On October 10th, 2015, a fire tore through a halting site in Carrickmines, claiming ten lives - five of them children, and one unborn child.

The tragedy shocked the nation, exposed long-standing inequalities, and called for change in Traveller accommodation and safety.

Journalist Tessa Ndjonkou joined Newstalk Daily to re-visit the events of that night, retracing the timeline of the fire and the lives it altered forever. 

Ms Ndjonkou described the living situation of the tenants at the halting site on Glenamuck Road, Carrickmines in south county Dublin. 

“The families lived in two pre-fabricated homes, they’re not owners of these homes - those homes belong to the council and so - technically - the people who live there are tenants, so they do need to pay a fee to their landlord, which is technically the council," she said.

“It’s very much social housing that is subsidised by the state." 

These types of buildings are commonly used as a temporary holding measure, most notably by schools for short-term use. 

“It wouldn’t be your typical house. They were made of very specific materials, a lot of them were created very quickly and a lot of the materials wouldn’t have been necessarily safe," Ms Ndjonku said.

Carrickmines fire: 10 years on

Ms. Njonkou described how the tragedy played out, in the early hours of the morning. 

“A taxi driver was driving along the M50 and then he went into carrickmines and Glenamuck Road," she said.

"He was stopped by a man who was shirtless and very distressed saying ‘Please help us, there’s a fire, my family are trapped'."

That man was Jim Connors, part of the Traveller community and his family was trapped inside the house.

Emergency services were called to the scene and it is understood that they initially underestimated the scale of the scene, having to bring in reinforcements to tackle the blaze. 

"The deputy chief officer of the Dublin Fire Brigade said at the time in his 30 years of career with the brigade that he had never seen a fire that big in his life," Ms Ndjonku said. 

The blaze was reportedly two storeys tall, and was said to be visible from the M50. 

There were over 35 paramedics on site, three water tenders, multiple ambulances, a helicopter, one rescue tender, and a district officer all dispatched trying to put out the fire. 

“They understood that it was a fire where no one could potentially survive”, said Ms Ndjonkou. 

“One of the few survivors at the time, the youngest, a baby called Mary who was about five months old, she was alive when they’d found her.

“They managed to get to her in time when she was alive, but because she was inhaling smoke for so long, she unfortunately did pass away later in the hospital."

Five children  and five adults died that night, all part of the same extended family.

Four-year-old Thomas Connor survived as he was rescued from the floor of the cabin while his sister Mary was retrieved from the bed, meaning she was closer to the layer of carbon monoxide and fire fumes. 

“The fire first claimed the lives of Thomas Connor who was 28, his wife Sylvia who was 30, and their children Jim (5), Christie (3) and the five-month-old Mary," Ms Ndjonku said.

“The extended family had come to visit them, Willie Lynch who was 25, visiting the site that night and his partner Tara who was pregnant, she was 27 years of age and their two daughters Jodie (9) and Kelsey (4).

"Jimmy Lynch who was 39 passed away, a brother of Sylvia and Willie as he perished in the blaze."

The public reaction was mainly of support for the bereaved families, as it was a time for Traveller families to come together to bond and show solidarity.

There were public vigils held, with Pope Francis even sending a letter of condolence at the time. 

Questions around the adequacy of the lodging came under consideration as the cabins at the Carrickmines site were just a metre apart. 

“Traveller communities were saying for a long time that the conditions they were living in were sub-par," Ms Ndjonku said.

“These lodgings are built for temporary purposes, it was the idea that the tenants would vacate eventually, they hadn’t considered that the people would be living there for eight years." 

The cause of the fire was unveiled at the inquest of the tragedy. 

“A chip pan had been left on the stove, it was an electrical stove and that’s how the fire started," Ms Ndjonku said. 

"Once the fire began, it was implied at the inquest that the windows and some doors may have been opened, so the wind carried the fire throughout the house and it could easily pass to the second house since the insulation was so thin and the houses were so close together."

'We don't want to see another Carrickmines'

Bernard Joyce, Director of the Irish Traveller Movement, also joined the show to describe the sentiment within the traveller community ten years on from the tragedy. 

“My thoughts go out to the family this morning, we’re all thinking of that particularly terrible time and the aftermath," he said.

“We don’t want to see another situation like Carrickmines happen again.

"Every effort should be taken to ensure that tragedies like this does not happen again, and to ensure that a range of measures are in place to protect people from the dangers of fires particularly for those in cramped, overcrowded positions.

“We want to see our children growing up and having the opportunity to live in safe, secure Traveller accommodation, that the State take responsibility in terms of its legislation of 1998 house Accommodation Act.

“The community is looking for culturally appropriate accommodation, and it’s not being delivered.

“There are intergenerational families now living without adequate water or sanitation and I think it's an indictment of how travellers are perceived as less important."