Cork man who lived in derelict slaughterhouse for 40 years gets keys to home
John O'Donnell with Paddy O'Brien, elderly rights campaigner. John had grown up in a State institution in Cork, had left school at a young age, and started working as a teenager in the slaughterhouse near Blackpool. He worked there by day and slept overnight in its canteen, working as the night watchman. Pictures: Jim Coughlan.
A man who has spent almost 40 years living in a derelict slaughterhouse on the northside of Cork city has been given the keys to a new house — and with it, the chance of a new life.
And the people of Cork who have been moved by John O’Donnell’s plight have rallied to help furnish his new local authority home in historic Madden’s Buildings in Blackpool in the hope it will be ready for him to move into by the time he celebrates his 63rd birthday in August.
Elderly rights campaigner Paddy O’Brien thanked everyone who has been working on John’s case over the last few months since his plight was highlighted in January after friends of his raised concerns about his living conditions.
It emerged at the time that John had grown up in a State institution in Cork, had left school at a young age, and started working as a teenager in the slaughterhouse near Blackpool.
He worked there by day and slept overnight in its canteen, working as the night watchman. He never learned to read or write, and he never had his own home.
When the abattoir shut down several years ago, he moved into its main building with his pet dog and adapted it to his own needs.
But his makeshift living conditions were described as primitive and unhealthy, with leaks in the roof. He said winters were especially hard.
John said at the time that he didn’t want to impose on anyone but was worried that he would end up “six feet under” because of his living conditions.
Mr O’Brien engaged with the local authority on John’s case and following a process, he was offered and accepted a house in Madden’s Buildings, and he finally got the keys to the property on Wednesday.
Neighbours in the tight-knit community were there to greet him as he looked around the two-bedroom terraced house with Mr O’Brien.
“I have never had a fireplace so I am not sure about cleaning it out,” John said.
“I was 40 years in the old place. It was tough but I used to walk around in the fields. I wasn’t lonely to be honest. I was used to it. But it was cold.
“City Hall were very good to me. And I also want to thank Paddy O’Brien.
“I hope I can bring my dog. It is a brilliant house. A grand, grand little place."
Mr O’Brien said John’s living conditions were amongst the worse he has seen in his more than half a century of advocacy for older persons.
“I wonder how many more Johns there are — not just in Cork but in the entire country,” he said.
“It was an appalling situation that a man was living out there for so long without anybody doing anything about it."
He said the transition for John from his ‘home’ of the last 40 years to his new home would be difficult, but he said the people of Madden’s Buildings are great people who will ensure he feels welcome, and that he might even meet a “cailín deas” in the area.
Kelly's Carpets were amongst the first local businesses to offer to support John’s transition into the new houses, offering to provide flooring and carpets for the house.
has offered to collate other offers of help to ensure that the house is ready for occupation in time for John’s birthday.
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