowdican, said the relatives of the dead were determined they would not be forgotten.

"Bundoran is a very prosperous business town and obviously people who are involved in business do not want anything to interfere with that. But the reality is that 10 people died in horrific circumstances and we will not let them be forgotten."

He said those who were involved in heroic rescue attempts that night had also not received the recognition they deserved.

"There were people risking their own lives to rescue those trapped inside while the heat was so intense that everything around was melting," Mr Dowdican said.

The proposal at the council's September meeting to erect a memorial will not be the first. A move to erect a plaque was turned down by councillors on the 20th anniversary of the deaths.

Independent councillor Florence Doherty, who made that proposal, said: "It was considered to be damaging to the tourism industry. It became a taboo subject." Fianna Fáil councillor and local hotelier Seán McEniff said last week's programme had painted the town in a bad light.

He said that while he was sympathetic to the bereaved families he believed the disaster was "best consigned to history".

No cause of the blaze has been established.