BREAKING KILDARE NEWS: Work starts on reconstruction of McDonald's restaurant in Newbridge

Work on the reconstruction of the McDonald's restaurant in Newbridge is to start shortly with preparatory work starting later this week.

The premises was extensively damaged when a fire broke out at the drive thru section in broad daylight on August 15.

The fire began after a vehicle went ablaze at the Moorefield premises, adjacent to main route through the town and no injuries resulted from the incident.

Fire crews from three different stations worked for a number of hours to bring the fire under control. 

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Kildare County Council had urged local residents to keep windows closed, while McDonald's said that all workers and customers were safely evacuated from the building. 

The project will repair and rebuild the structure and it's understood that this is an exempted development, meaning that planning permission is not required, most likely because it pre-existed.

A representative of the McDonald's franchise said: "We're delighted to be back on site from this week as we begin to work towards the  re-opening of the restaurant as soon as possible."

Franchisee Sean Quirke said: "Since the fire at the restaurant last August, we have been overwhelmed by hundreds of messages of support from loyal customers, neighbours, stakeholders and elected representatives in the Newbridge area, and our partner groups and organisations across the local community.  We are extremely grateful to each and every one of them for their kindness and encouragement. 

“They have shared our eagerness to have the restaurant re-opened as soon as possible, and we very much looking forward to welcoming them back through our doors and drive-thru later this year. 

“I would also like to pay tribute to the superb managers and crew at the Newbridge restaurant – many of whom were redeployed to other restaurants after the fire and have shown exceptional resilience, adaptability and positivity in the past few months.”