Community Raises Funds for Burned Neighbours Facing Eviction
River James, who has lived at the estate with his partner for over six years, is a well-regarded local comrade due to his longtime involvement in the struggle against the planned evictions of 14 families, including his own, by the British vulture fund LRC Group.
An accidental fire broke out in the Loreto Convent Estate, Killarney, on the 13th of June, hospitalising ten people. Amongst the badly affected were a mother and her child as well as River and Dale James, a married couple involved in the local branch of the Community Action Tenants’ Union (CATU). Fundraisers were organised for both, with the first fundraiser surpassing its goal by almost twelve thousand euros, in part thanks to a large donation by the local school and its staff. The James family’s fundraiser has been paused, although it is still 539 euros short of its funding goal.
River James, who has lived at the estate with his partner for over six years, is a well-regarded local comrade due to his longtime involvement in the struggle against the planned evictions of 14 families, including his own, by the British vulture fund LRC Group. The corporation justified these evictions by stating that it was selling the properties and thus needed to get rid of the tenants. As the tenants, many of whom are immigrants afraid for their ability to stay in the country, received silence in response to their pleas for extensions, many became unionised, succeeding in getting a council motion passed in their favour and performing maintenance which was neglected by the landlord.
LRC Group is a large multinational corporation, but does not tend to buy properties in Ireland directly. Instead, it evades scrutiny by owning its properties through Cypriot subsidiaries such as Imenika, Orkstake, Zokralo, Hazeno, and Xerico, which is the subsidiary which owns the Loreto Convent Estate. Maintenance is outsourced to Home Club Ltd., which employs an LRC Group employee as its secretary.
