Soundmigration posted the above video on youtube, which shows the building and illustrates the activity there today.
To be honest I’m not even sure the building is even in NAMA, but this morning a group of people gained access to an office building on Great Strand Streetin Smithfieldin Dublin1. There are claims that nos 66-67 Great Strand Streetbelonged to developer Hugh O’Regan who is indeed associated with NAMA. NAMA has recently sold his Morrison Hotel around the corner to Russian, Yelena Baturina for a reported €25m. There were claims that today’s occupied building is on the NAMA foreclosure list but if it is, it’s not immediately obvious, but then again NAMA has been criticised for poor addressing of properties in the past. There is a good collection of photographs here showing the occupation and condition of the building.
In any event, the aim of the day was to draw attention to empty buildings that could well be in NAMA, and to ask if there wasn’t a better, more immediate use to which these buildings could be put. The occupation was set to last for no more than 12 hours, and beyond making a point, it was to have included talks on NAMA, its lack of transparency and the issue of empty buildings. The occupying group published a programme for the day which was to have included presentations, it is claimed, by Michael Taft, economist from UNITE and Andy Storey, lecturer at UCD.
Reports claim that about 70 people turned up, that Conor McCabe, author of Sins of the Fathers, made a presentation, but at around 3pm, the boys and girls in blue turned up with solicitor in tow, and ordered the building to be cleared in 10 minutes. There is no suggestion of criminal damage being done to the building which is in pretty poor condition internally – there is evidence of severe water ingress and damage – and about an hour later, people had more or less left, and removed themselves to a nearby pub, Nealon’s on Capel Street, to complete what seems to have been a useful event.
NAMA might say that it doesn’t own property, it owns loans and that it is the responsibility of the developer to secure and maintain the building. Having said that, NAMA, has appointed receivers to about 1,000 properties, some of which contain multiple units. I understand that there is legal action afoot after protesters in Cork occupied an empty commercial building onOliver Plunkett Street over the Christmas period. The owner of the building, a company called Padlake Limited had previously been struck off and was seemingly restored at the Company Registration Office in order to pursue its legal action.
There is seemingly a group which organised the protest and occupation today called Unlock NAMA which says it has three demands “1) Make NAMA properties available for social and community use 2) Publish full addresses and details on all properties under NAMA 3) Publish full details on all sales of NAMA assets” Some 20-30% of Dublin’s commercial space is presently vacant, which is considerably above a long term average of 7% (though it has been suggested – unconvincingly in my view – in recent times that the “normal” vacancy rate is closer to 15%)
NAMA Wine Lake 
Some of these guys should know by now, the pen is mightier than the sword, and has been for a long time.
The Guards are playing a very dangerous game indeed. This moves comes less than a week after we learned that the senior Garda in charge of the Anglo-Irish investigation has retired to work for Bank of Ireland, and after we learned that there are only 11(10?) Gardai working on the investigation in total.
It would appear indeed that the national police force of Ireland has morphed into little more than a private security company for Irish Banks, Property companies and their interests.
I have spoken before about the State losing moral authority, and how it would find it difficult to evict protesters such as these. But I had hoped that at least the Garda Síochána would would be able to avoid any such loss of face. I hoped they would.
However given their uncharacteristically swift and decisive action on this protest, juxtaposed with their lethargy in investigating Anglo, and now their apparent coziness in retirement with the banking sector, I cannot see how the Gardai can avoid the charge of acting in the interests of private banks, instead of for public good. I could put up the Guards being unable to tackle the banks due to lack of expertise, or lacking resources, or being busy elsewhere; I could put up with that. But it’s hard to put up with if from a police force that has squad-cars and solicitors on call to turf a few hippies out of derelict buildings on ten minutes notice. It’s hard to put up with.
I’m really worried about these developments.
Welcome to the New World Order. Obama can now have the military “arrest” a US citizen anywhere in the world without due process and hold them forever in a foreign country, try the beaches at Guantanamo resort. By the way, Obama fancies himself as a “Constitutional Scholar”.
I hear there is a movement to change the name of Shannon Airport to Shannon Rendition Airport that lovely connection on your way to an extreme torture vacation. Maybe they will work it out so the “tourists” can have enough time to disembark and buy a stuffed Leprechaun and really help the Irish economy.
As NAMA’s an agency of the State and owned by the people, perhaps the occupiers should have served a notice on the owners, claiming that they had foreclosed on the property on behalf of the citizens of Ireland and were taking legitimate possession and that therefore it was a civil matter and the gardai had no authority to interfere. It would have given Peter Kelly some amusement next Monday morning.
Great Strand Street does appear on the enforcement list, just wrongly labeled (along with a few other streets) as D2. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/221/picture5pm.png/
@Catto, many thanks indeed, I will ask NAMA to clarify. This is not the first time NAMA has confusingly addressed a building. Mind you the entry you found makes no reference to 66-67, it just says “Great Strand Street”.
EDIT: Also I see that NAMA has labelled it a “warehouse”!
66-67’s last role in life was as a warehouse for Roches Stores, though it obviously wasn’t built for that purpose.
The deal selling the Morrison has not yet been completed, the article link even points to this saying “One of Russia’s richest women set to buy Morrison Hotel for up to €25m”. 66-67 GSS will more than lightly be sold as part of this.
The buidling was definately owned by Hugh O Regan and is listed as such in the registry of deeds
@Finny, the first NAMA foreclosure list from July 2011 lists two properties on Great Strand Street, one is at Great Strand Street in Dublin 1 and is shown as a “warehouse” and another at Great Strand Street in Dublin 2 which is shown as “Development – commenced”
The latest foreclosure list just shows one entry for “Great Strand Street” which is shown as “Dublin 2” and is shown as a “Development – Commenced”
The article regarding the Morrison is incorrect. The Russian may have been set – but she didn’t buy it. And the price was much less than €25 million.
The other property is not the Morrison – its address is not on GSS but on the Quays. The other building is on the other end of the street close to Liffey street.