{"id":407994,"date":"2026-01-12T09:20:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T09:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/407994\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T09:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T09:20:07","slug":"i-have-nowhere-to-go-i-am-frightened-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/407994\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I have nowhere to go. I am frightened\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

An elderly survivor of a Magda<\/a>lene laundry<\/a> says she is \u201cfrightened\u201d and \u201chas nowhere to go\u201d as her landlord, the Royal Hospital Donnybrook Housing Association (RHDHA), moves to evict her for antisocial behaviour which occurred when she experienced psychosis three years ago. <\/p>\n

Nuala Clarke (70), who was in the Donnybrook<\/a> Magdalene laundry as a teenager, has a lifetime history of bipolar disorder<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Her former GP, Ranelagh-based Dr Philip MacMahon, now retired, says she is \u201cwell now and looking after herself\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe can experience psychosis secondary to her bipolar disorder\u201d, which could result in her hearing voices, behaving irrationally and becoming paranoid and agitated, he says. \u201cNow, she is fine. Her intelligence shines through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Clarke says she has been \u201cin and out of hospital, trying to survive, all my life\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was born in Cavan and brought to Belfast by my mother when I was two months. I don\u2019t know why.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came down to Dublin at the age of nine, supposedly on a holiday, and was put into St Clare\u2019s [convent and now-closed orphanage for girls] in Harold\u2019s Cross the next morning. That was all arranged.\u201d <\/p>\n

She lost contact with her late mother, who she says was abusive. <\/p>\n

Aged 16 she \u201chad to leave\u201d St Clare\u2019s but had \u201cnowhere to go\u201d. She \u201cended up at the door\u201d of the Sisters of Charity<\/a> Magdalene laundry near her current home. \u201cI worked in the kitchen and diningroom … I felt sorry for the women. Some of them had a terrible life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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After less than a year she got a job looking after children for a Sandymount family, which she \u201cloved\u201d but left when she got work as a cook and dishwasher in Switzer\u2019s department store. <\/p>\n

Still a teenager, she struggled with mental illness and spent long periods in St Brendan\u2019s psychiatric hospital, as well as spells in homeless accommodation. She has worked throughout her life as a cleaner and cook.<\/p>\n

She was housed by Dublin City Council<\/a> in the RHDHA complex of 19 one-bedroom apartments, at Beech Hill, Donnybrook, in 2018. Her rent is \u20ac335 a month.<\/p>\n

The RHDHA describes itself as a \u201csocial housing provider with a focus on accommodating frail older adults and people with disabilities\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Royal Hospital Donnybrook, which provides rehabilitative and residential care, says it is a \u201ccompletely separate entity\u201d to the RHDHA with \u201cno involvement, or knowledge, in relation to any matter\u201d before it. <\/p>\n

The RHDHA on its website says, however, its \u201cassociation with the Royal Hospital Donnybrook … gives us a unique understanding into the needs of older adults and people with disabilities\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"NualaNuala Clarke: Since April 2024, when she was discharged from hospital on new medication, there have been no reported incidents of antisocial behaviour, say those advocating for her. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill <\/p>\n

In 2022, triggered by media coverage of institutional abuse, Ms Clarke stopped taking new medication that she says did not suit her. <\/p>\n

\u201cI started hearing more voices, especially at night. I was shouting at night. I know, hands up, I was,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I went to somebody\u2019s door. The voices told me to go there and I sat in her bathroom. I have apologised to her since.\u201d <\/p>\n

She says she heard people laughing at her, calling her names, shouting in at her. \u201cI was shouting too, I know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her behaviour \u2013 which continued sporadically to March 2024 when she was brought to hospital by garda\u00ed, who came upon her in a highly agitated state in the city centre \u2013 resulted in multiple complaints to RHDHA management. <\/p>\n

She was issued verbal and written warnings, and finally a notice of termination of her tenancy in July 2023. <\/p>\n

On March 13th, 2024, while she was in hospital, an adjudication hearing on \u201coverholding\u201d of her tenancy was heard at the Residential Tenancies Board<\/a> (RTB). Ms Clarke was not represented. It determined the notice of termination was valid and that Ms Clarke must \u201cgive up possession\u201d of the apartment. <\/p>\n

Since April 2024, when she was discharged from hospital on new medication, there have been no reported incidents of antisocial behaviour, say those advocating for her. <\/p>\n

The RTB determination was appealed on her behalf by Dr MacMahon and a solicitor, the late Jim O\u2019Higgins, who knew Ms Clarke for many years. The two men contacted Sage Advocacy, which continues to support her. <\/p>\n

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The RTB appeal was heard in September 2024. In its ruling upholding the determination order, the tribunal said Ms Clarke\u2019s behaviour had been \u201cextreme\u201d and posed a \u201cdanger\u201d to other residents and RHDHA staff. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tribunal notes that [Ms Clarke\u2019s] behaviour has improved in the recent past but, unfortunately for [her], this does not cancel or negate the fact that the landlord had valid grounds to serve the Notice of Termination when it did,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Sage Advocacy and Dr MacMahon requested a \u201ccompromise\u201d that would allow her to stay, but the RHDHA has initiated District Court proceedings to enforce the eviction. <\/p>\n

Ms Clarke, supported by Sage, has lodged a claim under the Equal Status Act at the Workplace Relations Commission<\/a> (WRC) alleging discrimination by the RHDHA on the grounds of her disability. She believes the initial RTB adjudication hearing should not have proceeded while she was in hospital and she alleges her disability was insufficiently considered.<\/p>\n

The Irish Times understands the RHDHA made a request for her to drop the WRC case and any future litigation against it in exchange for being allowed stay on for an additional six months. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have nowhere to go,\u201d she says. \u201cI will have to go to a homeless shelter. I am frightened. I don\u2019t know what I am going to do. Sometimes I feel like harming myself; wish God would take me. I just want to be left alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokeswoman for the RHDHA said the association \u201cconsiders any form of antisocial behaviour to be unacceptable\u201d. \u201cWe aim to prevent antisocial behaviour from taking place in our complexes and to reduce its effect on people and neighbourhoods when it does occur.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tenant seriously breached the terms of her tenancy on multiple occasions. While every attempt has been made to resolve the situation, ultimately the safety of the other vulnerable residents and staff is our responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An elderly survivor of a Magdalene laundry says she is \u201cfrightened\u201d and \u201chas nowhere to go\u201d as her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407995,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[64,63,7110,216184,216185,137,216183,514,515,216186,13382],"class_list":{"0":"post-407994","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-disability","11":"tag-donnybrook","12":"tag-dublin-city-council","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-magdalene-laundries","15":"tag-mental-health","16":"tag-mentalhealth","17":"tag-residential-tenancies-board-prtb","18":"tag-workplace-relations-commission"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}