"We want to be able to move on with our lives" - Galway Ring Road families whose homes face demolition
Some of the families whose homes face demolition for the proposed Galway City Ring Road want to be bought out now, regardless of whether a Judicial Review is taken to challenge the grant of planning permission.
“We don't have time on our side. We want to be able to move on with our lives,” said Marie O'Donovan, one of 54 homeowners whose houses will be knocked to make way for the proposed road.
Marie is 67, her husband Denis is 73, and their children are the fourth generation of the family to live in Old Castlegar, one of the areas most affected by the proposed road, which received planning permission a fortnight ago.
Marie said that, for 12 years while they awaited the planners' decision, homeowners with property in the Ring Road's footprint were unable to sell their homes or make simple investments, such as installing solar panels or even chairlifts to make the properties more age-appropriate.
“We are completely locked down. Our lives have been on hold for 12 years and they treated us with utter contempt. People have suffered stress, depression, anxiety and ill-health, because it's sitting on you all the time,” Marie told the Galway City Tribune.
Marie said the road will cut through the heart of the old parish of Castlegar, taking out nine family homes on School Road, 10 in Ballinfoile, and a few in Menlo.
A total of 26 homes on the east side of the Corrib from Ballybrit to Menlo will be demolished, including one property where the family's connection to Castlegar dates to 1750. The remainder are west of the Corrib.
Some homeowners may take part in a Judicial Review, but others want to “move on with our lives”, according to Marie.
“A Judicial Review could take up to five years. So we sit here for five more years? We want to be bought out now regardless of a Judicial Review, we don't have time on our side.
“The average age of homeowners is in their 60s or 70s. It takes time to settle into new communities. Moving is so traumatic, and being forced out of your family home is even more traumatic,” said Marie.
In 2018, homeowners approached Galway City Council for help finding alternative homes or to get sites, or planning permission so they could move out of the homes they were living in that were earmarked for CPO (Compulsory Purchase Orders).
“All we've met are stumbling blocks. We've looked at sites and been told, on School Road 'we're protecting the view, couldn't possibly give you planning' or 'You're not from the area' or 'You don't have a housing need' – the most ridiculous things,” said Marie.
She urged the Government to replicate the deal planned for Dublin, where homeowners will be bought out of their properties to make way for the proposed Metro.
“Money is not the answer, we need them to help us find a place to go. If they can look after people in Dublin and do a deal to relocate stables at Ballybrit for horses, put in bat houses for the bats and move everything to accommodate University of Galway and Boston Scientific, surely to God they can look after the 54 families who need a home. They have totally ignored the families. It is really bad, the way we've been treated. They need to help us find an alternative place to live,” said Marie.