Landmark Delvin store destroyed by fire

Residents of Delvin were stunned this morning to awake to the news that one of the village’s oldest businesses had been gutted by fire.

Westmeath Fire Services personnel have been battling a blaze at McCormack’s Topline, Main Street, Delvin since the early hours of this morning.

The landmark Delvin store, which celebrated fifty years in operation in 2016, has been completely destroyed. Videos and photographs posted on social media appear to show only the exterior walls of the building standing, with the roof no longer visible.

Fire crews are understood to have arrived at the scene at around 5.30am this morning, and led an evacuation of buildings along the stretch of Main Street affected by the blaze.

As of this afternoon, efforts are still being made to make the scene of the blaze safe, with the trying conditions exacerbated by the ongoing snowstorm, which has made sections of the Mullingar-Delvin N52 barely passable.

It is not yet known what caused the fire. Nobody was injured as a result of the blaze.

McCormack’s, a hardware, grocery and general purpose store, was first opened in 1966 by Sean McCormack, and became one of the pillars of the commercial life of Delvin.

In 2001, ownership of the business has passed to Sean’s son, John, and the store became a member of the Topline group in 2003. The grocery section closed in recent years to allow expansion of the business’s hardware and builders’ providers offering.

Stuart O’Sullivan, who runs the DelvinVillage.com website, said earlier today: ‘Regrettably the store has been destroyed. There is no information yet as to the cause but everyone is safe.

‘The community of Delvin sends its very best wishes to John, Sean and family and we will support them in any way we can through this difficult time.’