Protesters say arson attack was ‘nothing to do with our group’
A PROTEST group who regularly demonstrate at the prospective refugee centre that was set on fire said the arson attack ‘was nothing to do with us’.
Trudder House in Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow, was firebombed on Friday night with the blaze raging into the early hours of Saturday.
Gardaí have since increased security there with large concrete blocks placed either side of the road to stop traffic.
Peaceful protests against the planned housing of a reported 160 refugees at the centre had been going on since just before St Patrick’s weekend.
However, protest organisers said they believe three young men, not affiliated with their group, arrived on Friday and are responsible for the fire.
Kevin Haig of the protest group said no arrests were made at the scene despite the three men being ‘covered in mud and one of them reeking of petrol’.
‘Absolutely no reason for anyone to do this. Apparently gardaí know one of the people involved but they’re still investigating.
‘As a direct result of the fire, gardaí told us they need to protect the building. Road blocks were there with Garda cars and now there are concrete blocks and anti-ram bars put in.’
In a statement after the fire, Mr Haig said: ‘There was an incident at River Lodge, Trudder, last night when a small number of men arrived and attempted to set fire to the premises.
‘These individuals were in no way related to the protest group and the matter is being fully investigated by the gardaí at this time,’ the statement added.
‘For the last four weeks, the protest at the site has been entirely peaceful and the protesters condemn such actions, as they play directly into the hands of International Protection Accommodation Services and the Government agenda.
‘The protesters are still pursuing legal and environmental concerns over the site and the dumping of the 160 men there, particularly questioning whether IPAS have legal ownership of the site.
‘The protesters have worked hard to keep their protest peaceful and non-political and intend to keep it that way.’
Mr Haig said earlier this month that the demonstration came together ‘very quickly’ and is made up of people from the small village’s community.
He added: ‘There were a few attempts to politicise it and we said “No, no”.
‘We have general concerns for the welfare of the people going in there [the proposed centre].
‘We’re not shouting and screaming saying they shouldn’t be here… There is nothing to do in the village and the nearest bus stop is over two kilometres away. These people are coming from different places. Where are they going to get medical or mental health supports?’
But keeping the far-right social media agitators from politicising the protest has proved difficult, Mr Haig said.
‘We made the mistake of having an open WhatsApp group and anyone who was concerned could comment and very quickly there were people amongst us who were shouting abuse.
‘We changed it to an invite-only WhatsApp group. That has kept things on a community level.
‘We’ve had the odd politician – and I use that word loosely – down here with a megaphone screaming “Ireland for the Irish” but we know their politics are all over the place. We’re not interested in politics,’ he added.
Gardaí confirmed that they responded to reports of a fire at a Newtownmountkennedy property early on Saturday morning.
In a statement, they said firefighters extinguished the blaze.
‘The scene of the incident is preserved for a technical examination. Investigations are ongoing at this time,’ a Garda spokesman said.
Regarding the potential use of Trudder House as a refugee centre, the Department of Integration previously said: ‘This is a nationwide urgent situation and centres have been opened in all parts of the country. All of the limited accommodation capacity
‘We work hard to keep it peaceful’ ‘Demand continues to outstrip supply’
within the IPAS system is currently being used.
‘While demand continues to outstrip supply, the department, on behalf of the Government, is doing all it can to ensure that all families and children have been accommodated.
‘In response to the accommodation crisis, the HSE has offered the vacant property of Trudder House (also known as River Lodge) and its surrounding lands to assist the department in accommodating those seeking international protection.
‘The department has gratefully accepted this offer and was assessing how it might best utilise this property, following preliminary groundworks at the site. However, due to access to the site being prevented by protesters, these works have stalled, so the department has been prevented from progressing this offer any further,’ the department added.