The occupants of Apollo House in Dublin can claim victory this evening, as a court has ruled that they can stay put until January 11, 2017.
Despite fierce opposition from Dublin City Council working in collusion with the Government and other bodies, the Home Sweet Home campaign has scored a major moral victory against the Establishment today by securing a few weeks’ worth of accommodation for about 35 homeless individuals. The movement has potentially prevented death by freezing and other causes for these homeless people.
The property, which is owned by a NAMA-affiliated entity named Mazar and had laid empty for almost 2 years, was occupied a week ago by activists doing the work that the Government should be doing. The property was never of any interest to anyone until it became the center of a just cause by a rising movement against homelessness.
Now, despite concerted efforts to the contrary and even the threat of demolition, the Occupation of Apollo House stands as a monument of popular revolt, and a clear broadside of intransigence aimed squarely at the Government’s head.