Workers Solidarity Movement

Around lunchtime on April 15th we received word that there was an anti-eviction protest underway on Manor street in Dublin outside a house that had been squatted.  A Garda had called at the door that morning and after being refused entrance had said he'd be back later with more Garda. The building had been squatted on and off a couple of times in recent years and was recently re-occupied.

Call outs to support the inhabitants went out on social media and before long it was reported that a crowd and gathered outside and that there was a "Relaxed atmosphere at the protest with a lot of people handing out in front of the house and chatting with the neighbours. A late lunch is about to be served."

Perhaps put off by the show of support the Garda failed to return but squatters occupying abandoned buildings in Ireland remain in a precarious situation legally and both lack the security and face harsher consequences than squatters in many other European countries.

WORDS: @Andrew Flood 

The magazine Rabble interviews the squatter and reported

One of the squatters Shane told me: ”We have a neighbour next door, who’s used the garden. We’ve talked to them – they know we are here.”

Another called Charlotte said ”When we were fixing the windows two weeks ago everyone that was passing was like ‘great job, everyone was really happy – the front garden looks nice, everyone looks happy we are doing something with the house because it has been abandoned. The windows have been broken for ever. Everyone knows its been empty, so they can see the work ”
Shane followed up with: “this is the first time we have done, a ‘hello everyone, this is us squatting blatant and public about it and we are really happy with how its going.”

The house is in a fairly rough state, but the renovation work carried out by the squatters is evident  - even given their obvious limited resources. The later half of the audio report below contains details of the damage the landlord inflicted on the house and the present occupiers efforts to fix it up. Including some ingenious use of pallets. At the end we got some opinions off some mouthy local school kids who were well on the side of squatters. - extracted from Rabble report on eviction defence

Rabble video