Frank O'Connor

@frankoconnor.bsky.social

1366 Followers 129 Following

art - design - activism #DerelictIreland ffud.art | anois.org

“So how do you explain that in a country frequently ranked as one of the richest in the world, public squalor dominates our public realm, infrastructure and services?” @judesherry.bsky.social & my thoughts in todays The Journal #DerelictIreland #RestPlayWork #PublicLuxury #SpeirGhorm
Rising homeless numbers when we've empty homes dotted across country is disgusting betrayal of people No doubt everyone should have a home but our government clearly doesn't agree as they continue to prioritise needs of property hoarders, speculators over those without home #derelictireland ffud.art
923 Bessborough by ffud.art
Tonight me & @judesherry.bsky.social are having a chat with filmmaker Philip Denvir on "forgotten spaces", this years Boyne Music Festival theme Details 👇 https://boynemusicfestival.com/ Talking 'bout forgotten spaces we came across this unusual compilation earlier #DerelictIreland #RestPlayWork
"We live with Dóchas that as a country we’ve learned from our dark past & can move forward with religious organisations demonstrating moral leadership rather than chasing more money & causing even further anguish & trauma" @judesherry.bsky.social & my latest housing essay in The Journal #speirghorm
Me & @judesherry.bsky.social couldn't believe levels of vacancy & dereliction in Sligo Town when we visited last year This row was one of many seriously decaying There were also many homes left vacant, ready to occupy In a housing emergency it really is not a good look for the hoarders #speirghorm
It really is a race to the bottom in housing policy in Ireland
Brilliant turnout in Cork City for "No building over Bessborough" ❤️ #923 #Justice
Solidarity is beautiful ❤️ Cork City Ireland now
Discuss Convent Lands ffud.art, 2024
F*CK FAST FASHION Handpainted onto a pre-owned T-Shirt by ffud art
I see the vandalism of Boole House continues Disgraceful by Cork City council & UCC Not easy to change culture around dereliction when you've all this wheeling & dealing by state bodies, without actually ending the dereliction Some example to set for everyone #DerelictIreland
Seriously how this piece claims to show the real meaning of fast fashion is beyond me .. No mention of over consumption & resource use, carbon footprint, pollution impacts, worker health & exploitation, increased waste & landfill ... But lots of normalising of a toxic industry 😬
For 6 yrs me & Jude Sherry have taken people for dereliction tours of Cork for free to challenge Irish culture around this vandalism Tours have been a huge success, thank you all Now we are charging a fee so we can continue #DerelictIreland movement Visit: ffud.art
Politicians make people homeless ffud.art for #DerelictIreland
Solidarity is beautiful ❤️ Cork City Ireland now
As such ‘Use it or Lose It’ polices could be designed to target homes owned by companies, bank and large landlords" Me & jude sherry make the case for compulsory sales & rental & custodian squatting in this weeks housing piece in The Journal #DerelictIreland
Walking, talking & chalking are central to @judesherry.bsky.social & my life together over past decade, most recently #DerelictIreland So if you really want to see Cork city thru' new eyes join our #DerelictCork Walking Tour Book on ffud.art Sat. 18th July 11am - 12.30 €20pp #tourism #politicalart
In terms of our Journal piece today on "Use It or Lose It" here's @judesherry.bsky.social making case for compulsory sales, compulsory rental at Oireachtas last year Its hard to say it but hoarding homes in Housing Crisis is just like hoarding food in Famine Everyone should have a home❤️ #speirghorm
Time use it or lose it so everyone has a home
Have a look at the derelict site in photo Cork City Council spent €599,143 on this last year Yep €599,143 on an empty site that they do not own Yes they do not own it It's our Non Event Centre Seemingly they are all the rage This is seriously #DerelictIreland
This is f*cked up A government that enables this will never solve the housing crisis because its not in their own interest
No surprise This was designed to fail Me & @judesherry.bsky.social called it out in piece for Irish Examiner (Oct '22) We also raised it in the Oireachtas (Oct '25) But all falling on deaf ears 'cos its a manufactured housing crisis Time for 'Use It or Lose It' so we have homes not #DerelictIreland
TRANS+ PRIDE ❤️ Cork City Ireland
Solidarity is beautiful ❤️ Cork City Ireland now
This is outrageous Who are our politicians serving? Because its not the vulnerable or those in real need Everyone should have a home
Its an ideology issue People need homes + empty homes = People with a home Everyone should have a home in #DerelictIreland
Cork city welcomes the European Commissioners to historic medieval centre, dereliction is in vogue 😉
Evictions are on the rise 😢 Government will be delighted Their policies are working for the landlords (which include many politicians) 😡
Someone has been sitting on this historic property on Fr Matthew Quay, Cork city centre for a very, very long time Everyone else has to suffer consequences Built around 1800, sad to see this level of vandalism, captured so well by the photo, particularly the bleakness & scale
Solidarity is beautiful ❤️ Cork City Ireland now
11% rise in numbers in emergency accommodation in 12 months when in reality everyone should have a home with all the vacant houses Do not accept this as normal Its not And sadly you can add another 300k hidden homeless This is structural violence #speirghorm #housingcrisis
The photo and the piece on #DerelictIreland in The New York Times in 2024 was done by Robert Stothard, who came on one of our dereliction walking tours in Cork City earlier that year Here is a flavour of the piece:
In 2021 @judesherry.bsky.social & I released this landmark report bunking common myths around dereliction Jude had spent 3 months going through all publicly available data for over 300 derelict properties we identified in Cork city Free access here: https://indd.adobe.com/view/fbe49c7c-0c2f-4d2b-9557-d09b541ccd71 #DerelictIreland
And here is the 1st house we shared in 2020 to start the yearlong daily thread, featured in The New York Times in 2024 Check out the pose of the pigeon on the roof😀 #DerelictIreland
Me & Jude had to start somewhere It just happened to be here The house that is still not derelict in Cork city The house that's featured all over the media far & wide including being photographed for a piece on #DerelictIreland in The New York Times in '24 But its still not derelict 😉😉 Seriously 😬😬
People power works😍 But what happens when its grassroots, self-organising communities across Ireland all with common goal, end dereliction by turning into homes, places to play & create Read about #DerelictIIreland Jude Sherry & my obsession since 2018 👇 https://www.thejournal.ie/the-housing-essay-7080382-Jun2026/
Me & Jude Sherry created this next to the bus station in Cork city sending out a céad míle fáilte to everyone arriving We believe everyone should have a home Clearly not everyone agrees Unlike alot of nearby tagging our piece was wiped clean within few weeks Glad it was recorded #DerelictIreland ffud.art
We need to fight back against apathy & cynicism .. #DerelictIreland Me & Jude Sherry on our life as activisits 👇 https://www.thejournal.ie/the-housing-essay-7080382-Jun2026/
"Given the dire situation so many were facing in Ireland, we felt a responsibility to use our professional skills & expertise to help ease the housing crisis. But it’s not been an easy journey" For the 6 year anniversary of #DerelictIreland me & @judesherry.bsky.social took some time to reflect ❤️
Strictly no dumping unless you are dumping a derelict property 😬 Fmr Roisín Dubh bar, Shandon, Cork City #DerelictIreland
Tweet that started #DerelictIreland
Happy 6th #DerelictIreland anniversary everyone ❤️ Huge progress However the home that kicked off movement is still empty & rotting, & still not considered derelict by Cork City Council Boarded up, tree out of roof, broken slate/chimney, occupied by pigeons but not derelict 🤔
Some stunning historic warehouses rotting away here So many possibilities Yet the owners choose to let them rot Clearly, its the right price for #DerelictIreland Blarney St, Cork City
This sounds like more time & resource wasting State bodies should be made use them or lose them to those who do need them, whether thru' compulsory sales, rent or squatting Anything else is just irresponsible hoarding, something they have got away with for years #DerelictIreland
Future generations will look back on these as the equivalent of slave traders Plunderers & exploiters, nothing but criminals
And with enough homes for everyone empty across country This is structural violence Absolutely disgusting by the government 😡
Vacancy & dereliction are not inevitable There are straightforward policies that can change things & bring homes back into use Irish government is doing more than before but why does it always seem new policies are designed to fail Me & Jude Sherry talk to Harry McGee Irish Times
Sickening passing longterm boarded up council homes every day They are not alone How can it take years to bring these homes back into use, & in a housing emergency This is not about resources This is about mindset & ideology Dominic Street, Shandon, Cork City #DerelictIreland
Me & @judesherry.bsky.social discussed new Derelict Property Tax to be collected by Revenue with Harry McGee Progress but .. "Both believe Revenue’s involvement will be beneficial but argue the money raised should go back to councils. Beyond that, there are other issues" #DerelictIreland
We meet through our cooperation with Peter Power & his RUINNation project More details below & on Cork Midsummer Festival website #PoliticalArt #DerelictIreland #RestPlayWork
Purpose of #DerelictIreland buildings On our trip to Sligo, the Sligo Housing Action Group told me, @judesherry.bsky.social there were 303 derelict properties in Town So we decided everyone in Sligo should know So we went & promoted it on a derelict property, along with "everyone should have a home"
Church vs State Both shamelessly hoarders of homes in a Housing Emergency What a sad story of institutional vandalism These 3 homes in Blackrock have been boarded up for at least 5 years, owned by the Church who are now resisting them being compulsory purchased by council Shameful #DerelictIreland
The councils get alot of flak but .. #DerelictIreland
Me & @judesherry.bsky.social updated the numbers in emergency accommodation yesterday on our dereliction register Now 17,548 incl 5,604 children are officially being traumatised We should not be in this situation We have enough homes for everyone This is #DerelictIreland Call this social crime out
This is a brilliant photo by @judesherry.bsky.social Taken Jan 2021, in freezing conditions, it captures me being mic'd up for an interview with Dr Lara Dungan, for an Eco Eye episode on design for a circular economy, in front of our iconic & decaying Odlums, Port of Cork #DerelictIreland