Clare pensioner injured at protest against asylum seeker accommodation

2HFGF0E Garda inscription on a police jacket from Ireland

A garda investigation is underway into an alleged assault on a man in his 70s during another protest against asylum seeker accommodation in Clare.

The incident occurred outside an isolated and vacant five-bedroom luxury property at Scool near Corofin on Sunday night which locals believe has been earmarked for up to 40 asylum seekers.

It came just hours after the people involved in the week-long blockade of local roads leading to Magowna House Hotel in Inch, some 20km to the south, agreed to lift their blockade.

The victim, who lives in the area, suffered facial injuries after being struck by what’s believed to have been a torch after two members of the protest group refused to allow him to approach the larger protest group outside the house.

He contacted gardaí and requested an ambulance and was taken to University Hospital Limerick for treatment. He returned home on Monday with visible bruising around one of his eyes.

Members of the Clare Solidarity Network who staged a welcome party at Scool, Co Clare on Monday evening in response to Sunday's protest.

In a statement on Monday, gardaí confirmed that they are "making enquiries" into an alleged assault which occurred in Corofin on Sunday night.

“A man in his 70s is currently receiving treatment at University Hospital Limerick for injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening. Enquiries are ongoing,” a spokesman said.

This latest protest in Clare linked to the housing of asylum seekers was organised after locals learned that the property was being prepared to house up to 40 international protection applicants.

A video, recorded inside the house and which has been circulated locally, shows dozens of bunk beds assembled in various rooms. One source said if all the beds were occupied, the property, its garage and loft could accommodate up to 43 people.

The source said given the level of potential overcrowding, locals had serious fire safety concerns for the potential occupants, and concerns that the property’s sewage system would not be able to cope.

Sunday's protest was attended by a prominent member of the Irish Freedom Party, who lives in Clare and who did not respond to requests for comment last night.

It came just hours after the people involved in the week-long blockade of local roads leading to Magowna House Hotel in Inch, some 20km to the south, agreed to lift their blockade. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

Sarah Clancy, the coordinator of the Public Participation Network in Clare, a large coalition of voluntary and community groups, said it was extremely disturbing to have moved from illegal blockades in one part of the county to the injuring of a man during an altercation at another proposed asylum seeker accommodation centre.

“This has to end,” she said.

“People can’t be allowed to take the law into their own hands.

“There is a real need for leadership around explaining how the international protection system works, to reinforce the point that IP applicants are here legally, and that it is part of the state’s legal responsibility under the Geneva convention to look after them.

“We don’t believe that people should have a veto about who lives in their community. There is a real need for proper information and leadership around this whole process to counteract the lies.”