NO STANDING ROOM AT LAUNCH OF MAYO LAND LEAGUE

The Mayo Land League was launched on the evening of the 03rd of December 2014 in the McWillam hotel in Claremorris. The launch, held at 8.30pm, was crowded to over-capacity with attendees filling all seats and standing room, men and women standing along both sides of the speaker's table and into the hallway. The atmosphere was described by one attendee as "electric".

(Below: attendees arriving 15 minutes before the launch)

The event MC was Gerry O'Boyle of Land League West and the launch was preceded by an all-day picket at the constituency offices of Enda Kenny. The picket remained peaceful and good humoured throughout the day. Introducing the Mayo Land League at the launch, Mr O'Boyle highlighted the distance between government and the local communites in Mayo particularly around the area of mortgage arrears, evictions and homelessness. Mr O'Boyle announced that drop in clinics will be opening throughout the county in January 2015 and encouraged the people of Mayo to become involved in any way they can.

Speakers at the launch included Neil MacThréamhlámh of the Hub-Ireland, a lay-litigancy service catering for those in trouble with their banks. Neil spoke of his own experiences of mortgage arrears, the development of the Hub, and the work they do. The Hub has opened a branch in Dublin and Galway. Neil McThréamhlámh spoke of the shared goals of the Hub and The Land League and offerred the League their support into the future.

Paul Scannell, from Meath Anti-eviction Ireland, explained the role of his group "We are here for the emergency work you know, if its a case that a family has the Sheriff coming to evict them in the morning, if they haven't defended themselves in the courts, then that's when we step in. We will blockade the home from possession by the Sheriff, bailiffs and hired security firms. We will also negotiate with them whilst the Land League and the Hub get paperwork into the courts as an obstacle to the eviction. Our work is very much frontline stuff but we prefer that people don't have to go through that and so we encourage people to seek help in defending themselves at an early stage." Mr Scannell also spoke of the importance of the Land League as an over-arching network of groups sharing the aim of ending evictions in Ireland and bringing the banking conglomerates to heel.

Dr. Finbar Markey spoke on behalf of the Provisional National Committee of the Land League itself and summarised the strategy of the League over the following year, saying "Our strategy involves a two-pronged approach, namely assisting people with their administrative work in an effort to keep people in their homes for as long as possible. On the other-hand, while the courts are being neutralised, we build a nationwide civic campaign across the country bringing an end to mass evictions and an across the board write-down of mortgages associated with the family home."

Attendees were very enthusiastic as the speakers announced that Land League branches have set up all over the country (Armagh/Down; Monaghan; Louth; Meath; Westmeath; North Dublin/Balbriggan; Wicklow/Kildare; Roscommon and now Mayo). There are plans to set up more Land League branches across the country. There was rapturous applause as speaker after speaker from the floor, those who had come to support the launch, spoke with passion and profoundity about the rebirth of the Land League and the moral and economic rot that has set in in Ireland. One gentleman in particular bravely spoke about his own family's experiences of mortgage arrears and the impact it has on familial relationships, and physical health. He emphasised the association between cancer and the stress of mortgage debt. Another young mother spoke of how she is left with no choice but to emigrate to the United States in January.

James Miller of the Banking Forum was also in the audience and briefly explained their work on developing a new public banking system in Ireland and expectations that the first "people's" bank could be open into the near future. A member of the Right2water campaign highlighted the shared goals of the Land League and the national anti-water charge campaigns throughout the country. James Devenny, an active Land League member and retired Detective, was in the audience and recounted..."I think its important that people remember that it was this night 135 years ago that Michael Davitt convened one of the first meetings of the Land League in Mayo, a meeting that sparked the establishement of the Mayo branch and then the National Land League in 1879".

RTE Morning Ireland had a reporter recording the launch for their popular morning radio show. The reporter had been accompanying Land League West throughout the day as they picketed Enda Kenny's office in the rain. A number of speakers from the floor addressed the reporter to highlight how RTE have been unfairly covering not only the mortgage crisis but news in general over the last number of years. There was a call from one attendee for a vote on expelling the RTE reporter from the room. Dr Markey of the national committee spoke up and pointed out that over 50 press invitations had been sent out and that RTE morning Ireland were the only journalists in attendance. Dr Markey suggested that the room permit the reporter to stay and that the League can decide on continued cooperation with RTE on the basis of how they report the launch. This was suppported by the mass majority in the room.

The 03rd of December 2014 will indeed be remembered in Mayo. It will be remembered as a night when the people of Mayo walked soundly and suredly in the steps of their forefathers to resist the oppression of their communites. The launch of the Mayo branch of the League ended with the formation of a provisional local committee responsible for the development of the League over the coming months. The crowds did not disperse from outside the meeting room for over an hour after the end of the launch as the people of Mayo talked excitedly about the potentials of the Land League to create real change in the lives of our communities. Guaging from the Mayo launch it would appear that the West is well and truly awake.....

The next meeting of the Mayo Land League takes place in the McWilliam Hotel, Claremorris on December 17th at 8.30pm.....

For further information on the National Land League please call 0894740811, calling outside of Ireland please drop the first "0" and add the prefix 00353.....

WHAT IS MARP AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR ME?

MARP stands for the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process. This is the process that banks must follow if a home-owner (mortgaged family home) falls into debt or defaults on their loan. The MARP is set out in the Codes of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears 2011/2013 by the Central Bank. 

Unfortunately most homeowners are not aware of the responsibilities of their bank regarding arrears resolution nor are they aware of their rights. For example, although banks may during the MARP process try to set time frames in which you have to carry out certain actions, those timeframes must be reasonable. In other words, if you have to get information from an accountant, or other difficult information, your bank must take this into account. 

Also, the bank is significantly restricted in how they communicate with you and you have a right to negotiate the medium of communication. For instance you may ask only to receive written correspondence and not telephone calls. 

Equally, it is important where possible to always communicate in writing. It is our experience that in the courts banks often take advantage of the fact the homeowner cannot prove they were cooperative by producing written correspondence. Insist on written correspondence rather than phone calls.

Knowing your rights is a very important step to defending your home and business when challenged by the banks. The Land League provides workshops to enable people to learn their rights in a warm and understanding environment. Call the Land league dedicated number for further details (0894740811).

SAVING YOUR HOME: THE GOLDEN RULE

Too many people are simply handing their keys to the bank and walking away, often with nowhere to go........

The Number One mistake that people make when falling into debt is to not communicate with the bank. If you fail to communicate you are automatically deemed uncooperative. If this fact is presented to a Judge into the future, he/she may not look too kindly on your case. On the other hand, by responding to letters, finding out what your rights are and defending yourself, you create a paper trail that will be in your favour.

It is understandable that many if not most people, full of fear and anxiety as they are due to debt, do not respond to banking letters. Many people feel they do not have the education and that the banks will always get what they want no matter what. This is of course far from the truth as most people with a little help can take control and regain their lives again. 

The Land League are here to help by providing you with workshops on how to read and respond to bank correspondence. There is no charge for the workshops which are taking place throughout Ireland over the coming months. Please call the dedicated Land League phone number to find out when drop in clinics and workshops being in your area (0894740811). If you would like to assist in your local area, call us and we can provide you with the training and confidence to make a difference.

STRATEGISING FOR CHANGE

The Land League has established branches all over Ireland from Armagh and South Down, to Mayo, Meath, Louth and Monaghan, to name but a few. Although the branches are autonomous and independent, they share core objectives and agree on a general strategy to implement change.

An Eviction in 1800s Ireland

The objectives of the land League are primarily to keep families in their homes and safe from home "repossession" by banks, We also assist small farmers and business people to protect their life-times work. As a national league, we also recognise the other great injustices put upon the people of Ireland over the last number of years. Injustices such as the bailing out of banks, the give-away of our natural resources, and the privatisation of vital services. We stand together with and pro-actively support other campaigns against injustice and for change in Ireland.

In terms of our strategy, we engage in a two pronged approach. We make every effort to assist people in correspondence with lending institutions, and court cases where banks seek Orders for Possession of the family home/farm. To this end we are rolling out across the country drop-in clinics, workshops, and regular support meetings.

We understand addressing people's immediate administrative needs alone will not solve the emergency that is mass mortgage arrears. We understand that this will only help by neutralising the courts system whilst we build a nation wide campaign strong enough to influence legislative changes and an across the board, personal write down of debt for every homeowner in the country. This is the only fix to what is a major, but unspoken, crisis. If homeowners, farmers and small business people are to be freed of the anxiety and stresses of unmeetable debt, if the tills of our small and medium enterprises are to ring once again, across the board write down must occur.

The Land League asks that you assist in whatever way you can to make our national strategy work. For more information on how you can help, please email this blog at landleaguenationalblogspot@gmail.com.    or call the dedicated national number on 0894740811 (between 10am and 8pm)

Letter to the Louth and Meath Court Registrar from the Louth Land League.....

Below, Mairead Ahern (centre) with brother-in-law and ex minister for Justice Dermot Ahern

Dear Registrar,
I write as acting Secretary of the Louth Land League and in furtherance of decisions made at the most recent meeting of Louth Land League members. It was decided at that meeting that I, as acting Secretary, write to you to formally introduce the Louth land League to you as Court Registrar and to outline the voluntary work we do and our peaceful intentions. It was also decided at that same recent meeting that I communicate to you a number of queries that were raised at the meeting.
The Louth Land League was established five months ago and is affiliated to the “Reformed Land League” but retains all decision making powers at a local level. The central objective of the League in County Louth is to assist and support homeowners at risk of losing their homes through mortgage debt collection processes, from the point that home owners fall into arrears, throughout the MARP and negotiation stages, to prosecution by lenders and enforcement by agents of the Courts accompanied by private security personnel.

To this end we have amassed a sizable body of knowledge in terms of building the confidence and skills in people to defend themselves. Our assistance is manifest in regular public and member meetings, correspondence workshops, Mckenzie be-friending, educational programmes, a monthly newsletter (3,000 copies distributed locally in November) and so on. Our belief is that our assistance not only addresses the practical elements of defending the home, but also the stress, depression and anxiety felt by so many that are brought before our courts by lending institutions.

Accompanying the educational and advocacy functions of the Louth Land League, we are also pro-active in our efforts to dissuade national and local firms from assisting lending institutions throughout the “repossession” process. We include in our list of firms: Legal professionals and firms; security companies; Locksmiths; Estate Agents and Receivers. Our efforts in this regard are entirely peaceful and rely upon a strategy of initially negotiating with the identified professionals and firms, and where negotiation fails, mounting an escalating, peaceful boycott centred on the question “Do you want the long term business of your community or short term, morally degenerate trade from the “repossession” industry?”

Introductions concluded, the latter reason in corresponding with you today is to seek resolution to a number of queries raised at the most recent member’s meeting of the Louth Land League. Those queries are as follows…..

(i) Is the Registrar’s Court empowered to deal in matters of a constitutional nature such as a Defence in which the constitutionality of the claims of the Plaintiff are questioned by the Defendant? Have there been any instances of attempts at raising constitutional matters in your court, and if so what was your direction/approach to this? If not, what is your current position on the raising of constitutional matters in your court?

(ii) Does a family home have a rateable value? If so, could you please direct me to the legislation that creates that rating system and the public interface of that system. If the family home does not have a rateable value, please outline how you have/would respond to an application to your court from a lender in which the sums claimed owed are above the Circuit Court threshold but where the Plaintiff Lender is claiming that the concerned property has a rateable value?

(iii) It was noted at a recent Dundalk sitting of your court that in one particular case, the second last case of that particular list, you delayed significantly and most noticeably in dealing with the matters as the Plaintiff Lender’s Legal representation had not shown up. This delay, which I personally witnessed, became farcical as you appeared to telephone the reception to see if they had arrived yet and then, it appeared, began to call out cases that had already been called, and called these expired cases out to a courtroom with not one solicitor in it. I can only conclude that you were delaying on behalf of the Plaintiff although a similar approach was not noted when Defendants were not present. I am prepared to be corrected in my conclusions. The query arising from this incident is: Is it normal practice to extend such facilities to Plaintiff banks but not to those defending their home?

(iv) It has also been raised at our recent meeting that a local Solicitor, namely Mr. Bellew, appears to be prosecuting a majority of claims against local homeowners on behalf of Plaintiff banks, and it is rumoured that he is doing so as an employee of your husband’s legal firm who themselves are acting as agents for larger Dublin City firms. Can you confirm if this is true, and if this is true, can you as Registrar convey to me your opinion on possible interpretations of these arrangements as a conflict of interests and a risk to the credibility of our justice system at a local level?

On behalf of the Louth Land League, we appreciate the time you have taken to read this correspondence and the time you take to reply. We look forward to working amicably with your court officers and personnel into the future.
Finbar Markey ___________________
(Secretary)

An IBRC Tale: the McDermott family story

Kennyscourt Stud in the heart of the Kildare Plains has been in the news again. In the last twenty or so years the Stud, owned and developed by the McDermott family (primarily dad Eugene) has bred and trained many winners, but of late the news has not been celebratory in tone. Recent headlines in the broadsheets have reported how anti-eviction activist Mr Ben Gilroy was brought before the courts in a show trial, charged with contempt of a Court Order. The Court Order in question forbade anyone interfering with receivers who had been sent in by IBRC to seize the McDermott family Stud, effectively shutting down an internationally recognised equestrian centre. With all the hullabaloo around the Gilroy case, the McDermott family and their story seems to have been sidelined. It may be the case that when some people hear of a horse “Stud” they assume the owners are landed gentry and that they didn’t work hard for what they have. Harsher and less informed commentators might even suggest a certain rough justice in that someone who appeared to be a “has” is now a “has not”.

Scratch lightly the surface of the McDermott family story and a very different narrative becomes plain to see. I contacted Eugene McDermott after the Gilroy contempt case to see if he would like to meet me with the intention of putting on paper the family’s experiences over the last few years. Eugene was at first hesitant, keenly aware of the stress already suffered by his family, but with some supportive words he finally agreed to meeting at the family home on a bright early Summer morning.

Image below: Protesters "retake" the stud from the Receiver...

The drive up to Eugene’s reminded me of Pippa’s trek up to the abandoned stately home of Ms Havisham in Dickens’s Great Expectations. It wouldn’t be true to say the family home is stately or the Stud itself dilapidated, Eugene and his young sons make sure of that. There is however a desolation in the air, a sense that this place was once thriving and bustling with activity, but is now shrouded in silence, inactivity and memories of better, happier days. Eugene and his boys met me at the door and I was brought into the heart of the family home, the kitchen. The boys made sandwiches and tea for us as Eugene began telling the story of Kennyscourt. The boys worked away in silence with their ears turned to their father’s voice and listening, possibly for the first time, to their own story and family history.

The McDermott family came into the ownership of Kennyscourt Stud in the 1920s when it was part of an Estate, a relic of the colonial age.  Eugene’s Grandfather (also Eugene), the boy’s great-grandfather, was born into a tumultuous Ireland in the first decade of the twentieth century. The Mc Dermotts were typical working class Irish in a land dominated by British colonial policy and where the landed gentry owned many of the farms or Estates. A young Eugene senior was determined to better his own circumstances and that of his family. As a boy he rode by bicycle the arduous journey from the plains of Kildare to Dublin where he trained as an apprentice butcher. I can’t imagine on those cycle rides up and down the steep hills to and from Dublin that the young Eugene senior ever thought that he would be one of the first Irish of the new Republic to break the link between the landed gentry and the land.

Eugene Senior qualified as a butcher and soon had his own thriving butcher’s shop in Dublin. It wasn’t long before he set to thinking about supplying his own meat rather than buying it in. Overtime, and with hard work and determination, Eugene Senior bought what is now known as Kennyscourt Stud. The poor mountain boy had defeated the odds .The Mc Dermotts worked the farm and made it productive and the surrounding community prospered. Eugene junior recalls during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s how his own mother and father brought economically deprived kids from the inner city to stay on the farm for respite, clean air and good food.

In the 1980s Eugene, the grandson and kitchen table narrator, travelled to Australia where he developed a keen interest in all things equestrian. He soon realised he had hidden talents. He learned the art of training racing horses, and when he returned to Ireland in 1989, having earned a name for himself in Australia as a trainer, he set about transforming the farm into a Stud. By this time farming had become an unprofitable business. Eugene’s desires to convert the farm into an equestrian centre were not profit motivated, but rather were the manifestation of a vision of Kennyscourt as a world leader in horse breeding and training. The family trait of hard work and determination soon paid off and Eugene developed one of the best studs in the country, but fortunes were to change.

As the Celtic tiger began to roar Eugene found the costs of further development of the stud growing. He borrowed from IBRC to improve Kennyscourt and soon found himself being courted regularly by the bank’s marketing team who often called unsolicited and at one stage even tried to convince Eugene to buy a helicopter, an offer Eugene wisely refused. Nevertheless, in spite of growing investment costs, the efforts seemed to be paying off and the stud was gaining an international reputation for excellence. Like so many Irish businesses however, the banking crash in 2008 and the economic downward spiral that followed resulted in a build up of arrears on the Studs books, payments were not coming in and this meant credit repayment facilities were not being fully  met, although Eugene continued to pay as much as he could. He thought the bank was happy with his efforts and that although the present may be overcast, that the future was still bright.

Eugene arrived home one evening in the summer of 2011 to find that Anglo had sent in the receivers to seize the stud and his family home, in essence to steal his very being. The boys and Eugene’s wife were traumatised by the incident. Mark Reynolds, the receiver, had barricaded the lands, outbuildings and access to the family home and did so without any prior warning. Eugene described how Reynolds proudly marched around the stud, chest sticking out, as though he had personally acquired the McDermott family business and home. Eugene was distraught and called the Gardaí but to no avail.

Over the coming days and weeks the receiver did his best to make life impossible for Eugene and his family. He blocked up front gate access making it a challenge for the family to come and go as they wished. The oil used to heat the home was intentionally leaked out and onto the land. In essence the receiver attempted to cut the family off from society in the hope they would give up their home.

Under such immense pressure Eugene eventually cracked. He suffered a nervous breakdown and spent six weeks in St. John of Gods. Eugene’s stay in the mental health facility brought him into contact with others who had similar experiences. It was the first time he realised he was not alone in his battle to save his home and dignity. With help from his family who felt he would be better at home, Eugene returned to Kennyscourt Stud and his only true support system. His stay in St. John of Gods had meant he hadn’t seen at first hand the effects the receiver’s actions were having on his youngest sons. They were having nightly night mares and began to self-isolate in the wider community. But what could they do? Where could they go? Life was soon to become even more unbearable at the hands of the receiver. He placed security cameras all over the stud watching the family’s every move. Security guards watched the family home day and night. It was at this stage Eugene decided to start to fight back against Anglo (IBRC).

Eugene brought the receivers and the bank to court. The Judge ruled that the McDermott family could remain in the family home but that the receiver could remain on the lands. Since the court case the receiver has toned down his outrageous and some may say inhuman behaviour. The family continue to live under siege however. The outbuildings remain blocked off and of no use to anyone. A once thriving business with a live client list and great potential into the future has been crashed by the receivers. Jobs have been lost, a family broken and for what?

Recently in an attempt to save the stud, Eugene placed it into the Charlie Allen Family Trust. It is understood the courts have refused to acknowledge the protections of this Trust. In response up to 400 citizens gathered on the stud in the Summer of 2013 to put the receiver to the road, which they did. In response, the aforementioned contempt case against Ben Gilroy was initiated and the McDermott family story has become lost in the dramas of court.

Conclusions

And so the story of Kennyscourt and the McDermott family reaches full circle and conclusion. Eugene and family struggle on in a home that is forcibly cut off by a receiver employed by the state. One of the finest stud farms in Ireland is reduced to hosting a handful of cattle placed by the receiver to make the lands look used. A family has been disassembled by the system, but has been re-assembled stronger and more resilient through love for each other.

The lessons to be taken from the McDermott family story can help to challenge some of the obstacles to national unity existing in Ireland today. The notion of rough justice for those who grew businesses during the “Celtic Tiger” can be seen as puerile, bitter and lacking context when seen through the eyes of the McDermott family and so many others in their shoes. Suddenly the indebted family living in a 3-bed semi in suburbia doesn’t look so different to those living in larger houses in rural areas. The fears of the family of the fallen business person are revealed to be as deep and powerful as any others.

As I left the McDermott home that afternoon I had mixed feelings. I admired their strength, their willingness to defend their family history and their pride. Looking around the once thriving stud however, I also took with me a melancholy, a certain sadness often felt by those who are witness to battles involving the smaller man facing down powerful forces. Eugene and I parted with the promise that all going well I will return in six months to write an update. I do hope that this is a promise we can keep.

MAYO LAND LEAGUE LAUNCH IN CLAREMORRIS

On 16th August 1879, the National Land League of Mayo was formed by Michael Davitt. On October 21st the Irish National Land League was founded in Dublin. Charles Stewart Parnell was President and Davitt one of the Secretaries. A national campaign of withholding rents, social and political agitation, and Parliamentary action began. Davitt himself was elected to Westminster. During the three years of the Land War, despite the jailing of Davitt and others, the Land League secured the “Three F’s” – Fair Rent, Fixity of Tenure (the right not to be easily evicted), and Free Sale.

The Land Leaguers had demonstrated the power of the united action of the poor to achieve real change that improved their lives. They blended familiar methods with new strategies and ways of thinking, and broke the dominance of the landlords. Davitt later wrote the history of the Land League revolution. He called it, The Fall of Feudalism (1904). After the Land War, the transfer of the land to the people was inevitable.

On Wednesday the 3rd of December 2014 the Mayo branch of the League is to be launched once again, 135 years after it was originally formed by Michael davitt. The launch takes place in the McWilliam Hotel, Claremorris at 8.30pm. Land League West plan a pre-launch picket at the Taoiseach's constituency offices in Castlebar at midday on the day of the launch.

Michael Davitt (above), founder of the Mayo Land League, 1879

There is little doubt that the seriousness of Ireland's predicament today is no less than in 1879. Today we live in an Ireland where the banks are the absent landlords, extortionate mortgage repayments have replaced extortionate rents, and the threat of eviction is ever present.

Gerard O'Boyle and Edward Brennan are some of the local people hosting the event and a large turn out is expected. For further information call Gerry or Eddie on 0862190609....