Above is an illustration by Phill Barret that accompanied a piece on rising house prices from rabble 7. Back at the start of October, a licorice all sorts box of academics and activists from all strands gathered for a day school on the housing crisis. Bits and pieces from the day have started appearing online as food for thought. First up there’s a recording of the proceedings featuring … Read More
Right2Housing In A Homeless Crisis.
Dublin City Councillors joined activists today to highlight boarded up homes around the city while over 3,000 are now in temporary accommodation in the capital. The #Right2Housing campaign is a network of organisations and individuals campaigning for a meaningful response from government to the homeless and housing crisis. We caught up with these activists in Dublin 8, a stone’s throw from Christchurch cathedral. Cllr Bríd Smith of People Before Profit: … Read More
7 Storey Squat.
Credit: The above photo comes from the Grangegorman Facebook page. Plans by a disgraced solicitor to build a 7 storey student accommodation block on the former site of Grangegorman squat are giving Dublin City Council “serious concerns”. The developer at the centre of the controversial project is LHC Properties, run by solicitor Henry Colley. Mr. Colley, son of the late Fianna Fáil Minister for Finance George Colley, came to notoriety … Read More
Disappearing Belfast.
Pictured: A graphical rendering of the planned Northside development and above it the Sunflower pub as pictured on Geograph.ie Another day, another regeneration project, rolled out by the great and the good for the benefit of the mass unwashed. Peg Leeson grabs her quill and takes a look. The recent launch of the Belfast Northside regeneration project has been heralded in the local meedja as providing much need accommodation … Read More
#FallonsFables: Iveagh An Idea!
As rents continue to soar and more and more people become locked out of the housing market, Donal Fallon takes us back to the lofty co-operative housing schemes built for workers by the corporations of Dublin and weighs up their experience against similar ventures abroad. In his wonderful oral history of the Dublin tenements, it was pointed out by one wise lady to Kevin Kearns about the tenements of the past … Read More
Inside The Grangegorman Squat.
Reader Sean Fitzgerald just sent this in. It’s an hour long recording of a discussion where the Grangegorman squatters outline their vision for the occupied space to members of the broader community and talk about activities in the space. The chat covers topics as diverse as guerrilla composting, free theatre and how you can build a 2 bedroom modern appartment with underfloor heating (powered by horseshit and wood chip) … Read More
Housing Despite Tories.
A march of thousands through South London has finished with the occupation of an estate marked for demolition. The March for Homes over the weekend which demonstrated at City Hall has highlighted the need for social housing – something that’s anathema to Boris Johnson’s vision for London. Aylesbury Estate, marked for demolition against the requests of residents, has been occupied in the manner of the Focus E15 Mothers. More information via … Read More
Dear Dublin 7.
With rent prices sky rocketing across Dublin, many friends of rabble are upping sticks and heading to pastures new. Pauliina Spockinen is one of these. She penned this wistful farewell to D7. Have you been pushed out of an area you loved? dear dublin 7, it’s time for us to part ways. i never thought it would come to this. i suppose i knew something was up when you … Read More
Trickling Up From The Basement.
You’re probably blue in the face hearing about the housing crisis, the increase in rent, the holy grail of owning the roof over your head. There are solutions to the problems though. Michael Taft details a few. This housing crisis is having a devastating impact on the households affected and the wider economy. In 2013, there were 90,000 households on the social housing waiting list – the majority waiting for … Read More
A Battle Fought Before.
In recent months there has been a plethora of housing action campaigns established, all wishing to raise awareness around the issue of working class housing (or the lack of it) in Ireland today. Donal Fallon takes us back to the crowbar brigades and squatting tactics of the 1960s’ Dublin Housing Action Campaign. The 1960s witnessed very real agitation on the issue of housing, with the establishment of the Dublin Housing … Read More