Martin Leahy to mark three-year anniversary of weekly housing crisis protest

Cork-based singer-songwriter Martin Leahy will mark the three-year anniversary of his weekly housing crisis protest outside Dáil Éireann on May 15.

Every Thursday for the past 156 weeks, Leahy has sung his song ‘Everyone Should Have A Home’ outside the gates of the Dáil. To celebrate the milestone, he will be joined by guest speakers Eoin Ó Broin, Rory Hearne, Paul Murphy, Margaret O'Regan, Derelict Ireland, Access For All and Jimi Cullen. The demonstration will last from 1-2 p.m.

Leahy wrote the song as a response to the housing crisis in Ireland. The subject hits close to his life, as he found out his landlord was planning to sell his home before writing the song. In a sense of desperation, Leahy traveled to Dáil to protest the crisis.

"It was the first time I had ever done anything like this and it felt empowering and worthwhile,” he said. “I also feel that it's important to lift the shame that is felt by so many people around this housing crisis. People can feel that they have done something wrong in their lives because housing is unaffordable for them but it's not their fault. It's a failure on the part of government. It's important to me to take a stand as one person and say that we should not accept this crisis as part of life.”

Listen to ‘Everyone Should Have A Home’ below: