Hundreds of people gathered for a peaceful protest outside Tipperary County Council in support of local man Sean Meehan who is facing jail after the council instructed him to remove a mobile home off his own land.
As Gript previously reported, Meehan (65), put the caravan – which is encased in a wooden structure and has the appearance of a cabin – on a piece of land he bought after separating from his wife some years ago.
Speaking to Gript, Meehan said he was “overwhelmed” by the outpouring of support he experienced today.
The crowd marched through the streets of Clonmel led by motorcyclists chanting, “Save Sean’s Cabin” before arriving outside the County Council offices.
Although Meehan says he is determined to fight his case he told Gript he has “a bag ready” ahead of his next court appearance.
The 65-year-old said that people had come to the protest from places like Cork, Roscommon, and that one woman had come from the UK.
Meehan – who did not have planning permission before moving the mobile home onto the land – told Gript that the council informed him that the mobile home would devalue the other properties in the area and that the structure was not inline with other buildings in the area.
Meehan was instructed to remove the home off the land by the 14th of March or face jail at the next court hearing of the case on the 4th of April next.
Speaking to Gript yesterday, Meehan said that a judge told him if he did not remove the mobile home off the land – which was previously a derelict site – he would be put in Limerick prison for a period of four months.
Sean Meehan (65) says a judge told him to 'pack a bag' for 4 months in Limerick Prison after Tipperary County Council ordered him to remove his mobile home from his own land.https://t.co/0IUJvHB7u4 pic.twitter.com/5ciHGtiMvS
— gript (@griptmedia) March 15, 2024
TD Mattie McGrath who was in attendance at the protest with his daughter Cllr. Máirín McGrath brought Sean’s plight to the attention of the Dáil last week by calling on the Taoiseach to put in place a moratorium on behalf of what he said was a large number of people in a similar situation which he said was made worse by the country’s ongoing housing crisis.
Speaking to Gript last week McGrath said that the government ‘doesn’t want’ to solve the housing crisis or help people like Meehan who find themselves in a position where they have to live in mobile homes.
TD Mattie McGrath calls on government to intervene as Tipperary man is facing jail after erecting a log cabin on his own land while planning permission is not required for refugee accommodation. pic.twitter.com/SXh3DzJkJy
— gript (@griptmedia) March 6, 2024
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Great people showing up to support Mr Meehan, I don’t know any of you and I hope it isn’t strange to say that I’m proud of you. We the people of Ireland are being treated like serfs to this shameful government, TD Mattie McGrath his daughter Cllr. Máirín McGrath your A rarity, keep it going.
well said
I do not know any if these lovely people. I signed the petition and send thoughts and prayers. This is a disgrace. All the more so, when Dublin is being destroyed by tent cities and Irish homeless. Where is Richard Boyd Barrett?
He’s probably off waving a Palestinian flag somewhere.
I wish that he go and wave his Palestinian flag in Gaza. The Israeli reaction could solve a problem for Ireland.
Dun Leary of course. Among all the other west British.
Thugs are running the country……….except for the fabulous turnout of decent Irishmen and women, most couldn’t care less. same attitude in Limerick in respect of little Noah, who can’t get proper treatment for scoliosis. 1000’s rallied for a fellow thug of “sffffg TD’s”, namely floyd george (woman abuser, drug peddler etc) Few for one of our suffering kids. Shame on Ireland (respect for the tiny minority of real integrity)
If only he was Ukrainian instead of Irish!
Tipperary county council , puppets of the government with the majority of members from FG embedded the local branch office of the regime. Locals know who you are and at election time you all will hopefully be out the door. A bunch of arrogant want to be elitists full of self importance. Once more, Mattie Mc Grath is the only politician who seems to care… where are the great Sinn Fein opposition party in Tipperary ??? Nowhere to be seen
Independents need to go firward for election
Yes.
The message needs to be. if you want things to improve – Get Out & Vote AND Vote Them Out
Please contact me for advice and assistance. Kevin T Finn Potterandfinn@gmail.com Chartered Consulting Engineer. No foal no fee.
Most of us just want peaceful quiet lives, this is clearly impossible with these political parties. I wonder who was the saddo who reported Sean.
The treatment of this Irish man on his OWN LAND is an absolute disgrace and i hope it will be the wake up call this country so desperately needs.
They don’t care one whit for us or our needs. If this man is put in prison for trying to live in peace in his own place of birth because “He doesn’t show a socio-economic need to live in the area” then they are going to have a hurricane of shit coming their way.
How long are we going to tolerate this treatment? If history teaches us anything its that you can put a boot on the neck of the Irish people for so long but by Christ we’re keeping that fucking leg.
Any former rights the Irish people enjoyed under the constitution have been signed over to the state through the Divorce, Nice and Lisbon treaties, redefinition of marriage and abortion as well as the Children’s right referendum. Any authority the Irish people previously enjoyed has been surrendered to the state.
When the Irish people voted for divorce they allowed the Irish state to determine that an Irishman’s home could be sold over his head. The previous understanding that an Irishman was owner of his own property was undermined.
It’s very heartening to see his community coming out to support him. The members of council need ousting, a good thrashing at election time. No matter what sh!te they spout, this structure is on wheels, on his own land that he bought with his own money. Why do they persist with prosecuting and persecuting him? Is it because he’s an older white male with no characteristics that might offer him protected status? It’s outright bullying and an abuse of their office. The structure and the area around it are perfectly respectable and tidy, definitely not an eyesore. I certainly wouldn’t object to something like that in my area. If push comes to shove and some low-life judge sends him away then I hope that his community protects his home in his absence.
Well done to the people of Tipperary.Show these tossers you are not putting up with there nonsense anymore. You make me proud to be irish. You only have to take a read through the articles on the ditch to see how corrupt and one sided these planning laws are.
Tipperary coco’s eviction is worse than the worst excesses of the evicting landlords of the Empire, in the 1800s. That was before the Land War won us our rights to ownership and peaceful possession. Tipp coco are not allowing Sean to have ownership of his own house on his own land. They are not going to compensate him for their destruction of it, either. They are in fact, stealing it. Eviction, jail, robbery, homelessness and pure abuse is Sean’s fate under this council. It is corruption from a corrupt government.
A beautiful house in muted natural colours, that fits in exactly right with nature and the rural landscape. He fits the requirement of economic and social needs a billion times over.
The battering ram of the 1800s was free.
Tipperary coco of 2024 charge for theirs.
Sean has to pay the council for the destruction of his home.
His case couldn’t be worse.
What’s your charge?
Do you have a list of charges for different house sizes?
When was the amount conceived and by what council committee?
They do it because, they CAN Casso, but it is up to us; the electorate, to shove them off their thrones. Seán’s situation, painful as it is, is now a BEACON We can’t allow the ‘Establishment’ to do what they like with anybody they like. They would like to think that they are making an ‘example’ of Seán, but Seán is actually making an example of them and showing them up for what they realy are – the Dreggs of humanity, lower than a snakes belly, evil and heartless. The Co. co are included in that too but they are dancing to whatever tune they are playing in Leinster House and, indeed, they are dancing for the EU. Time for Ousting my friends!
The only time the Irish government/state bureaucracy will intervene is when Irish citizens are perceived to be in breach of the law.
It’s a mobile home that Sean insulated by adding insulation and wood cladding. If that’s his home as shown on the banners, Sean has created a cosy and very astetically pleasing home for himself.
Tipp County Council are just showing themselves to be bullies.
I wonder if Gript could FOI Tipp council and question how many people they’ve housed over the last three years and how many of them were white Irish single males.
I’d wager zero white Irish single males.
There are log cabins in many parts of Ireland, often for rental. This includes Tipperary. There is a lovely log cabin over Lough Derg. So why can’t Sean’s pass muster with the same council? His home is not a nuisance, no pollution and it is not causing disturbance. It is in total harmony with its surroundings. It is a terrible injustice to fire Sean out, jail him and charge him for their destruction of his only place to live. Brutal behaviour from a brutal regime.
Government officials and politicians often engage in discussions regarding preventive measures against homelessness, yet their actions sometimes contradict these discussions, as evidenced by the case involving Sean and his residence. A comparable scenario unfolded with a homeless family I assisted: a mother with her son and daughter faced eviction and struggled to find affordable housing. Eventually, she located a one-bedroom apartment and inquired with the city council about receiving Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) for this smaller accommodation. Despite her willingness to adapt by using a sofa bed in the living room, the city council denied her request, citing the need for a two-bedroom apartment due to her children. Consequently, she has been residing in homeless accommodation for over two years, highlighting a gap between prevention rhetoric and action.
Furthermore, when attempting to register a man from Kerry as homeless in Dublin—who had been living on the streets for six years—I encountered resistance due to his lack of local connections, with a suggestion that he return to Kerry. This contrasts sharply with the immediate registration of individuals arriving from Romania or Moldova. Such experiences underscore the daily challenges and inconsistencies faced in addressing homelessness.
This regime is harrassing and trying to wipe out the most vulnerable of the Irish. Bureaucrats who reject the number of rooms one is renting as being inadequate, but see nothing wrong with firing a family into homeless accomodation instead. I have heard of a similar case being told to return to their county of origin, despite no available accomodation there. Nothing but abuse for Paddy but you’re royalty in Ireland if you’re a Ukrainian cat or dog. Free flights, free vet care, free food, only the best. Maybe if there is a person you are helping that the council rejects, tell the story here. Then a throng of others go in support to the council office. We must resist louder. Make our presence felt. They are thugs without a conscience.