Toys dropped into Roscrea hotel for young asylum seekers

Protests at Racket Hall saw clashes with gardaí and left children inside 'terrified'

Fiona Dunford and Alison Lee leaving toys at the entrance of Racket Hall hotel, Roscrea. Picture: Brendan Gleeson

Bags of toys have been dropped into the Roscrea hotel at the centre of Monday’s protest which saw clashes with gardaí and left children inside "terrified".

Scenes of a standoff between demonstrators and the public order unit made international headlines when young children were filmed being brought through the crowd of protesters.

The rally, going on since last Thursday, started when locals learned that Racket Hall hotel was going to be used to house people seeking international protection.

However, on Tuesday, the day after the violent scenes, a group of people from the Tipperary town banded together to welcome the children who have moved in.

The children are among 17 people, including men and women, who will be housed at the 40-bedroomed hotel, while up to 160 in total are expected to move in. Nobody moved in on Tuesday.

Protesters are continuing with their demonstration at the gate of the building, arguing that Roscrea is “overstretched” for services and that Racket Hall had played a major role in their tourism and hospitality sector.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, protester Martina Phelan said: “Communions, confirmations, parties, and gigs have all been cancelled and it was a busy trade here, that’s all gone now.

It was our last hotel in the town that employs more than 50 people, they haven’t lost their jobs, but this building was a big part of our tourism industry.

“If the Government is able to pay this amount of money to house asylum seekers, why are they not putting the money into our town which is in bad need of resources? Why didn’t they keep the hotel open and put the refugees into a section of the back of it?

“Some of the staff feel they are letting us down by crossing the protest, but we have nothing against the refugees, we are full to capacity in Roscrea."

One waitress who works at the hotel said asylum seekers have told her they are “terrified” to come out after the events that unfolded when they arrived.

The young woman said: “They rang their social workers to ask could they make their way into town to have a look around, but they haven’t gone out yet. They need some help getting into town, they can’t walk from here, but I think they don’t want to come out yet.” 

Another protester said the Government has let local people down who feel "walked on".

“We have nothing against the asylum seekers, but we can’t be left with nothing either," the man who gave his name as Sean said.

On Tuesday, there was a constant flow of protesters keeping the demonstration going in freezing temperatures as they sat around fires and received donations of food while passing cars beeped in support.

They are also planning a march in Roscrea town on Saturday. Details are still to be confirmed.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said there will be a special package for towns that have taken in the most asylum seekers.

Meanwhile, one of the organisers of the East Wall protests, which began in 2022, has called for a "mobilisation" at Dublin's Garden of Remembrance on February 5. In a video online, Malachy Steenson said the group was offering its support to the protesters in Roscrea.