Mayo council official who suggested holiday home boycott rejected claims it was a hoax

Ken Foxe

A senior council official who suggested a boycott of holiday homes in Co Mayo rejected claims that it was intended as a hoax.

In correspondence to councillors, the official also said that any messages sent by him to the housing committee were meant “to remain within that group.”

Director of services Tom Gilligan said he was not “in the habit of sending out hoax emails” and that in future he would mark his communications “confidential” to make clear they were not to be circulated further.

Mayo County Council was forced to make a public apology after Mr Gilligan’s comments which suggested holiday homes were a major contributor to the housing crisis in the area.

The comments even attracted the attention of Taoiseach Micheal Martin who said they were “strange” and “unfortunate.”

In internal emails, the controversy descended into recrimination with one councillor rejecting claims that it was he who had released the email.

Fine Gael Councillor Peter Flynn wrote: “A number of [committee] members contacted me Monday morning asking if I thought the email was a hoax which indeed I thought in the first instance until I read it more closely.

“When I got back to Westport Monday afternoon and read the email in full, you were the first person that I contacted advising you to recall the email.”

Mr Flynn said he wanted to “put it on the record” that he had not contacted anyone in the media about the controversial message.

In response Tom Gilligan said he had never suggested Mister Flynn was the person who had sent on the email.

He added: “I'm unclear as to why you or other [committee] members would think it was a hoax.

“I didn't realise that I was in the habit of sending out hoax emails. I got no email back from any [committee] member wondering was it a hoax?”

Records released by Mayo County Council also detail an angry reaction from the public with one person saying the suggested boycott had a “seething Trump like loathing.”

The message said: “We've all moved on from the Land League, but you seem to be caught in a time warp. Your proposal has that Trump feel about it. Identify a MAGA like group and play to their resentments.”

Another person, who said they were not a holiday home owner, said the boycott suggestion was “absolutely unacceptable and disgraceful.”

“Such a proposal entails men, women and children being ostracised in the community and being refused goods and services,” said their email.

One holiday home owner said they found the suggestion “deeply unsettling.”

They wrote: “It is alarming to think that such an approach could lead to unintended consequences, including reduced property tax revenue for the council if homeowners feel unfairly targeted.”

Another said they had bought their property in County Mayo when there was “no local demand for housing” and wrote of their “total outrage.”

An email said: “Mayo is one of the least populated counties in the country with an abundance of land. There is no excuse for a housing crisis in the county.”

One person said it was “bordering on hate speech” and said they were worried about getting “flak” from their neighbours when they visited.