Episode 12 – The Fire Insurance Plaque

There’s a tiny little plaque with the sun on it on a wall along the Parade Kilkenny. It holds a big story and goes back to a time in Ireland in the 1700s when there was no public fire fighting service. In this week’s ‘Moments with Monuments series’ historian Pat Nolan explains how insurance companies were responsible for putting out fires in properties insured by their company. To enable the fire men to identify which property was insured by which company a “Firemark” like the one below was placed on the wall of the building. To hear more, tune in to KCLR’s ‘The Way It Is’ Wednesday 6.20pm