'It was a miracle nobody was killed' - pub collapses in Kilkelly

Three adults and two children had a miraculous escape when a pub premises collapsed in Kilkelly last Tuesday.

Gardaí and emergency services were called to the scene after the three-storey building gave way at about 8.45am.

The five people were renting an Airbnb above the pub, having come to the area to attend the anniversary Mass of a family member.

The group included a mother and her two young daughters, the children’s grandfather and his partner. Incredibly, four of them managed to walk out of the crumbling building, although one of the adults was trapped beneath the rubble for around 30 minutes before she was rescued by emergency services.

The outer walls of the building collapsed onto a parked van that had been in front of the premises.

Duffy's pub has been a family-run business for more than a century and current proprietors Kevin and Maureen Duffy have been running it since 1983.

Local man John Conway stated that people were shocked and saddened by what had happened.

“It was a lovely pub with lovely people but thankfully nobody was killed and that’s the main thing,” he said. “It’s terrible but it could be a lot worse, it would be a hundred times worse if somebody had died.” 

Local parish priest Fr Joseph Gavigan, who was one of the first people at the scene, described the aftermath of the incident as "utter devastation". He said there was some relief that nobody was seriously injured, adding that the community would rally around the Duffy family.

Gardaí and the Health Safety Authority are conducting separate investigations into the incident and the street remained sealed off for much of last week with diversions in place. A building adjacent to Duffy’s pub had been demolished in recent weeks but there is no indication that this work was responsible for the incident.

Local Fianna Fáil Cllr John Caulfield said the five people were very fortunate to get out without serious injuries because the roof came down "all in one". 

"Fortunately, it was not a school morning, because otherwise children would have been passing, and it did collapse out onto the pavement," he stated. "Thankfully there were no serious injuries, and it was a miracle nobody was killed."

Cllr Caulfield praised the fire services who came very quickly from Charlestown, Swinford and Kiltimagh.

“This building hadn’t fully collapsed, so it was dangerous going in," he said. "There were electric hazards so there was a lot for the rescuers to deal with."

Cllr Caufield said the incident was incredibly sad for Kevin and Maureen, the Duffy family and the Kilkelly community.

"People are shocked and saddened because there was so much history and local people have so many happy memories they associate with the pub," he said.

Kevin and Maureen Duffy's son Joe told RTÉ his elderly parents are distraught.

“I don’t know what to say. My parents had this pub for so long. I work in Dublin and was down here at the weekend having a few pints," he said. “The memories of a lifetime are gone, people loved Mam and Dad, loved this pub. There were 11 pubs here once and only a handful remain. But at the end of the day, everyone survived and that’s what matters most.”