Is every Tom, Dick, and Harry being sent to Glengarriff? We investigate
Glengarriff — a West Cork village that can boast to having 'a Tom, a Harry, and quite a few Dicks'. Picture: Neil Michael
Home to a “boutique” bed and breakfast and an “artisan” pizzeria, you could be forgiven for thinking Glengarriff isn’t for every Tom, Dick, and Harry.
After all, didn’t the West Cork village host a wedding in 2017 that saw guests include one Philippa Charlotte Matthews, otherwise known as Pippa Middleton — the younger sister of Catherine, Princess of Wales?
And Hollywood legend Maureen O’Hara loved what she called the “lovely village filled with wonderful people” so much that she had a holiday home there for 45 years.
As Discover Ireland puts it, with its sweeping views of West Cork coastline nestled in ancient woodlands on beautiful Bantry Bay, it is hard to doubt its charm or claim to be a “unique and sheltered haven” on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.
Read More
Whether it should be considered a destination for every random visitor, however, is now up for debate after a local Cork County Council councillor claimed that “every Tom, Dick, and Harry” is being sent to Glengarriff.
Independent Ireland councillor Danny Collins said the village was too small “for that” and warned that “something will have to be done” about, presumably, the influx of “every Tom, Dick, and Harry”.
What he was referring to is a small complex in the village where Cork County Council houses people in need of accommodation.
They could be homeless or people released from hospital or other institutions.
Mr Collins has for some time raised concerns about alleged anti-social behaviour by people staying in a group of former holiday cottages to the rear of the Perrin Inn in the village, which is run by the Comer family.
Since the pandemic, the cottages have increasingly been used to house people on a temporary basis by the council as they await more permanent accommodation.
Asked for a comment by the , Mr Collins declined to give one.
His council colleague, Independent Finbarr Harrington, said: “People are entitled to complain and raise issues.
“I have raised anti-social behaviour on a number of occasions myself, as have many other councillors, because there has been anti-social behaviour.
“It is a very touristy village that's very busy in the summertime and maybe it's not as noticeable in the summertime, when it's very, very busy.
“But when it's winter time, it's a darker evening and people feel more vulnerable.”
For their part, the Comer family are both “baffled” and hurt by the attention.
Unlike all of their detractors, they agreed to be quoted on the record.
Pat Comer invited the into the dining room behind the bar he built back in 1984 to meet his daughter, Caroline.
Despite her ongoing battle with an aggressive strand of breast cancer, she wanted to discuss the issues raised as a result of Mr Collins’s comments.
Caroline started by addressing the case of one of her guests who was spotted “acting strangely” near the local national school.
“He was just off his meds, he needed to be on his meds, so we called him when it was brought to our attention and we dealt with it straight away,” she said.
“I called an ambulance to him, but he wouldn't get in — so I had him arrested for his own safety.
"He ended up in the psychiatric ward in Bantry General Hospital, and he was there for a week or so.
“We had to get everything for him, his toothbrush, everything he needed.
“He’s now out, and is even studying in college.”
Pat said anti-social behaviour has been an issue on and off in the village for decades.
He said the people staying in his accommodation are “no different to when we were doing this business years ago”.
The complex of cottages at the back of the inn is one of a number properties the council uses for emergency accommodation.
Placements are done almost entirely through the county council’s housing department western division offices on Kent St, Clonakilty. A small number are also booked through Cork City Council.
The homeless who stay there — for anything from a few nights to three years — are among the 787 or so adults in emergency accommodation across Cork city and county, according to Cork Simon Community’s Homeless Watch. That number is a 22.8% increase on March 2025.
Caroline said it began around the start of the covid pandemic, when a man who had been in hospital needed somewhere to stay and was placed in the cottages.
She said he had initially been bedridden and required care, which they provided, and that over time others were accommodated there as well, with the arrangement gradually expanding.
Asked about the claims around anti-social behaviour linked to guests, she said: “In all the years, if there's any anti-social behavior, it is dealt with.
“You can ask any of the people here what will happen if they step out of line, and it's not that it's a threat.
“They've seen it happen, they see if somebody's acting up, if somebody is anti-social, it's dealt with.”
Caroline referenced a number of incidents over the years where both herself and her father have told people to leave, but it’s not always due to anti-social behavior.
She said that due to issues around privacy, it is not always possible to give precise details, but she did reference a woman whose board was no longer covered by the council.
“She had to leave us as we'd no choice as we can't keep people who will never pay,” she said.
“That's not going to work, so me and dad had to bring her into Bantry and put her on a bus.
“We gave her enough money for a few nights in Cork City.”
Pat said he has yet to be approached directly by someone in the village about any issues.
Despite this, there are people who claim there have been a number of incidents of anti-social behaviour.
Those claims include reports of groups of men gathering at various locations in the village to drink, as well as allegations that women have been subjected to staring.
Last December, a 34-year-old former heroin addict who had been staying at the inn was placed on a probation bond for 18 months by a judge at Bantry District Court for threatening and abusive behaviour.
Another former guest was the prime suspect in the unsolved 1996 murder of French filmmaker Sophie Toscan du Plantier — the late Ian Bailey.
Before he died in January 2024, at the age of 66, after suffering a heart attack on a street in nearby Bantry, Bailey had lived at the Perrin Inn for about a year.
It was here that he had been interviewed in 2021 by the late singer Sinéad O’Connor for a Sunday newspaper.
Almost all other court cases linked to Glengarriff involve people accommodated in other premises in or around the village, whether rented or otherwise.
“We are more of a solution to the problem of homelessness than we are a problem, because there is no other solution to it,” Caroline said.
“We are a solution to a problem that the council themselves cannot solve.”
On comments about alleged anti-social behaviour — many of which have surfaced on social media — Caroline said she was “a bit hurt” by them.
However, she said she also sensed a degree of so-called NIMBYism, with people supportive of addressing social issues but unwilling for solutions to be located in their own community.
She said it often amounted to people saying they wanted to help, “but just not here” in Glengarriff.
She added: “Everyone in life needs a second chance.
“We provide a much-needed service for people who badly need another chance.”
One of the inn's homeless guests is Michael ‘Mucca’ Twomey, popular in Cork’s music scene as DJ Mucca.
One of four people staying at the inn from Cork City, he told the : “I was homeless, and I was in rehab for a drug addiction for nearly eight months and I came down here, and it is the best thing that has ever happened.
“If you step down the line here, you get your marching orders. You're sent back to the city.”
The 45-year-old admits feeling insulted by comments made about residents at the inn.
Referencing Caroline and Pat and other people in the village, he said: “These people have embraced me. They like me. I like them.”
He added: “I've grown as a person.
“I've met nice people, they're all friendly and there is no hassle around this place.
“There's no fights, no arguments, there's just... no shit, just, I mean, it's a very, very peaceful place to live.”
Another guest is 73-year-old Michael Butcher, who had been living in the West Cork village of Ballineen for 26 years before his marriage broke down and he ended up homeless.
He has less than 20% capacity left in his lungs and suffers from chronic emphysema.
The father of four children who have all grown up and live abroad said he has not witnessed any anti-social behaviour in or anywhere near the inn.
He has been there since February and is waiting for a social housing place that is due to become available in a few weeks.
“Everybody I have come across has been really helpful,” he said.
“I think some of the commentary around anti-social behaviour is very hurtful and just wrong.”
Whether Glengarriff is home to any Tom, Dick, or Harry was put to the test at the Blue Loo Pub.
While staff there did not wish to be drawn on the controversy surrounding Mr Collins’ remarks, one drinker had no such hesitation.
“We have a Tom, we have a Harry, and we have quite a few Dicks in Glengarriff,” he said.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
