Dublin squatters recieve Notice To Quit from Dublin City Council - effective immediately

dublin | anti-capitalism | news report

Thursday March 18, 2004 14:27

by k magpie - magpie collective (personal capacity)

Brief story about the house - and some old photos from August 2003, which have not been published until now.

Paint peeling from walls

When does the story of a house and its inhabitants begin? This particular story should kick off in August 2003, when half a dozen people decided they were going to live in No. 16 Upper Leeson Street.

It begins before that however. Paraphrasing (and altering) a question that's been asked before, "where is there space in this city to create?", the potential occupants of the house met regularly wherever they could over the summer of 2003 - in parks, in squares, on office steps - to discuss methods and means of creating a space in Dublin that could encourage meaningful and inventive ways of organising and living.

The Celtic Tiger era means that cheap rents are gone. The culture of money is all pervasive. The city spreads its tentacles into the western fields, soulless glass and chrome office blocks populate the city skyline, and the humanity of a city is choked to death. People spend half their lives in cars, spending half their income on property.

Two favourite topics of "canteen/water-cooler" conversation are the traffic chaos in Dublin, and the perpertual upwards spiral of house prices. Yet it never seems to develop past a clucking of tongues and shaking of heads. Sometimes the solutions are just outside the window. That derelict building across the street is huge. Why is it just sitting there?

Squatting is a form of direct action that challenges head on the evils of property speculation and neglect IMMEDIATELY.

The first night, we slept on a hard concrete floor. Breathing in dust that had lain silent for possibly a decade. The building had been left to rot. Windows were left wide open, and were smashed & cracked. The plaster ceilings had been removed, exposing the floor cross beams. The drains were clogged with weeds and dirt. The roof leaked when it rained.

We repaired and replaced the windows, including the large window in the front that had been boarded up. We tied sheets to the ceilings and took measures to stop the damp seeping in. We unblocked the drains which were causing damage to the outside brickwork and put in new plastic piping. We repaired the roof with sealant and woodstain. We scraped the walls clean and painted & carpeted the house from top to bottom. We built furniture from the wood panels used to mix cement.

Sleeping arrangements

Eating, sleeping, living room.

Master bedroom, with ensuite bathroom.

(ensuite bathroom may require some work)

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Comments (11 of 11)

More photos...

by k magpie

Thu Mar 18, 2004 14:32

We exhaustively cleared ten years of weed growth from the back garden. We hauled and dumped all the rubble that was strewn around the patio out the back door. We turned the soil over again & again, clearing the weeds and giving it a chance to breathe. We dug holes and composted all our organic food waste, which is now turning into good fertiliser. Garlics and potatoes have been planted, and other crops will soon be added.

The work continued. Cleaning, scraping, painting, repairing. Word filtered out to our friends that there was something happening. People donated resources such as paint, grout, sealant, tools, furniture, sheets etc, which were all hugely appreciated - and which we have to thank you for.

After a couple of months the house started approaching normality. More bedrooms and communal rooms became available, through sheer hard work and perseverance. Eleven hour days of physical labour were the norm. Word now spread beyond our immediate friends. We were still there - and we were growing in confidence. Squatting in Dublin? No such thing, people said. That only happens on the continent. It couldnt happen here.

But no, here it was. Proof it could happen and was happening. People came and wandered around the building, and more events started to happen. The library found its natural home, and donations of books and fanzines started to arrive. Bits of bikes in need of repair found their way into the back room. Food Not Bombs eventually had a small, but manageable kitchen to work from. We got to know our neighbours who were happy to see the building being inhabited at last, and they too became involved in the events organised in the house.

The house worked its way from there. People visited from all over the world and stayed with us. They helped with the day to day stuff such as the washing up and food runs. They saw a great example of how communal living can work with time and effort. We recieved letters from people telling us how we had given them something positive to bring back to their home, and how our work was inspiring them to do something similar.

So now, as of Tuesday March 16th around 5pm, Dublin City Council have issued a Notice To Quit - effective IMMEDIATELY. Those at No. 16 Upper Leeson Street intend to contest this by any and all means necessary to defend what they have created over the last seven months. We want to say thank you to EVERYONE, friends, neighbours from the local community, and supporters who have helped us and who came down last Tuesday to support us. Watch this space for further details and updates on the situation.

These photos are from mid August 2003, when the building was still in near ruins. Photos of the building in its current state will be available soon.

Back garden - overgrown with weeds

Hallway
Hallway

tools stacked up in the "hippie room" (paint scheme from previous occupants!)

Kitchen may also need some work.

more pix

Thu Mar 18, 2004 14:36

the back windows were left open when we moved in - very bad for the building.

Ivy had choked the drains and nearly jammed the window open

The basement.

More of the basement.

"The Bachelor Pad"

Thu Mar 18, 2004 14:40

Stairwell

Scrape and Paint time...

Cobwebs in the ceiling.

Another bedroom pre-paint job.

last four.

Thu Mar 18, 2004 14:44

Everyone - thanks again for all your help - if you want to get in touch with us, then you can email: iwannaspace (at) wildmail (dot) com

the kitchen

the kitchen eating area.

stairwell

purple wall.

solidarity

by David

Thu Mar 18, 2004 14:48

I offer everything i have to give if possible to protect your home and the wonderful resource the magpies have created for the people of dublin

Great!

by Kanda

Thu Mar 18, 2004 15:12

You did great work. Dont let them evict you.

History and background

by Andrew

Thu Mar 18, 2004 15:14

I'm putting together and index of articles on housing, squatting and social spaces in Ireland for the WSM section of the Struggle site. What I have already is at http://struggle.ws/wsm/housing.html

I'd appreciate links to any other material that may be online, in particular Just Books, Giros (both Belfast) the Arran Quay squat (95?) and Spacecraft. So if you know of such info online please post a link as a comment below or email them to strugglesite AT eircom.net

wheres the after pictures

by jh

Thu Mar 18, 2004 16:07

after pictures

by magpie

Fri Mar 19, 2004 16:06

will be up as soon as the roll is finished and returned from the developers

go on the lads!!!

by krs - Heretik Sound System (Paris/France)

Mon Mar 22, 2004 11:07

krs at heretik dot org

just to say that i probably know a couple of u guys ....
and that even across the sea people are supporting you....
squating should b recognize as public utility!!!
and the landlords living building roting all over our countries should b depossessed of those property (and even fine or/and jailled for non assistance on endangered people!!!)

keep it hard

KRS

Magpie Plans?

by Leon

Mon Mar 22, 2004 16:05

Incidentally are you planning to resist this eviction or simply move on?

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Dublin squatters recieve Notice To Quit from Dublin City Council - effective immediately

Comments (11 of 11)