Mayo woman (65) facing eviction says her life is 'in limbo'

A SIXTY-five-year-old woman who faces the prospect of being evicted from her Louisburgh home described as 'dehumanising' the thought of moving into homeless accommodation in Charlestown.

Last year, Máire Garvey was informed by her landlord that she will have to vacate the house in Louisburgh where she has been living in for eleven years. Since then she has unsuccessfully looked for a new place to live in the west Mayo area and despite being on the housing list for the past eight years has been told by Mayo County Council that as there is no house available for her.

“I really thought when I got the notice of termination a year ago that I would find a place and fairly quickly or the council would find a place. I never thought I would be overholding and doing that type of thing,” Máire told The Mayo News.

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A native of Donegal, whose parents hailed from Claremorris and Kiltimagh, Máire explained the only place Mayo County Council has offered for her to live is their homeless centre in Charlestown, a prospect she says which horrifies her.

“The only place they will send me is Charlestown in a shared hostel which is overcrowded and where they are doubling up and trebling up in rooms at the moment.

“I can't go to Charlestown ... it is wrong and the fact councillors in Castlebar refused to send families over there says it all. I have lived in Louisburgh for eleven years and been part of the community. They [Council] don't think of us as people, we are file numbers and nuisances. It is dehumanising,” she explained.

Difficult job

While accepting that the housing section of Mayo County Council has a difficult job to do, Máire feels that not enough information is being given to people who find themselves, like her, with nowhere to go.

“This is a crisis and nobody seems to be responding to it as a crisis. I don't mean to be critical of them [Council] and I would not want their job because it cannot be easy dealing with people who are homeless and traumatised. But at the same time they need to realise this is a real crisis and it is real people we are talking about.”

Last Wednesday, Máire's saga took a sinister twist when received an anonymous letter which stated that the locks on her home would be changed from Monday, April 28 and no access would be granted to any possessions if they were not removed prior to this date. It proved to be bogus but Máire said she felt at the time it was real and she felt somewhat intimidated that somebody would send it for whatever reason.

Having moved to Dublin from Donegal when she was 18, Máire explained that she lived and worked in Dublin for close to 20 years before deciding she wanted to move west.

She initially rented accommodation in Lecanvey but following the death of her father, her mother came to live with her and that is when she moved into her current home.

“The moment I moved out here it was the first time in my life that I felt at home anywhere.

“I have been in this house for eleven years and I honestly thought they would be carrying me out in a box. But that is not to be the case I am afraid,” she lamented.

GoFundMe page

In an effort to help Maire, a friend Áine Maguire set up a GoFundMe page to buy a mobile home as a place to stay but despite raising the money they could not find a suitable site to place it.

Máire says she is still looking for a place to stay around Louisburgh but as she reaches her pension age, she feels her life is now in a state of limbo.

“After 65 years on this planet I did not expect to find myself here. I am living in limbo at the moment and I can't get on with my life and make any plans and all I can do is keep on doing what I am doing.

“I am literally asking anyone and everyone and people have been amazing. An amount of people have offered me a room in their house if I need it - and some of these people I barely know. It is the kindness of strangers which makes me feel better because I know there is some decency in the world.”