Protests are continuing at Thornton Hall in Meath, where the Garda Public Order Unit – commonly known as the Garda Riot Squad – has been dispatched.
One local woman in attendance at the ongoing protest told Gript that protestors are “not letting any workers” into the building, with locals remaining at the site around the clock for the last three weeks. According to the woman and other local sources, the public order unit was dispatched on two separate occasions on Wednesday, as the protest continued into the night.
The site in Fingal is due to house 1,000 asylum seekers in tented accommodation before the end of the month. The Department of Justice announced last month that the site will be utilised for “emergency style” tents, with five acres of the site set to initially be used for tented-village style accommodation.
Separately, it is understood that 25 acres of the site is being considered for a permanent structure to house asylum seekers, sparking considerable concern from some locals.
The plans for the former farmhouse and farmlands, once promised to house a super prison, has left locals shocked and furious.
One woman in attendance at today’s rolling protest, who did not wish to be named, said that locals are concerned that Ashbourne will turn into a “migrant town,” with large numbers of asylum seekers being placed at the 156-acre State-owned site close to Dublin.
“We’ve had a large group there today, we are rallying together and there is a large group of us at the site at the front gates. We let the staff in, but we are not allowing any workers onto the site,” she said.
“The government no longer have the Irish people’s interests at heart, and that’s very disheartening. It’s sad to see Ireland fall apart. We’ve always been a welcoming country and we’ve always been more than happy to bring people here and give others a better life. We’ve always been polite and respectful.
“But the minute you raise your head and say that the numbers coming are too much, and you’re not ok with the government’s approach, that’s the minute you’re classed as a racist.
“I’m not a racist, absolutely not. That label doesn’t work for me. What I am, and what other parents of young children are, is scared. I’m very scared along with so many local parents. We’ve asked our TDs, and they’re completely ignoring us with their heads in the sand.
“We’ve been told by garda that we are looking at thousands going into this area. It’s a 160 acre site, and we are worried that the migrant hotels will be emptied, and people will just be dumped here. We’ve been told that essentially Ashbourne is going to become a migrant town. As residents, we are not ok with that.
“We’re doing this for our kids and the future of the town. But we are very worried about what the approach of the gardai will be, seeing the public order unit arriving. Things are heating up,” she said.
“About 40 garda cars just pulled up,” the local protestor told Gript this afternoon.
According to the local woman, the public order unit attended twice during Wednesday, but has now left.
According to the local source, there is a good relationship between locals and the gardai, who “do not want this anymore than we do.”
“We’ve had no issues with the public order unit. To be honest, the gardai have been lovely. We have not been rude or disrespectful to them. We don’t want that, and that’s not us.”
While speaking on the phone, there was the audible sound of cars beeping their horns in support of the protest.
“We’ve had huge support,” the source said. “People are coming onboard with us now, now that there is a bigger realisation about what is happening, and the scale of the crisis we are facing.”
The local source claimed that a garda had informed locals that the site could potentially accommodate tens of thousands of people on a permanent basis.
“It’s going to be a huge place,” she said.
“None of the garda want this either. We’ve been speaking to them at the site today, and their attitude is, “We don’t want this, but what can we do?” Realistically though, the gardai are the middle-men and if they say no to the government, it all stops. But they won’t say no, so this will carry on.
“It’s a shame, because many of them are local, and live nearby, so they have similar concerns. One garda who lives quite close to the site told me himself that he was nervous about the plans. But he also said there is a separate gardai unit that deals with this, so they are not fully aware of the plans.”
“We’ve been told that eventually there will be houses and apartments built at the site, turning it into a migrant town essentially. We are worried that all of the men who are in hotels and temporary accommodation will be placed here on a permanent basis, totally overwhelming our community. It’s going to be a bit of a nightmare.”
“The site is ideal from the perspective of the government. We get that – it’s the closest to Dublin that you could get, and it’s State owned. but when they walk out the gate of this place, there’s only left or right to go.
“Right is Ashbourne, and left is Finglas, where they can carry on through on the bus to town. Realistically, many will go local – and the most local village is Ashbourne. Many people in Ashbourne are part of the protests, and they believe this will be a disaster for the village, yet people there have not been involved in the discussion about this at all.”
“We have a number of concerns. Some of our key concerns include the fact that the government is bringing in everyone and anyone. There are no checks. It’s also so close to us – we have a primary school nearby, literally metres up the road, in view of the site. We also have to consider the many elderly people who live locally, some of whom have voiced their concerns to us. They mainly live by themselves, and they are very upset and very concerned. I’ve given a few of them my number, and I’ve told them they can call me anytime.
The source said she had spoken to Garda, who had admitted that the plans for the site would put pressure on local policing.
“I spoke to one garda today, who told me they are already stretched, and that this is going to be tough for them to manage. There will need to be so much extra policing and there just isn’t the capacity there. We’ve heard concerns from not only locals but gardai and security that they’re afraid of this place opening. We’re urging everyone who is not happy to stand up and say no to this plan.”
The local source said that there has been much talk of Friday’s European elections at the protests, with those in attendance planning to vote for independent and nationalist candidates.
“There are several people I’ve spoken to who have said they were Sinn Fein voters all their lives, but not anymore. Things are changing, and I believe people will make their vote count at the ballot box this week.”
The protests come just days after Taoiseach Simon Harris was confronted at a supermarket in Ashbourne by locals while canvassing for EU Fine Gael candidate Nina Carberry.
Video footage of the incident, which took place in Dunnes, captured frustrated locals challenging the Fine Gael leader over the issue of Thornton Hall.
”Are you here to talk to the residents about Thornton Hall? You should be ashamed of yourself,” one woman is heard shouting. Another said, ”Simon Harris,.. Thornton Hall is five minutes up the road – you’re walking past the issues.”
Another person is heard shouting,” Yeah, exactly.”