Gaeltacht housing crisis: ‘I took the seats out of the van and put a bed into it. I had nowhere else to stay’

The proportion of Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht continues to fall, according to recently released census data, with a 2 per cent decline in the number of daily speakers.

Meanwhile, all eight Gaeltacht areas saw population growth in the six years to 2022. In this context, housing for those who grew up with Irish in the area has become a focus again, with a lack of supply and a predominance of holiday homes for sale and rent making it difficult for locals to settle where they are from.

“I was born and raised here in An Teach Mór in Indreabhán. I went to college in Limerick, where I studied physiotherapy. After that I went to New Zealand for three years and then to Tasmania, Australia, for another two years,” says Adhna Ní Bhraonáin (27).

“I came home in May 2023 and was offered a job locally at the medical centre here in An Spidéal as a physiotherapist. I was thrilled to be offered the job, but I couldn’t find anywhere to rent.

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“I was staying with my parents, but they take in Gaeilgeoirí (Irish language students) during the summer months, and I had nowhere to stay. I looked online to see if there was anything available to rent. There was nothing. There were hundreds of Airbnbs but no one willing to provide a place for long-term rental.

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“I had saved some money while I was abroad and started thinking I might buy a place. But because I had no work history in Ireland, having not worked here in five years, I could not get a mortgage from the bank. Another thing that really bothered me was that the houses that were on sale were clearly being pitched as holiday homes – many were described as homes that would make ‘a lovely holiday home’ or that were ‘located in a lovely quiet area’.

“That was infuriating. People with heaps of money who just want holiday homes should not be able to just come in and buy them. There should be a language condition* on houses for sale in Gaeltacht areas.

“Dad gave me his van, the van he has had for 13 years, and I said ‘Great, I’ll make a camper van out of this.

“I spent a few weeks trying to get insurance and everyone refused me. They wouldn’t accept a no-claims bonus from other countries, nor would they accept a van as a first car – you had to have another car to qualify. There were so many obstacles put before me.

“It really blew me away because when I was abroad, I moved around a few times and worked in different jobs – each time the employer would arrange accommodation and transport for me. They bent over backwards to help me.

“Then, I came home and even though I’m a fisiteiripeach le Gaeilge (physiotherapist with Irish), due to the obstacles put before me, I didn’t feel I was welcome back in Ireland.

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“I took the seats out of the van and put a bed into it. I had to do that as I had nowhere else to stay, I was working professionally in a clinic and living in a van at the same time because of the shortage of available housing. I couldn’t take a shower or prepare food when I wanted to.

“I wrote an article about my experiences for Tuairisc.ie and after that, a lot of like-minded people contacted me, and I decided to set up a campaign group called Bánú. The reason we chose the name is that it is simple but also it has several meanings – it can mean depopulation, desertification, unoccupied, desolate, cleaned out, faulty or broken. But it also has another meaning, ‘Bánú an lae’ describes the sunrise, and that gives me hope that we can resolve these problems.”

*A language condition is a measure designed to protect the linguistic integrity in Gaeltacht areas where new residents would have to show a reasonable fluency in Irish before purchasing a home.

This article is based on a conversation with Éanna Ó Caollaí and is translated from Irish.

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