A chara,

First of all, we’re trying out a new newsletter platform - a trial version for now so we’re not tied to anything just yet. Although there’s no major difference, any feedback on how it looks/feels compared to the previous emails would be very much appreciated!

CATU Fingal’s action in support of families facing eviction from their homes in Swords is taking place THIS EVENING at 6pm. These are ordinarily families up against a company with €6bn in assets behind them.

There has been some great coverage afforded to the protest in national media but the trick now is translating that coverage into tangible action. Members are encouraged wherever possible to join in, and to bring branch banners/signs etc. to make it as colourful and impactful as possible.

Meeting time is 6pm tomorrow and the exact location can be accessed here or via the QR code below and you can read a report on the circumstances of the eviction threat here.

The CATU Rent Strike Documentary is having its premiere tomorrow evening in Liberty Hall, Dublin. Demand for this event has been phenomenal, but there are a very small number of tickets available here if you haven’t picked yours up yet.

There’ll be a photographer at the event and the production team have asked that as many CATU materials - banners, signs, badges - are brought along for visual impact.

Major kudos to the team who’ve been working incredibly hard on putting this film together for a long time now. The fact that tomorrow’s event will be a sell out is due testament to their efforts.

CATU Belfast have a busy few days ahead - this evening they’ll be holding a planning meeting at 7pm in 8-10 Exchange Place, Belfast, BT1 2NA (beside Duke of York). The purpose of this is to plan for Saturday, when the branch will have 6 stalls running concurrently across the city between 12 and 3pm. If you’d like to participate in one of the stalls, you’re very welcome and encouraged to join tonight’s session. Contact [email protected] for any related queries.

CATU have been invited by Financial Justice Ireland to participate in a Walking Tour as part of this year's Culture Night in Dublin, on September 22nd. CATU's direct involvement would be to speak at stops relating to property speculation, housing distress etc. We would be tasked with speaking at 3 of the stops on the route.

We would like to gauge our members' interest in (a) attending and (b) volunteering in some capacity i.e. stewarding. If you can take a minute to indicate via this Google Form it will allow us to plan accordingly. Ff you have any further questions on it please contact me at [email protected] 

The deadline for both currently open paid roles in CATU have been extended. The two roles are Staff Coordinator and Temporary Leinster Organiser. Applications will now close on Wednesday, September 6th. Full details on the roles are available at the above links and a reminder that CVs should be sent to [email protected] 

CATU Derry had their first Member Defence training day over the weekend, facilitated by our Ulster Organiser, Conal. The branch have made great strides following their fundraiser the previous week and a healthy growth in members since establishing a couple of months ago.

If you’re in an area of Ulster without a branch and would like to work towards setting one up, give Conal a shout at [email protected] and he’ll be happy to support.

Last but by no means least, an enormous thanks to Willie from Nyahh Records, who recently released an album of traditional and Sean-Nós music and has donated €500 from the sales to CATU. That’s a massive contribution and has made a tangible impact - that donation was enough to cover a 3 month invoice from one of our regular suppliers.

I’d urge you to browse through the Nyahh collection on Bandcamp and support them if you see something you like.

That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading and if you have a minute to let us know what you think of the new newsletter layout that’d be much appreciated ❤️ 

In Solidarity,

Naoise Faogáin
National Administrator
Community Action Tenants Union - CATU Ireland
www.catuireland.org