House-hunters and hecklers gather for auction

Triumph and disaster were in evidence at the Allsop/Space property auction, but events began with the imposters.

With more than 600 packed into the room at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin for the first of five distressed property auctions planned for this year, auctioneer Gary Murphy was running through the rules and regulations when a protest broke out.

Before the bidding got under way, the heckling did. Patrick Grant of the People’s Association Watchdog stood up and told those gathered that they should be “ashamed” to be involved in the buying and selling of houses that were only on the market because the previous residents had been made to leave.