Grangegorman's eviction - Press release

dublin | housing | feature

Monday March 23, 2015 22:56

by Grangegorman squat

Scenes turn ugly later as baliffs and hired thugs attack the residents, driving a van into the crowd -see comments for updates

Baliffs, hired thugs and Garda try
to force their way in. Later they turn violent.

A massive eviction is underway in Dublin. It is at the complex of occupied houses and former factory spaces in Grangegorman. Reports indicate that at 7am in the morning a very large number of private security angle grinder their way through one of the metal gates, invaded the area en massed and are erecting barriers (pictured) inside and trying to evict the occupants.

At 6.30 am this morning, around 30 workers broke into a squatted complex on the lower Grangegorman Road that is home to about 30 people. (The space is home to a flourishing community with homes, community gardens and a strong cultural base; including art exhibitions, poetry nights, a circus space and a community kitchen.)

Although no court order had been issued to residents, the gardai assisting in the eviction. One of the houses in the complex has been fenced off by workers, illegally imprisioning some of the residents.

This is yet another example of how the government would prefer empty buildings to stay empty, while the number of families on the streets increases daily. So far the eviction is being resisted by the community.

Update: Grangegorman éviction resistance is still underway with more people arriving down to support all the time.

The residents have managed to get a chain on and lock this huge gat limiting the access bailiffs have to the site. However the electricity has been cut off to their houses so they are asking that people bring down hot food if they can. Raingear and warm clothes are also sought so that people can maintain the roof and gate top occupations.

All sorts of support are welcome, even simply turning up and letting the Garda and bailiffs know that their actions are being monitored.

The footage and interviews we uploaded to https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=347131162142993 will give you a good sense of what is happening. Please share that video out

Src: https://www.facebook.com/SolidarityTimes

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People are asked to make their way to the area, its on the street behind the Cobblestone pub at the top of the Smithfield square

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Comments (5 of 5)

Bailiffs get ugly and violent and hit squatters with rocks to the head

by anon

Mon Mar 23, 2015 21:49

Just in from https://www.facebook.com/SolidarityTimes

We've just heard that the bailiffs trying to evict the people living in the Grangegorman complex have attacked the defenders. They have been trying to evict people from their homes since 7am when they broke through the gates using angle grinders and assaulted the residents.

Earlier today the residents managed to get the gates locked again. The gates are still locked shut trapping the bailiffs vans inside the yard, they can walk out at any time they just can't remove their vehicles.

There was a change of shift of the bailiffs. The new bailiffs arriving refused to identify what company they were working for and were considerably more aggressive with people.

6-8 Bailiffs started pulling people off the gate which is 4m high, putting peoples lives at risk. One person stood in front of them, he was attacked by several bailiffs who knocked him to the ground and tried to drag him out of sight. As people feared what might happen if he was removed from view several people came to his defence resulting in a fraca. A couple of people were injured by being hit on the head by rocks thrown by security at this point.

More garda have now arrived on the scene and there is a tense standoff. People have been asked to go down and add to the numbers to de escalate the confrontation the bailiffs are creating. Three people are still on the gate and a number of people are on the streets outside.

Meanwhile the illegal nature of this mornings eviction and the fact that the Garda present continued to co-operated and indeed threaten people long after this was made clear to them has started to attract international attention. Al Jazerra have even carried an item on the standoff - see http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201503231341-0024640

There is now a support page for the residents up at https://www.facebook.com/resistgg follow that to get updates as the situation develops

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Prediction: Garda will more than likely arrest the squatters. They will take absolutely no action against the bailiff hired thugs who hit people on the head with rocks. The job of the Garda is to protect the rich and corporate interests.

Caption: Interviews and footage from the attempted eviction of Grangegorman occupied complex

Baliffs drive van into residents at eviction. No one killed due to prompt action to stop it

Mon Mar 23, 2015 22:22

Baliffs at the attempted eviction of Grangegorman have turned very violent. Two of the residents were injured by rocks thrown at them, others attacked by metal bars.

A few minutes ago the bailiffs drove a van into the defenders with people being knocked over. People were being dragged under and could have been killed but the van was brought to a halt by protesters.

It appears at around this time one of the protesters was knocked off a wall and is now unconscious. One person was also ran over by the van and has a leg injury. Two fire brigade and an ambulance are now on the scene. One of the injuries appears to be serious

Garda are present but have taken no action against this thuggery. Support is wanted.

Baliffs at Grangegorm eviction have driven van into residents -no one killed due to prompt action to stop it

Video footage of last nights attack by Baliffs hired thugs

Tue Mar 24, 2015 09:07

Footage of bailiffs driving van into & over residents of Grangegorman last night. This incident occurred after a long day that started with dozens of men invading people's homes at 6.39am to carry out a physical force eviction without a court eviction order.

Garda took part in this offensive even after they were told the papers they had been shown were not an eviction order. Later in the day bailiffs attacked residents with iron bars & rocks resulting in injuries, all before this final incident last night.

It was only after this incident that the bailiffs finally abandoned the eviction attempt in the face of a huge angry mobilisation from people living in the area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0betNkUhJdI

Caption: Grangegorman footage

MSM minimise incident coverage, omit garda presence detail and play down baliff violence

by anon2

Tue Mar 24, 2015 17:12

indo version tucked away well down the page, tones down the baliffs violence and does not mention gardai presence or court orders.
what a shock!
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/grangegorman-squat....html

surprisingly for the IT, this actually wasn't a bad opinion piece courtesy of Una Mullaley. Perhaps there's hope yet?
The Grangegorman Squat -Alternative spaces are where interesting things happen.

Grangegorman residents are in the High Court tomorrow morning

Tue Mar 24, 2015 22:54

Grangegorman residents are in the High Court tomorrow morning. They are asking people who support them to gather at Grangegorman from 8am tomorrow morning.

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Grangegorman's eviction - Press release

Comments (5 of 5)