Co Antrim church fire being treated as arson

Rebecca Black, PA

A fire at a church in Co Antrim is being treated as arson.

The blaze, which started on Sunday night, caused significant damage to the Church of Ireland building and hall in Greenisland.

Bishop of Connor, the Rev George Davison described the fire as heart-breaking.

In a post on Facebook, he said the community had spent a “joyful afternoon celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Church of the Holy Name” but they had returned later to see a “terrible fire on the premises”.

“It was heart-breaking to watch and to stand with so many parishioners who couldn’t quite believe what we were witnessing,” he said.

“I’m so thankful that no-one was hurt and very grateful to the members of the Fire Service and the PSNI for all their efforts this evening.

He added: “The Church of the Holy Name is not a damaged building, it is the amazing group of people that I met there this afternoon and who stood together this evening and cried and hugged each other and resolved to keep on worshipping and serving Jesus in Greenisland.”

A police spokesman said they received a report of a fire at the property in Station Road at around 9.10pm on Sunday.

“Officers along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire Service attended and the blaze was extinguished,” he said.

“The church was celebrating its 70th anniversary this week, and last night was busy in particular. Thankfully no-one was injured; however a significant amount of damage was caused to both buildings.

“We are treating this as arson and I am appealing to anyone who may have witnessed anyone suspicious in the area or to anyone with CCTV, doorbell or other footage that could assist with inquiries, to contact police on 101 quoting reference 1437 of 01/09/24.”