Fire destroys historic pavilion

Portora Royal School in Enniskillen is almost 400 years old

A historic cricket pavilion at one of Northern Ireland's oldest schools has been destroyed in an early morning fire.

The blaze at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen was discovered shortly before 0600 GMT on Tuesday.

There is no indication yet as to the cause of the fire.

The principal, Neill Morton, said the pavilion was an important part of the school's heritage and had been used by Samuel Beckett.

"It had obviously very important links to our past, when we were very strong in cricket, and we're working hard to build up our teams over the past couple of seasons.

"It was also, incidentally, and this is the sad bit, this is the pavilion which Samuel Beckett would have known very well.

"Beckett himself was a very keen cricketer and a very successful cricketer," he said.

Other famous past pupils at the 400-year-old school include Oscar Wilde and The Divine Comedy frontman Neil Hannon.