A crowd of between 250 and 350 people attended a protest march in Clonmel today in a show of support for Sean Meehan. The New Inn man is facing a court hearing on April 4th as part of planning enforcement proceedings commenced by Tipperary County Council. In December the District Court issued an instruction for a home Mr Meehan has constructed on land he owns in New Inn to be removed as it does not have planning permission. The home is a mobile home that has had log cabin type cladding added to improve the warmth of the accommodation. Talks are said to be ongoing between Mr Meehan’s representatives and the Council’s legal, planning and housing staff to arrive at a resolution. There were inadequacies in the planning applications submitted and the refusals were not appealed to An Bord Pleanála.
The protest march today heard from three speakers – including Tom Hennessy, and John Carroll the owner of a hospitality business in Cashel. The audience heard how the time has come to draw a line in the sand as there seems to be one law for people arriving in Ireland and one law for Irish people referencing the Government’s installing of modular homes without planning permission in several locations. The campaign to save Sean’s Cabin will hold a fundraiser next week in Mother Hubbard’s in Cashel and has also garnered huge support online with over 6,800 signatures on a petition on change.org and over €6,600 donated to a Go Fund Me to cover legal costs.
