The Church Street Disaster September 1913
On 2 September 1913 two tenement houses collapsed in Church Street. About 8.45pm,the two houses, 66 and 67 Church Street, collapsed. Fifteen people were trapped in the rubble: seven died, and at least seven were seriously injured. An inquest held into the collapse revealed that the Dangerous Buildings Inspector had examined the houses at the beginning of August, and ordered that immediate renovation work be carried out. In a follow-up visit on 15 August, the Inspector passed the buildings as safe, although he admitted to the Coroner's Court that he could not see whether a new supporting beam had been fitted because it was blocked at the time. The Church Street disaster was not the first time tenements had collapsed, but the numbers killed and injured were unparalleled.
Those killed were Hugh Sammon (17), Elizabeth Sammon (4½), Nicholas Fitzpatrick (40), Elizabeth Fagan (50), John Shiels (3), Peter Crowley (6) and Margaret Rourke (55). Two days after the disaster, Mr Eugene Sammon, father of two of the children killed, wrote a letter to the Evening Telegraph, to thank publicly the Dublin Fire Brigade:
Eugene Salmon, was at the time out of work in connection with the dispute at Jacob’s. Only the day before the disaster Jacob’s had closed down part of its factory because of the strike action of members of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU). The lockout began to take effect on the day of the disaster itself, when the Dublin Coal Merchants’ Association locked out members of the ITGWU. The tension that had built up soon exploded onto the streets of Dublin. During a protest meeting on O’Connell Street on 30 August two young men were killed following a baton charge by the Dublin Metropolitan Police.
Those killed were Hugh Sammon (17), Elizabeth Sammon (4½), Nicholas Fitzpatrick (40), Elizabeth Fagan (50), John Shiels (3), Peter Crowley (6) and Margaret Rourke (55). Two days after the disaster, Mr Eugene Sammon, father of two of the children killed, wrote a letter to the Evening Telegraph, to thank publicly the Dublin Fire Brigade:
Eugene Salmon, was at the time out of work in connection with the dispute at Jacob’s. Only the day before the disaster Jacob’s had closed down part of its factory because of the strike action of members of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU). The lockout began to take effect on the day of the disaster itself, when the Dublin Coal Merchants’ Association locked out members of the ITGWU. The tension that had built up soon exploded onto the streets of Dublin. During a protest meeting on O’Connell Street on 30 August two young men were killed following a baton charge by the Dublin Metropolitan Police.
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