This article is from page 5 of the 2006-05-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 5 JPG
THE mayor of Ennis said yesterday that the 13member traveller family living on the grounds of the Bishop of Killaloe has done little to gain any sympathy for their plight from the general public.
Last Saturday week, without the permission of Dr Walsh, Tomas and Rosie Molloy and their 11 children pulled their two caravans and one van into the Ennis residence of Dr Walsh. Yesterday, the Molloy family were continuing to defy a request from the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, to vacate his Ennis residence.
At the site, Rosie Molloy said that Bishop Walsh has not been in contact since she spoke with him the weekend the family moved onto the site — Dr Walsh was away from his residence the day when the Molloys moved in.
Ms Molloy said she is hoping the council can provide a site for the family. “All we want are facilities to wash the kids and a site.”
Commenting on the situation, Ennis’s mayor, Councillor Frankie Neylon, said, “I don’t know the family but they have done little in the past that would gain them any sympathy.
“The family purchased a house through the shared ownership scheme with the council, but walked away from the council home and went to England so they made themselves homeless.”
Cllr Neylon said that the house the Molloys left remains vacant and boarded up.
He added, “The Town Council can’t consider the Molloys because they left a home even though they purchased it through the shared ownership scheme.”
The Molloys left their shared ownership house in Ennis to go to London 18 months ago. Rosie Molloy is currently seven months pregnant with their 12th child — already, the couple has six girls and five boys.
Dr Walsh has previously allowed the Molloys remain on the diocesan property in the late 1990s for a number of months.
A diocesan spokesman explained that Dr Walsh was unavailable for comment yesterday as he is away and was away for much of last week.