Newbridge resident who warned of Grenfell Tower tragedy threatened with legal action

A Newbridge resident who warned that a 'catastrophic event' was bound to happen at the Grenfell Tower in London was threatened with legal action by the local council to silence him and other members of an activist group.

Francis O'Connor, who is living in Newbridge for a number of years after previously being a resident of the Grenfell estate, is part of the Grenfell Action Group that warned that a potential catastrophe could strike at the tower.

A month ago the residential tower burst into flames, resulting in the death of 80 people and injuries to dozens of others. The fallout from the horrific fire has been massive, and Mr O'Connor, who still plays a part in the action group, told Morning Ireland on RTE that he had foreseen such a tragedy, though nothing quite on this scale.

"It is actually a terrifying thought, but the Grenfell Activist Group thoroughly believes that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, and bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict on their tenants and lease holders," he wrote in a published article on the Grenfell Action Group website on November 20 2016, almost seven months before the fire.

"At the time of writing we never suspected that something so terrible could happen," he told reporter Louise Scully.

The local council threatened legal action to quell the protests from the group, something that infuriates him.

"Because we weren't listened to for so long, somehow, this terrible accident occurred. They accused me of defamation. When I got those letters I was scared; that's the kind of tactics that they use to try and intimidate us and silence [us]," he said.

It still hurts. I think this is maybe the first time that I've started to really feel my own pain about it, because I lived in that community for so long.