Mayo housing group aims to 're-awaken the spirit of Michael Davitt'

The Mayo branch of CATU (Community Action Tenants Union) is holding an in-person workshop on Saturday, April 1 in the TF Royal Hotel, Castlebar, with the aim of tackling the housing crisis in the area.

The event will feature a discussion with Fin Dwyer, host of the Irish History Podcast, and Eimear Walshe, a visual artist whose work draws parallels between the Land League and the current housing situation.

Spokesperson for the group, Colm Cafferkey, believes the event has the potential to strengthen the housing movement in the area and to help relieve the pressure that many are feeling.

“We hear about homelessness and evictions and we think it’s something that just happens in cities, but it’s right here in Mayo too and getting worse,” Cafferkey told The Connaught Telegraph.

“Even if we just look at the enormous rates of vacancy, and a lot of it in places that are experiencing depopulation.

"Imagine every house in the county having people in it, the life it would bring to places.

"This is a massive opportunity to re-energise communities and relieve housing pressure at the same time by getting people into these vacant houses.”

CATU is a nationwide organisation which has grown rapidly in recent years as the housing crisis pushes more and more people into desperation.

It’s activities range from educating and organising people and communities facing eviction to national campaigns for improved housing policy and investment.

The Mayo branch is the first of its kind in the area but Cafferkey believes they are tapping into a long held tradition.

“We have this brilliant history here in Mayo of Michael Davitt and the Land League and this event will hopefully join the dots between what they were up against and what’s happening today.

"We have more homeless children than ever before and now they’re lifting the eviction moratorium which will make things much, much worse.

"Most decent people know that this can’t go on but the challenge for a lot of us, particularly in rural areas, is knowing what to do about it.

"This is where an organisation like CATU can help to educate and organise people and offer support to anyone facing homelessness.”

The event, which is free to attend, begins at 11am on Saturday April 1 in the TF Royal Hotel, Castlebar.