Northern Whig, Monday 5th December 1927
An explosion which caused much damage occurred at a public-house in Gresham Street, Belfast, on Saturday morning when Hugh Fitzpatrick, the publican, went to investigate the smell of gas with a lighted candle. No-one was injured, although Mr. Fitzpatrick's moustache and eyebrows have disappeared.
The ceiling of the bar was torn away, and a plate-glass window was scattered like chaff before the wind. The bottles and glasses on the shelves remained untouched, and a glass-filled partition in the bar also escaped damage.
Sergeant Stanfield, of Smithfield Barracks, who saw the window being blown out, found the licensee much perturbed, but otherwise little the worse for his startling experience.
