ONE of Co Donegal’s finest country houses has been destroyed in a fire.
Donaghmore House in Castlefin, on the banks of the River Finn, was gutted in a blaze which swept through the building overnight on Tuesday.
All that remains of the house, which had been on the market for €1.2m, is the shell.
Fire officers are still trying to establish the cause of the blaze at the vacant building which stands on a 90-acre estate close to the border between Donegal and Tyrone.
Currently owned by the Tinney family, the 10-bedroom house, stable-block, large conservatory and farm buildings date back to the 18th century.
For many years, the house was a rectory for two members the Spence family who served as Church of Ireland clergymen in the nearby St Patrick’s, Castlefin.
The estate also included a walled garden, two gate lodges and a large detached cast iron conservatory which had been badly vandalised in recent years.
Fire engines from both sides of the border attended the blaze when the alarm was raised shortly after midnight on Tuesday.
Firefighters from Stranorlar were joined by crews from Letterkenny and Strabane as they worked through the night before extinguishing the blaze at around 8am yesterday.
County Donegal’s chief fire officer, Joseph McTaggart, said officers fought the blaze from outside the building after establishing that the house was vacant.
Mr McTaggart said: “The building at the moment is basically a shell. By and large, the extent of the damage has been substantial.”
Sinn Féin councillor Gary Doherty, who lives in Castlefin, said the house has been a major landmark in the area.
“It was certainly hoped that, regardless of what happened to the building going forward, it would remain standing and that it would remain as one of the iconic landmarks in the area," he said.
“We had all hoped that the building would have been there for generations to come and unfortunately that seems to be now in doubt.”
