Local couple forced to live under canvas in Phoenix Park
By Brendan Grehan
A TALLAGHT woman who is homeless has been forced to live in a tent in the Phoenix Park.
Edel Stirling, a mother of two, has been living in the tent for the past three months with her partner, Jason Vickers.
Edel, who is originally from Rossfield, and Jason, from Ballyfermot, were staying in homeless accommodation in Little Britain Street in the city centre run by Depaul but left after they had concerns about their security.
Edel told The Echo: “We didn’t feel safe there. Things were going missing.”
Previously Edel had lived in Athy in rented accommodation with her two children aged 13 and eight. They moved back to Dublin after her landlord decided to sell the property and Edel’s two children moved in with her mother in Rossfield.
Edel said: “If the children were to stay with me then we would be put up in a hotel. I don’t think that is any way for two children to live, to live in a hotel room. So I would rather they stay with my mother.”
Edel and Jason stayed in friends’ houses before moving into homeless accommodation and then they made the decision to camp in Phoenix Park.
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