Emergency services are attending the scene of a major fire at a vacant building in south Dublin.
Five engines, including a turntable ladder, are tackling the blaze at a former Augustinian building on Edmondstown Road in Ballyboden.
Gardaí said they were alerted to the fire at around 8.20pm.
Dublin Fire Brigade said it expects "to have crews on scene through the night".
It said smoke is drifting across Rathfarnham and advised residents to close windows and doors as a precaution.
Gardaí said that Edmondstown Road is closed and diversions are in place.
The former Augustinian building in Ballyboden, Dublin is well alight, with several crews from @DubFireBrigade attending pic.twitter.com/zDFWLFeZuw
— Philip Bromwell (@philipbromwell) August 20, 2024
The building has not been in use for a number of years.
Numerous houses and a new primary health care centre are located beside the building which was previously used as a church and the Augustinian Fathers' College.
Shannon Homes Dublin had plans to demolish it and build a large residential development at Taylor's Lane in Ballyboden.
The company is looking to construct more than 400 apartments on the site.
Firefighting operations are continuing at the #Ballyboden St. Augustine's fire.
— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) August 20, 2024
We expect to have crews on scene through the night and have received great assistance from partner agencies as we continue to extinguish the fire. pic.twitter.com/iBOxQmrXYJ
Ballyboden local Maria Kelly said it was "very sad" to see the building go up in flames.
"We grew up here in Ballyboden and the Augustinians [were] always a huge part of our life. We spent our youth in there, between the youth club and the Augustinians," she said.
"Every parishioner that remembers it when it was the good old days, their hearts are breaking this evening," she added.
