Firefighters in Co Donegal were yesterday applauded after saving the homes of broadcaster Gay Byrne and several others. Three units of the fire service fought the blaze, which destroyed dozens of acres at Tubberkeen on the outskirts of Dungloe.
Firefighters from Dungloe, Gaoth Dobhair and Glenties fought the fire, which started after 10pm on Sunday night.
At one stage, the blaze spread to less than 200m from the former Late Late Show host's holiday home at Tubberkeen. Gay Byrne was not staying in the area at the time.
A spokesman for the fire service said: “We’re not sure how the blaze started but it spread quickly and it covered a lot of ground.
“We beat out a lot of the blaze and we also used water to dampen the area so the fire could not spread. The fire was over the hill from a number of houses but none were damaged during the blaze thankfully,” said the officer.
Among the theories being examined is that a Chinese lantern that had been released earlier had landed in the area. The blaze follows a warning issued by Donegal County Council last weekend that the lack of rain could lead to gorse fires.