The Rent Strike

“The retrieval of a compelling national story that had been lost in the mists of time”

Sunniva O’Flynn, Head of Irish Film Programming, Irish film Institute

Between 1970 and 1973 over 350,000 tenants throughout Ireland withheld rent in protest against rent increases, poor housing conditions and a lack of facilities. The story of this national movement, which ended in success in August 1973, is told for the first time in a new documentary, THE RENT STRIKE, using RTÉ archive footage and interviews with surviving strikers and their families.

The tenants of Ballsgrove, then a relatively new housing estate, played a significant role in the strikes, Paddy Smith contributes his memories of the campaign they organised in Drogheda to resist the then governments policy of “differential rents” or B-Scale rent.

CATU in association with Upstate Theatre Project are delighted to bring The Rent Strike to Drogheda for a special screening in the Droichead Arts Centre on the 4th of July 2024. Tickets are €5 and available here .