Musician and housing activist Martin Leahy: "Voting this government back in was like ringing up the arsonist to put out the fire"

Martin Leahy didn’t set out to become a symbol of Ireland’s housing crisis. But after getting an eviction notice in 2022, he wrote a song about it and sang it outside the Dáil.

And then he came back the next week. And the next. And the next.

Three years later, he’s still there, guitar in hand, singing 'Everyone Should Have a Home' to a government that, in his view, still hasn’t listened.

Every Thursday morning, Leahy packs his guitar, boards an early bus and makes the trek from Ballinadee in West Cork to Dublin.

On May 15, the singer-songwriter marked the three-year anniversary of his one-man housing protest, and was joined by musicians, campaigners and politicians including Sinn Féin's Eoin Ó Broin, Social Democrats' Rory Hearne, People Before Profit's Paul Murphy, as well as members of Derelict Ireland and Access for All.

But the anniversary wasn’t exactly a cause for celebration.

"It feels like another grim milestone that I’m marking because it needs to be called out in every way possible. When I started my protest I thought the housing crisis could not have been any worse at that point, how wrong I was!"

Leahy doesn't beat around the bush when asked about the current government.

"I don’t have any hope in a Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government fixing this crisis. They caused it. Voting them back in was like ringing up the arsonist to put out the fire."

His frustration with the government also stems from their decision to lift the eviction ban in 2023.

"It was an awfully cruel thing to do. The homeless services were pleading with them not to lift it. They were told it would worsen things - and that’s exactly what’s happened."

Despite the setbacks, some meaningful moments have gotten Leahy out of bed and back to the same square of pavement week after week.

"A primary school group was passing by on a Dáil tour. The teacher stopped the group and told them to listen to me. She said what was going on with my protest was as important as what was going on inside the Dáil. The kids sang along on the chorus. I’ll never forget it.

"I’ve learned so much about the connections between the fight for all basic human rights, mainly from meeting other activists.

"When I feel like giving up, I try and remember the sense of helplessness I felt before I started. I don’t feel that anymore," he continues. "Every time I do it, I can say to myself that I’ve done something. I’ve tried."

And he’s not alone, “I get messages from people who tell me it gives them hope to see me still going. That in turn gives me encouragement to keep going too.

"I’ve only ever operated on a week-to-week basis,” Leahy says. “If I was to think in terms of how long I’d do it for, it might be too overwhelming. It feels empowering to do it each week - and as long as it feels like that, I’ll keep going again the next week.

"I used to be the kind of person who would never dream of doing something like this. I’ve learned that feelings of embarrassment or shame are totally useless. They can stop you from speaking out and taking a stand."

So what does Leahy think would make a real difference now?

"We need more mass demonstrations. Raise the Roof, Cost of Living... there haven’t been enough regular, big protests. How can you tell if people have ‘given up’ if there’s no outlet for them to voice their frustration?

"Many of the freedoms that we enjoy today were brought about by people protesting. Repeal, Water Charges, Marriage Equality... there are countless examples in this country of protests bringing about change. There’s definitely one sure way of guaranteeing that nothing will change - say nothing and do nothing."

Until Ireland finally takes real action on its housing emergency, Leahy will keep singing his song. He’ll be back next Thursday and again the following week, and the streets outside the Dáil will continue to echo with the words: 'Everyone Should Have a Home.'

"As long as it feels empowering to do it, I’ll keep going."