Dublin: Grangegorman’s eviction

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.
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Dublin: The Barricade Inn, a new squatted anarchist social center

Dublin_The_Barricade_Inn_bannersquatchoiceIn the heart of Dublin, a new collective has occupied an old building, previously known as Neary’s hotel, to create a new radical, autonomous social centre and infoshop for our city. A few hundred metres down the road from the Garden of Remembrance — a place many of us know as the starting point for marches and demos protesting the injustices and manifestations of oppression and repression perpetuated by the state and the capitalist, white supremacist, patriarchal system that rules over us — we are reclaiming our city and reclaiming power and control over our own lives.

With this space, we hope to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, radical debate and an introduction to anarchist critique of our society. We will strive to provide a safe(r) space free from sexism, racism, classism, hetero-normativity and other systems of oppression. We want to create and foster our own culture, one that values and encompasses a diversity of cultures while rejecting the imposed dominant one, and that is based on freedom, mutual aid, voluntary association and respect. [Read More]

Dublin: Housing Activists’ Cases Dismissed From Court

20150217_Dublin_Housing_Activists_Cases_Dismissed_From_CourtToday 8 housing activists from An Spreach Housing Action Committee and from D8HAC were up in court. All 8 were charged with trespassing on the 29th of July 2014 in a vacant flat in Charlemount Street in Dublin’s south inner city. All charges were dismissed by the court. This is a small victory for the housing groups, but the struggle continues it is not the end of the campaign to highlight the homeless and housing crisis.

An Spreach was formed to help highlight the homeless and housing crisis by methods of direct action. In the sort time of An Spreach’s existence it has been involved in helping stop house evictions; banner drops around the city; removed homeless spikes that were erected outside the Department of Social Protection (homeless people were sleeping in the Department’s doorway to try get some protection from the elements (these spikes were made from cement and bolted to the ground to prevent homeless people sleeping there); and An Spreach liberated a vacant flat in the Tom Kelly flat complex in Charlemount Street in Dublin’s south inner city. An Spreach was created by housing activists that were sick and tired of the lack of action and change from politicians and community representatives in trying to combat the problems of the homelessness and the housing crisis. [Read More]

A Squatters Guide to Belfast

“You can’t squat in Belfast. Why? Because you… well you just can’t.” – Les Enfant Sans Souci

Draconian laws. Psycho cops. Paramilitaries. Hoods with petrol bombs. Squatting in Northern Ireland presents us with its own unique set of challenges. The very existence of these challenges has been used (and is still used) by generations of hippies, anarchists, punks and autonomists (traditional overt squatters) as an excuse not to bother trying. Not that Northern Ireland is particularly bad in this regard; in every thriving squat scene in Europe, from Amsterdam to Barcelona to London, people report the hardest bit was overcoming the initial fear and pessimism. In Helsinki, Dublin and Belgrade people are just beginning to take part in overt political squatting again and are encountering much the same nihilist apathy, at least initially. [Read More]

Charing Cross, London: Love Activists Christmas project evicted by bailiffs with injunction

Updates from Love Activists facebook page (from 12:30pm), see video from Occupy London:

5o mins: Police are threatening to seize residents’ belongings if they do not leave the premises
1 hr: Police Are intimidating residents and dragging them out,
1 hr : Come make as much noise as possible, police have taped off the street as bailiffs illegally evict love activists from 2a charring cross road
1 hr: HELP!! We are being illegally evicted!
2 hrs: Baliffs have forced entry and are illegally evicted the squat as we speak. They can not produce any paperwork or identification. Please help if you can! 1a charing cross road, london [Read More]

Dublin: Practical Squatting Nights in Seomra Spraoi!

Seomra Spraoi / Thursday 20th November (3rd Thursday of every Month) / 6pm–8pm

Are you interested in squatting in Dublin? Do you want to meet and network with other squatters? Are you looking for other people to squat with? Do you have questions about the law, or other practical aspects of squatting? Do you need help finding an empty building? Then you should come to Practical Squatting Nights in Seomra Spraoi this Thursday!
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Dublin: International Squatters Convergence, September 25-28, 2014

Who ever said you can’t squat in Ireland?!
Over the last few years, a blossoming community of squats has been popping up all over Ireland, and we’re learning a lot through our experiences. We want to invite you to Dublin this September to come share your stories, knowledge and experiences with squatting in your communities.

So get ready for a whole feckin’ extended week-end of workshops, skillshares, gigs, film screenings, networking, vegan food, scheming, and perhaps some overthrowing of the state… to celebrate SQUATTING in a world overflowing with tragically beautiful empties! [Read More]

Dublin: Eviction attempt defeated in Grangegorman

Wednesday 21st saw another successful defense against an eviction in Dublin. This time in the Stoneybatter area. We put out an alert after we were told that a gang of 3 men with crowbars “came this afternoon and broke in to one of the houses. About 40-50 people showed up outside to show support, then 5 Garda showed up. People inside resisted and argued until the alleged owners and Garda left the house and left the street to a large round of applause.

Everything is cool now. The street was closed off and there was lots of music, food, fun, and we managed to get the support of many parents and school children on the way home from school. [Read More]

Dublin: Housing Action, Past, Present and Future

Over the years, Dublin’s working class has organised to fight landlords, developers and politicians in search of decent housing and well-being for all. This panel at the 9th Dublin anarchist bookfair considered how some of these earlier campaigns and direct actions can inform today’s struggles.

Trade union activist Mick O’Reilly remembered the Dublin Housing Action Committee of the early 1970s.

Longtime trade union activist and anarchist Alan MacSimoin recalled the Dublin Squatters Association of the mid-1970s.

Community activist John Bissett discusseed confronting public-private partnerships before and after the property crash.

Conor Murphy, an activist and squatter from the North Inner City talked about current attempts to turn Dublin’s empty buildings into decent living spaces.

Dublin Housing Action: Past, Present and Future – Anarchist bookfair 2014 audio [Read More]

Dublin: An update from one of the squatters in Grangegorman after Day One of Eviction Resistance

Today (Weds) was very quiet; there was no eviction attempt. We were prepared for the worst, but no cops called around, nobody claiming to be the owner, nothing. Just to recap, we are preparing ourselves to resist eviction because previously, on Friday, two people claiming to be agents acting on behalf of a company, which they claimed own two of the houses, came to illegally board them up. When we weren’t letting them do so, they called the cops. The cops decided not to do anything because they did not have the paperwork or legal authorisation to evict us[1]. However, the “owners” and the cops did say that they’d be back on Wednesday (today) with “papers”. [Read More]

Dublin: Political squat facing eviction in Grangegorman

“300,000 empty houses in Ireland, 5,000 people homeless”

A group of political squatters in Dublin are facing eviction from a row of empty, unused, rotting houses in Lower Grangegorman. We got a chance to speak to them and hear their side of the story. They are calling for people to come and help them resist eviction from Wednesday onwards.

After the arrival of Gardaí on Thursday and Friday (24th & 25th October) squatters in a row of occupied empty houses in Lower Grangegorman are facing eviction from their homes. They are calling for supporters to gather at the house to show solidarity and help them to resist this invasion of their home. [Read More]

Dublin: Successful anti-eviction defence

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.
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