Mid Ulster District Council is seeking an order for the removal of a caravan currently on the site in Magherafelt. But lawyers for those occupying the land alleged a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to NorthernIrelandWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
“It is an interference with a right to private and family life insofar as it amounts to an interference with the way of life of Irish Travellers,” barrister Malachy McGowan argued. “If it is not considered their home it would effectively eradicate their right to a nomadic existence.” Mid Ulster Council has applied for possession of the site on the basis that the Travellers are staying there unlawfully.
A judge was told the busy car park is used by members of the public attending Magherafelt Leisure Centre and staff at neighbouring schools. Advertisement Advertisement Andrew Brown , for the local authority, said: “The occupants have no legal right to be there, they have been asked to leave and they have refused.” During the hearing it emerged that the Traveller family on the site plans to mount a judicial review challenge against the attempts to have them evicted.
Mr McGowan accepted his clients do not have lawful possession of the land. However, amid claims there is nowhere else in the area for them to go, he insisted any illegal occupation was outweighed by their fundam.
