Occupiers leave Cork building after court action

A group of protesters occupying a building in the centre of Cork City has been ordered to leave the property on foot of a court injunction secured by the owners.

Two men named as defendants in the action did not have to be injuncted as they gave undertakings to stay out of the six-storey glass-fronted building at 10, 11 and 12 Oliver Plunkett St and 2 Smith St, Cork.

A third defendant, Liam Mullaney, argued that there was a sufficient basis on which the injunction application by Padlake Ltd. should be adjourned to a full hearing of the case at Cork Circuit Court.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin did not agree that there were such grounds for a full hearing and he ordered Mr Mullaney and all others with notice of the injunction to vacate the premises and not to return. Notice of the injunction was to be distributed at the property and displayed on the windows.

James Duggan, barrister for Padlake, read an affidavit from company director Barry Doyle of Ballylough, Mitchelstown, Co Cork, expressing concern that someone occupying the building would fall down an exposed lift-shaft and that no insurance would cover it.

He said the building was finished externally but that it was not connected to electricity, water or sewerage. He said the property was being marketed.

He said the defendants and others had taken possession of the property on Jan 3 and access had been gained by breaking a padlock on New Year’s Day.

He said there were three keyholders for the property and that none of these had given keys to anyone else. He said he went to the building with gardaí but the occupiers refused to leave.

He complained in the affidavit that occupiers had renamed Stapleton House as the Cork Community Resource Centre and had put up signs indicating that the building was private property.

The affidavit said no damage was done to the property and that they entered with a key from an anonymous donor.

Mr Mullaney said: “At that time we believed in good faith that this property was in the care of the State.

“With this in mind, the purpose of occupying the premises was to create a space for voluntary and community groups in order to demonstrate and raise awareness about the lack of social dividend coming from Nama and the dire need for facilities such as we propose for the cities and towns in Ireland.”

Mark John Redmond from Wexford was one of the named defendants and said he had visited the property but was not occupying it. He gave an undertaking not to return.

Patrick Buckley gave a similar undertaking. Mr Buckley, who represented the suicide prevention foundation, Let’s Get Together, said he would have used the building as a resource if it had been available.