“Dublin Whiskey Fire” is an original song by the O’McPub Band. The song tells the story of the incident of the same name that occurred in the 1800s in Ireland. This incident is also referred to as the Liberties Whiskey Fire.
The Dublin Whiskey Fire took place after 8 p.m. on June18, 1875. After a fire broke out at Malone’s Malt House in the Liberties section of Dublin, several whiskey casks exploded. This caused rivers of flaming liquor to flood the streets of Dublin. The fire spread to houses, shops, and other buildings, consuming anything in its path.
The river of flaming whiskey was 2 feet wide and 6 inches
deep. It stretched 400 meters down Mill Street. The fire spread from Malone’s
Malt House to Coombe Maternity Hospital.
Firefighters struggled to control the fire. Ultimately, more
than five acres of Dublin were in flames. Luckily, no lives were taken as a
direct result of the fire. This was in part due to the noise of pigs and other
livestock near the Malt House. These animals warned those in the vicinity of
the fire and alerted people in time so they could reach safety.
However, there is a sad twist to the story. Locals rushed
out to collect the whiskey that was flowing through the streets, even though it
was engulfed in flames. Because of this, 13 people who drank the toxic, burning
liquid died of alcohol poisoning.
Luckily, the fire did not consume the nearby Watkins Brewery.
This would have made the already difficult situation even worse, likely adding
to the whiskey flooding the streets of Dublin. Black smoke filled the sky, and
the stench of Mill Street’s leather tannery was overbearing for those in the
vicinity.
The fire was one of the mostdestructive fires in Dublin’s history. As mentioned before, the fire caused
several acres of property damage and was difficult for city firefighters to
control. Firefighters found water useless against the whiskey, so they resorted
to using sand and manure to control the flames. The flames caused £54,000 worthof destruction. That is equivalent to €6.5 million in today’s money.
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