A league of their own

Michael Davitt would be scratching his head if he wee still alive.  The Land League which he established in the 19^th century to protect tenant farmers is now back in business. Its first foray is to defend one of the family homes of a wealthy corporate lawyer who carved out a property empire for himself during the boom.  Or as they say themselves, they protect them all big and small. 

The suggestion that Michael Davitt would sympathise with absentee landlords during the laisez faire boom of the Victorian era is pure nonsense.  But when it comes to facts they’re in a league of their own.  Famously this group protested at an auction of distressed investment property that “Is this what Constant Markievicz died in St Stephen’s Green for in 1916”. 

There are sadly fewer busts bigger than that of the O’Donnell family.  But the suggestion that it has been as a result of government action is delusional.  The total number of quarterly repossessions has never risen over 100. Which by EU standards is quiet low.  There have been more cases where people handed back the keys than repossessions.  Irish Courts have been slow at ordering repossessions. 

Interestingly Donegal is seeing a growth in repossessions of property homes as the high Euro Sterling exchange rate encourages people to come across the border to pick up good value in holiday homes.   

Sinn Fein’s stance on this will be interesting as up north they play down their left wing credentials and are keen to see property prices pick up.  This pick up makes Southern property even better value.

At the week-end the New Land League were protesting at the Labour Party National Conference in Killarney against water charges.  They’re headed up by a former developer friend of Bertie Ahearn who was on the Fianna Fail Ard Comhairle.  It’s a fallacy that opposition to water charges is solely based on left wing opposition.  However, It’s fair to say there is little co-operation between the Land League and militant opposition.  They all share common opposition to property tax.

But to compare the O’Donnells with someone who has lost their job having been a first time buyer at the peak of the property bubble is an obscenity.  About 10 years ago as prices edged upward pay rose so that people could afford housing.  To finance this 100% mortgages were commonplace. The furnishings and second car were added in to loans that lasted for in some cases over 35 years.

But this was not what was at the core of O’Donnells problems.  It’s hard to equate their problems with someone who wanted to get their foot on the property ladder.  Investors wanted to control that ladder. They expected and felt a right to make significant returns on their investments.  This shouldn’t happen to them.  One wonders if a tenant in a property they rented was behind in payment whether they would have approved of the Land League entering in support of a tenant?

The media circus outside the property in Kiliney is mind boggling.  After all the years of property and slump, have we learnt anything? Has the media learnt anything?