The hotel burned down late last night in Galway (Picture: RTE)

Police are investigating a fire which tore through a 19th century Georgian hotel in Galway which was intended to house asylum seekers.

The Ross Lake Hotel in Rosscahill, Ireland, had protestors convene outside to protest the number of migrants in the area hours before the fire broke out.

Though the hotel has not been used for years, it was intended to house more than 70 asylum seekers in the coming weeks.

The fire broke out around 11:35pm last night, and nobody was inside when it began.

The fire was put out, and today a technical examination of the site is set to take place to determine the cause of the blaze.

Protestors have been meeting in recent weeks across Ireland at sites where migrants are being housed to protest the government’s plans.

Last month, violent protests and arson attacks happened in central Dublin after an attack at Gaelscoil Cholaiste Mhuire primary school which saw multiple children and adults stabbed.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris last night blamed a ‘lunatic hooligan faction’ for the destruction in the city which saw vehicles torched, shops looted and police attacked as the city became ‘under siege’.

A police source later told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘We have to say fair play to those people who stepped in. They gave that man a good hiding to make sure he wasn’t going to get up and hurt more people, but I can tell you now that they saved lives.’

Though the hotel has not been used for years, it was intended to house more than 70 asylum seekers in the coming weeks.