The organiser of a protest in Ballinrobe that got underway on Friday evening in response to 50 male international protection applicants moving into a former hotel has described the effort as a “success.”

Members of the community took issue with the men moving into the former JJ Gannon’s Hotel as the men were ‘unvetted’, and the hotel is very central in  the town and just a couple of doors down from the local crèche.

Instead, it has been confirmed by the Department of Integration that families and children seeking international protection will be housed in the building and are expected to arrive in the coming days.

Protest organiser Michelle Smith says that while the peaceful protest achieved what it set out to do, there has been a lot of negativity and misinformation spread online about her and people involved in general.

This afternoon she told Rian Bailey more about the hate she has received online: