About 200 people attended a demonstration in Drogheda, Co Louth, on Saturday to protest against a decision to house 500 asylum seekers in the local D Hotel.
The demonstration, which lasted more than two hours, was attended by a number of prominent right wing political activists from organisations including the Irish Freedom Party and the National Party. Members of the public also made contributions before the event passed off peacefully.
The 113-bedroom facility is the biggest hotel in the town and local councillors believe there will be a net loss to Drogheda of €5.4 million per year from the absence of visitors. They have also complained of a lack on consultation ahead of the decision.
On Saturday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar signalled a partial reversal of the decision, saying part of the hotel may now remain in use as a commercial premises, while other hotels in the town currently used for accommodating Ukrainian refugees may also be brought back into use.
Speaking after the protest, Dominic Carthy (50), who has lived in Drogheda for 20 years, said he had been observing the demonstration “from a distance”.
He said: “Most of the people there were not from the town itself. It appears as though there is a bit of a tour around the country going on, and there were no local politicians there either. It wasn’t exactly representative of the town.
“At the end of the day, I don’t agree with the decision on the hotel because there is massive tourism industry here. You’ve got the Battle of the Boyne; you’ve got Newgrange; there are several golf courses around; weddings happening here.”
Sandra and Marina, two sisters in their 60s, said their attendance at the demonstration had caused conflict within their family.
“We were at the protest. We have mixed emotions. Obviously we don’t want to come across as being racist or far right, but it is going to ruin a town that is already on its knees,” said Sandra.
“My daughter is very much for all the refugees. When I said I was going to the protest, she literally blanked us for the whole day. She’s 29. She’ll get over it. She doesn’t realise that I’m doing this for her. She’s trying to buy a house here.
“Our young people have no homes. My son is gone to Australia. My daughter can’t find anywhere to rent. She can’t get a mortgage.
“I think the protest is more about how the Irish people are being treated by the Government. I agreed with a lot of it, but you can’t say ‘let’s keep Ireland for the Irish’. If someone is here for 20 years and has integrated into the country, there is nothing wrong with that.”
Philip Campbell (44), lives in the town but commutes to Dublin for work. He said the mood of the town was about “50/50″ on the issue of the hotel.
“I was over at the protest earlier on just for 10 or 15 minutes,” he said. “I only went over because I thought it was to do with the hotel, but I didn’t think it was really about that. It was just anti-immigrant. They don’t want them at all. To be honest, that’s not fair. A lot of Irish went to different countries and people have taken them in.”
Frank Godfrey, a former mayor of the town, said the hotel was “one of the best things that ever happened to Drogheda”, and that there is “a lot of anger” in the town.
“We have busloads of visitors who come here and stay at the hotel,” he said. “It’s an amenity that is going to be badly missed.
“I love the D Hotel. I go there for my lunch on a regular basis. I was on my way down to have a meal there and the guard stopped me and told me it was closed. We want our hotel back, and we want a couple of additional hotels. Half of Dublin is living here at the moment.”
As he spoke, he was interrupted by a passerby. “I was disappointed to see you at that [event] Frank,” the woman called.
Alice Sheridan (57), who works in Staffords Fine Foods, has been living and working in the town for 19 years.
“I absolutely love it here,” she said. “I’m originally from Dublin but I wouldn’t go back for all the money in the world. It’s a small town – a happy town – and it’s a good community.
“We are all so annoyed. I had loads of customers in today who were on the protest. I would have been at it myself only I’m just literally walking out of work.
“Where are all the stags and hens coming from the UK going to go? Are the schools going to be overcrowded?... It’s unfair. Everyone is welcome, but this is not a rich town.”
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday, the Taoiseach said he understood the concerns of local people “that losing the major hotel in their town would be a major set back in terms of what has been achieved in the town in recent years”.
Mr Varadkar said he and Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman are exploring solutions, including the possibility that some of the hotel will remain in use for commercial purposes, while the rest is used for asylum seekers.
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