BREAKING: Roscrea Racket Hall protest ends

THE marathon protest outside the entrance to the Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea has ended this morning.

Protestors remained encamped outside the premises since January 11, when news broke the hotel was to close to the public and be repurposed to provide emergency accommodation for people seeking asylum in Ireland.

The former hotel is understood to have reached capacity in recent days and now accommodates 160 people who are families seeking international protection across it's 40 rooms.

The protest outside the premises ended this morning and demonstrators are removing their signs and the trailers used to provide shelter.

Local support for the demonstration began to wane recently, with many locals expressing concern that the residents of the former hotel may feel intimidated by protestors maintaining a 24/7 presence outside their accommodation.

A protest march from the former hotel and through the town in January was supported by over 2,000 people and large crowds who thronged the town centre were addressed by independent councillors and TDs from Tipperary and Offaly. 

Earlier this week the Racket Hall protest returned to international headlines when the New York Times published an article critical of the response to immigration in Ireland and citing Roscrea as a microcosm of the the national picture.  

Speaking to the Tribune, one of the organisers of the protest, Roscrea woman Maria Phelan, said their demonstration was directed towards government and attempting to highlight the dearth of resources to accommodate a dramatic influx of people in the town.

Crowds who marched in support of the Racket Hall protestors on Castle Street in Roscrea. Photo: PJ Wright

"We are so proud of what we achieved in those 10 weeks, we have got so much support from near and far and never thought that Thursday afternoon when we decided to hold a protest that we would receive the support we did.

"The closure of our hotel was and still is a huge disappointment for our town, but our protest was much bigger than that. I want to thank every person who supported us from that day, to those who sent fuel, food, teas, coffees etc. The people who stopped in on regular basis when passing to show your support and stood in solidarity with us we appreciate every last one of you", she said.

"The friendships that were made will last a life time and to the 2,500/3,000 people who walked the streets of Roscrea with us in support of what we believe in, we were never so proud to be Roscrea people that day and every day since.

"I suppose it's time to reflect on what happened that dark Monday on January 15 when those is power thought it was a good idea to bring the riot squad into a peaceful protest. We hope that going forward they will use their resources against those who are causing riots and not to try intimidate peaceful protesters with genuine concerns.

"We have learned so much over 10 weeks. We’ve learned you don't believe everything our national media leads you to believe. We've learned that not everyone is of the same opinion of you and that's totally fine as it would be a boring world if we all had the same opinion.

Members of the Garda Riot Squad in their soft-cap uniform line the entrance to the Racket Hall Hotel on January 15. Photo: PJ Wright

"We’ve learned that some people go out of their way to try bring you down with name calling. We’ve also learned that our government, including some local councillors and TDs, do not care about the Irish people.

"Roscrea is no different than any other town or village in Ireland who are fighting the same cause as us - as we are all aware there are so many protests happening all over our country. I hate using this word, but its a statement that has to be said - we have a few people who are still running with our governments narrative of 'far right'".

"These words are being used by our government to try and quieten the people of Ireland who are awake to what they are doing in our country. How those in power can sleep at night knowing our own people are left on the streets while they flood our country - shame on them", she said.

"People are running with the 'we need these migrants to work in health care or other parts of our work force' but the facts are those people from other countries who are working in these places didn't come into our country illegally. They all had passports and paperwork.

Maria Phelan speaks to a group of local women who held a protest outside the local Garda Station in Roscrea last month. Photo: PJ Wright

"The same people running with our government narratives also think its ok to point out Irish people emigrated. Yes they did and sadly because of our governments policies and failing people they are still leaving our lovely land, but the truth is when they go they have passports, paperwork and money behind them and they don't go and get everything handed to them.

"We feel that as Irish people we need to take a stance against this government as a whole country. We need to get our country back into the power of those who genuinely care for the people, just like those men and women of 1916.

"We need to thank Shane Lee for standing with us for the last 10 weeks. To Mattie McGrath and Carol Nolan for constantly bringing this issue up in the Dail we will be forever grateful. We are not going away, we will be keeping a close eye on what's happening in our town and we'll pop up again if needs be.

"We have stood down from Racket Hall, so to everyone who stood shoulder to shoulder for the greater good of our town stand tall because we done ourselves, our town and our country proud. 

"This government should hang their heads in shame. That is what prompted the decision to stand down from Racket Hall and take a different angle on this fight. The day will dawn when all the people will have the desire for freedom and it's then that we'll see the rising of the moon,” Maria Phelan said.