Cork singer to mark 100th protest at Leinster House

A CORK singer and songwriter who has for almost two years travelled to Dublin every week to protest the housing crisis will next week mark his hundredth performance outside Leinster House.

Every week since May 2022, come rain, shine, sleet, snow and even a visit from US president Joe Biden, Martin Leahy has travelled from West Cork to Dublin’s Kildare Street to perform his song ‘Everyone Should Have A Home’.

Thursday, April 18, will mark Mr Leahy’s hundredth weekly protest outside the national parliament, and he will perform his song at lunchtime, joined by several guests on the day.

Mr Leahy began his weekly protests as a reaction to finding himself in a precarious housing situation, one which has yet to be resolved.

“When I started my protest a hundred weeks ago, it was hard for me to imagine then that the housing crisis could get any worse,” he said.

“Unfortunately almost two years on and the numbers of all the people experiencing this crisis have risen to unimaginable levels — people in emergency accommodation, people in homeless shelters, child homelessness, people sleeping on the streets and the hidden homeless.

“The people in rented accommodation facing eviction have also been neglected by the Government and thrown under the bus by the lifting of the eviction ban,” he said.

Among the guests expected to attend Mr Leahy’s hundredth protest are Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin, housing campaigner Rory Hearne, dereliction campaigners Jude Sherry and Frank O’Connor, and Sophia and Bernard Mulvany of Access For All Ireland.

Mr Leahy said he intends to continue his weekly protest for the foreseeable future.

“It’s been inspiring and heartening to have been joined by so many musicians, writers, poets, activists and supporters over the last two years.”