Irish rent row protest in London!

by New Worker correspondent

A  Sinn Féin member of the Dublin parliament says the Irish government must urgently intervene in the escalating Knockmealdown rent dispute as protesters occupied an exclusive antiquarian bookshop in London belonging to the absentee landlord at the centre of the row. The shop was peacefully occupied during the protest with a strong presence maintained outside.
London’s Terence MacSwiney Committee, named after the Lord Mayor of Cork who died on hunger strike in Brixton prison during the Irish fight for freedom in 1920,  was glad to lend our support to this protest against the Duke of Devonshire to highlight the extortionate increase on Lismore farmers from £500 to £5000!
Conor D McGuinness, the Sinn Féin Deputy for Waterford, said the protest has brought fresh attention to a dispute that threatens the future of traditional hill farming in the Knockmealdowns and reflects the depth of anger among farmers and their supporters.
Speaking shortly after the protest, McGuinness said "today's occupation of the landlord's Mayfair bookshop in London has put a sharp spotlight on the disgraceful situation facing hill farmers in the Knockmealdowns. These are farming families whose people have worked these mountains for generations, and they are now being hit with a reported 900 per cent rent increase that would drive them off the land. I stand with them and with those protesting in solidarity with them.
"I am in touch with the protesters and I will continue to support the farmers as they campaign to protect their livelihoods, their communities and their future on these mountains. What is needed now is government intervention and a solution. I have raised this directly in the Dáil with the Minister for Agriculture, including the fact that farm payments are being withheld because a commonage letter from the landlord is required before payments can issue, even in respect of other lands not in dispute. That means the Minister is effectively holding these farmers over a barrel in the middle of an already outrageous dispute. That is unacceptable and it must end. It's 2026, not 1846. The government needs to act accordingly".