Alas Poor Supermacs

supermacsPhoto via Twitpic, © Gav Reilly

Alas poor Supermacs, I knew ye well.

The taxi was called after nine for a few Christmas pints, having braved the drive from Sligo a few hours previous. The driver said “there must be something up” in town, evident by the large pillar of smoke rising over the skyline but by the time we reached the parade, restrictions were well underway. A quick detour around the town and five minutes later I’m standing on High Street watching Supermacs burn.

I remember when it opened, back in primary school at the time with some lads in the class tearing off in to town to be amongst the first few in the door and get themselves a free burger. Supermacs arrival in Kilkenny was massive, equaled, I guess, in size by the damage caused during last night’s blaze. For over an hour I found myself standing on High Street, blocked by the guards from venturing past the post office, watching on as a good half dozen units of the fire brigade went to work on containing the fire and stopping it spreading to the adjoining shops and apartments. Their efforts, if you read the Kilkenny People (here and here), were successful albeit having to return to a rekindled blaze in the early hours of the morning.

For many a year (before my appetite, diet and perhaps, sense, prevailed), Supermacs was a favoured haunt for secondary school Friday lunches or as a destination for post-pub grub on a night out.

The glass roof is gone, “other aspects of the building” have collapsed and ultimately it looks gutted but thankfully, not one person was hurt, injured or worse in the blaze.

Alas, poor Supermacs, we knew ye well.

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