Home

Church of Ireland Home

Diocesan News

Statement by the Archbishop of Dublin following fire at former nursing home

Archbishop Michael Jackson issued a statement following a fire at the former St Brigid’s Nursing Home at Crooksling, Brittas, on the Dublin/Wicklow border on Sunday February 4 2024:

Firefighters were called at 7am to vacant buildings alight at Crooksling off the Blessington Road. (Photo: Dublin Fire Brigade on X)
Firefighters were called at 7am to vacant buildings alight at Crooksling off the Blessington Road. (Photo: Dublin Fire Brigade on X)

This morning we heard of another blaze at a building where protests have been taking place in recent days.The cause of the fire has not yet officially been identified. However, the building in question, a former nursing home named after St Brigid, has been rendered useless to anyone.

Nobody wins when such buildings are burned. The resources of hard pressed emergency services have been needlessly and fruitlessly depleted. Those seeking International Protection in our country have a right to safety while their application is being examined.

The total community in which such buildings stand is branded, by such actions, with racism and with anti–immigrant sentiment, and their place becomes a household name. The integrity and the stability of such a community are endangered by these needless actions.

History shows us that we in Ireland are no strangers to emigration or to the need to be received as graciously and as helpfully as possible wherever we have arrived across the world in order to make a fresh start. Communities throughout our country across the centuries have flourished as a result of the arrival of people from different backgrounds and cultures.

Our thoughts are very much with the community of Crooksling, Brittas at this time.

 

Our use of cookies

Some cookies are necessary for us to manage how our website behaves while other optional, or non-necessary, cookies help us to analyse website usage. You can Accept All or Reject All optional cookies or control individual cookie types below.

You can read more in our Cookie Notice

Functional

These cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Analytics cookies

Analytical cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.