Tipperary pensioner facing jail time says court date will come as a relief- ‘I’m living in limbo’

Mr. Meehan (65) from Woodinstown, New Inn, Co Tipperary is facing the prospect of spending his last week in his beloved home before he is brought to jail for refusing to demolish his modified log cabin.

Speaking to the Irish Independent a week out from his court date, Mr. Meehan admitted that next week’s court date will come as a welcome relief, as the last three weeks have been the worst weeks of his life.

Mr. Meehan was told to have his cabin removed by March 14 or else be sent to Limerick prison. March 14 has come and gone and the cabin still stands on Mr. Meehan’s land, but that decision has not come without its consequences.

Although still determined to make a stand and go to prison for what he believes in, Mr. Meehan explained that he has been “living in limbo” since March 14, terrified to leave his cabin for fear that he will arrive home to an empty site.

"It has been tough going,” sighed Sean. “I can’t go far, only to the shop and that’s as far as I have been going. But every time I come back I have that fear that I will arrive home to my land full of machinery.

"I’m in lockdown essentially. It’s starting to wreck my head. But April 4, my court date, will come as a relief for me as at least I will know one way or another what my fate is as I have been living in limbo the last three weeks. These last three weeks have been the worst three weeks. At least on April 4, even if I head off in a Garda van I’ll know my fate.”

The demolition order for the log cabin came into place on March 14, which left Mr. Meehan fearful that the council could turn up at any time to take down his home. But with the same grit and determination Mr. Meehan showed throughout this whole process, he said he would “batten down the hatches” and lie down in front of the digger if any demolition team turned up to remove his home.

“That land and that cabin is my home. I am not homeless but I am being made homeless. Even when I leave prison in four months time, I will still go back to my land because it is my home.

"Even if the cabin is demolished by the time I leave prison I will still not give up my land. I will pitch a tent on my empty site and I will live in that tent off-grid,” said Mr. Meehan.

“The homeless division in Tipperary County Council paid a visit to me and asked me where I was going to live when I left prison and I told them just that. I told them I would live in a tent on my land.

"I also told them the whole situation didn’t make sense. The council homeless services are trying to find me somewhere to live while people in the exact same building are trying to make me homeless by demolishing my cabin. One hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing.”

As the court date rapidly approaches Mr. Meehan said he has no regrets about choosing to take a stand, despite the fact that this stand could land him in prison.

"As I have said all along my prison bags are packed ready at the door. They have not moved and my decision has not changed. This situation has gone beyond just being about me. There are so many other people in a similar situation out there also facing homelessness so I’m still willing to take this stand for them. At the start I was trying to save my own skin and my own house but now I have realised how many others are suffering in a similar situation.

"Of course I am not looking forward to my time in prison, if that’s what the judge decides for me. But I have said to myself if I have done any good in my life it is this.”

Mr. Meehan’s planning ordeal came about after he went through a divorce and was forced to sell his home. As he couldn’t afford to buy a new house or rent anywhere, Mr. Meehan moved into a mobile home on land that he owned.

However, Mr. Meehan fell sick with bronchitis as his mobile home became uninhabitable during the winter due to the cold. As Mr. Meehan could not afford to move, he tried to make the mobile home more habitable by cladding it in timber and insulating it.

As Mr. Meehan went to go get planning permission he was faced with yet another health scare when he found a growth on his prostate. Planning permission was put on hold as Mr. Meehan concentrated on getting better.

"My GP actually wrote a letter for me to send to Tipperary County Council to explain that I was having treatment. But the following week I received a letter from the council to say they were still going ahead with the proceedings against me,” explained Mr. Meehan.

Since then, Mr. Meehan has made a full recovery, but has been in Cashel District Court four times. The last time Mr. Meehan went to court on December 14 he was given the ultimatum of removing the log cabin or be sent to jail.

With Mr. Meehan’s decision from that ultimatum already made, he must now wait for his court date next week to hear of his fate.