The Rent Strike with CATU Belfast

In March 1970, anger over housing issues led to a collective withholding of rent beginning in Ballyphehane in Cork and Ballymun in Dublin. Over the next three years the National Association of Tenants Organisations (NATO) co-ordinated tenants throughout the country.

The film highlights this story within the context of the country’s collapsing tenement housing, showing life in Ireland’s first mass suburbs, and the harm exacerbated by faulty construction practices. The film uses found and archival footage and new interviews with strikers and their families to chronicle the day-to-day work needed to sustain the pickets.

CATU is an all-island tenants’ union organising in communities to push back against the housing crisis and working to improve the living conditions of its members.

This documentary screening is followed by a Q&A Session.

Programmed as part of The State of Belfast exhibition. The State of Belfast uses Grenfell by Steve McQueen as a stepping off point to address the inherent injustices and inequality as well as issues of race and poverty which are inextricably linked to the Grenfell tragedy. The State of Belfast explores how these same conditions exist in Belfast and how we might collectively address them.

This national tour of Grenfell is being coordinated by Tate in collaboration with the partner venues and is made possible thanks to support using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and from Art Fund. Each presentation will be free to visit and will be accompanied by a public engagement programme of talks, workshops and community events supported by the Grenfell Foundation.

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