An asylum seeker has urged protestors who blockaded holiday homes in County Clare to “Come meet with me.” 

 34 international protection applicants arrived in Inch from Dublin yesterday evening to the consternation of some locals.

They responded by blockading access with tractors and a silage bale. 

“I don’t know why they protest,” Sharif from Algeria told Barry Whyte for The Hard Shoulder.  

“Do they know us, do they speak to us? They didn’t so why are you protesting to people like [us].”

Sharif describes oft-cited fear that ‘unvetted male’ asylum seekers are dangerous as “rubbish” and queried whether they would like to be treated in the same way if they ever went to Algeria. 

“Meet me,” he said. 

“Come meet with me, come talk with me, come know from which country I am… We actually are good people just trying to survive. 

“They [the protestors] mustn’t worry about anything because we people are just coming here to live in peace and work and do something for this country even.

“You know?”

Sharif plans to return to Dublin;  it is likely he will end up homeless there but feels it is a risk worth taking to get out of Clare. 

'Under a cloud of secrecy'

Speaking to Newstalk, local residents denied the blockade was in any way anti-immigrant and said they were upset about the lack of communication and the allegedly unsuitable nature of the accommodation.

“It’s so busy here on this road,” one man said. 

“Someone could get badly injured if they were walking or cycling on that road. 

“No one ever cycles or walks that road.” 

Another woman said she had expected there would be more communication from the Government. 

“It was just about the way it was done all under a cloud of secrecy,” she said.

“We were just absolutely shocked.” 

She acknowledged the severity of the housing crisis but said the accommodation in Inch was still unsuitable. 

“I see where the Government are coming from with the housing problems in Dublin,” she said. 

“But I don’t think this is the solution because… there are major issues [with the accommodation]; the council were made aware of that, the Government were made aware of that and yet they were still sent here.” 

Speaking to Newstalk, Tánaiste Micheál Martin aid the Government “will engage with the local community, government and authorities [in Co Clare] to ease any concerns they might have”. 

He also said, “The dignity of the human being always has to be centre in our minds.”

Main image: Protestors in Inch. Picture by Barry Whyte.