Assurances from public representatives that a local provider would not be signing a contract allowing 90 adult male international protection applicants to live in his B&B did little to quell an angry public meeting outside Ballyshannon on Thursday night, December 14.

More than 250 people – some of them emotional and furious – attended the chaotic meeting in the Breesy Centre in Cashelard on Thursday night.

Their anger was sparked after learning via a radio station a few hours previously that 90 males were to be housed at Cavangarden Bed and Breakfast located just off the N15 about two miles from Ballyshannon and three miles from Belleek.

It was understood that a deal had been struck to house the males in temporary accommodation and they were due to be housed in 29 rooms, reportedly from December 14.

It was believed that a one-year contract had been signed.

For much of the meeting, the atmosphere was verging on toxic, with local Fine Gael Councillor Barry Sweeney, Sinn Féin Councillor Michael McMahon, Fianna Fáil Councillor Michael Naughton and Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny all being repeatedly shouted down as they tried to speak.

On a few occasions, they were verbally abused by a small but vocal group in the centre.

Mr. Kenny got so frustrated that at one point he threatened to leave the meeting.

The only politician who escaped relatively unscathed was Sligo/Leitrim Independent TD Marian Harkin, who told The Impartial Reporter afterwards that the “system” for bringing refugees or asylum seekers into the country was “broken”.

Síol na hÉireann member and prominent anti-vaxxer Niall McConnell, from Castlefin, Co. Donegal, was videoing the meeting.

Local businessman Donal Kelly chaired the meeting, but had an almost impossible task in keeping order as the irate gathering frequently descended into a shouting match.

Opening the meeting, Mr. Kelly said there were concerns about people coming into Ireland and taking over accommodation.

He said that nobody out there was talking against this development.

Mr. Kelly said he was neutral but there were fears about the numbers of people coming into the country and the amount of money that it was costing.

He said that he had seen it all over Ireland and people were being classed as “the Far Right” when they spoke against the unvetted people who were coming to the country.

Mr. Kelly said there were some migrants who were engaged in criminality, even murder.

He claimed this was not being published, and was kept under the carpet all the time due to European rules and regulations.

He added that people who were concerned would have to accept that they were going to be branded as “Far Right”.

“Someone has to come out and speak against what is happening in the country,” said Mr. Kelly. He was warmly applauded for this statement.

Mr. Kelly said he was calling on the politicians to have their say.

Sinn Féin Councillor Michael McMahon said politicians had already been working very hard on the Cavangarden B&B issue.

He said he only heard about the proposal late on Wednesday evening at 5.30pm and was astonished that there were so many coming.

Councillor McMahon said he had spoken with the owner, and the owner said he was unaware that it was single males who were coming to the area.

Councillor McMahon was repeatedly barracked before Fine Gael Councillor Barry Sweeney asked for respect, but he was also heckled. He appealed for calm, as did the Chairman, Mr. Kelly, and asked for respect for the politicians.

“There was no notice given in advance and I did not know anything about these people coming until about 4.30pm on Wednesday December 13, when I got two phone calls," said Councillor Sweeney.

“There was an e-mail in my e-mail box from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and explaining that they intended to house 90 male refugees in Cavangarden House.

“They were not Ukrainian and were from elsewhere in the world, and they would be housed in 29 rooms, and it explained the process.”

Councillor Sweeney said he was very concerned and worried and did not like the idea of this happening in “our community as it was going to create a lot of fear and concern".

He added that this was made worse by some people “scaremongering on social media".

Councillor Sweeney said he contacted one of the owners, who had seen some comments on social media but did not respond.

The owners thought the information in the government document about 29 males being housed was not correct.

“There is a third party here, a company called King Accommodation Services, who are based in Co. Monaghan and who act as an agent between the property owners and the government.

“The government department were in Cavangarden House and examined the property and the Department and the company decided to put in up to 90 people.

“The owners were not aware of this until I sent on the briefing document to the family after 10pm last night.

“They were aware from the day before that something was happening, and were in negotiation to find terms and conditions until those conditions were released to the public representatives around 4pm on Wednesday.

“The owners did not know about this until I sent on the e-mail at 10pm.

“The agreement says it was signed between the company and the Department, but the owners told me that they will not be signing the contract between them and the company.

“The owners are not happy, and they did not envisage 90 single males coming in, as they had set out the plans for family accommodation.

“They were expecting a maximum of 60-65 people – families, who could be comfortably accommodated in that property.

“It means the single men cannot come to Cavangarden.”

A number of speakers claimed that refugees were being brought in “in the dead of night”.

The meeting then descended into angry exchanges between the floor and the politicians, with some demanding that the owners should be at the meeting.

Others claimed Donegal “a dumping area".

One woman wondered why “these people were allowed to come into this country unvetted and why were there so many single males".

A man asked if the conditions changed, and it was reduced to 50 males, would the owners then sign an agreement with the company?

Councillor Sweeney said he did not think so, but it was not for him to speak for the owners.

Another speaker said the people of Donegal were not Far Right or Fascist as they had been branded by Sinn Féin, and while they were being called “Far Right”, they were “right so far".

He said every political party was supporting mass migration, and it was affecting the housing supply at a time when there were 20,000 homeless people in the country.

“We had the murder of Ashling Murphy by a migrant; we had three children stabbed in Dublin, and their carer, by a migrant who is 20 years here, but his thinking is still the same as where he came from.”

Another man called the public representatives “traitors".

And still another said they could have “90 men walking around the roads at night".

Another man said that when people became concerned about their communities, they were labelled “Rightwing extremists".

Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny asked that if “we all could be respectful to each other we would get a lot more progress".

He said that people had a right to be annoyed, but he was repeatedly barracked.

Independent TD for Sligo/Leitrim, Marian Harkin, said that as soon as she got the document from the Department, she sent it on to Ocean FM radio.

Ms. Harkin said she had spoken to people in Boyle and Roscommon after migrants arrived overnight and the people did not know beforehand, and they were very angry.

“People have a right to know who are coming to their area," said Ms. Harkin.

“We need a debate on migration on this country. It is being talked about in every house in the country, except Leinster House.”

Meanwhile, The Impartial Reporter has learned that Cavangarden B&B could be turned into a project that will bring significant benefits to the area down the line as the housing of migrant families would only be temporary.