Marguerite Corbett and Gerry O’Boyle of The Land League and members of Integrity Ireland outside Castlebar Court House where 110 bank repossession cases were being heard. Pictures: Michael McLaughlin

It was always going to an emotional day in Taoiseach Enda Kenny's hometown where 100 repossession cases were being heard.

But nobody - least of all Registrar Fintan Murphy - expected Castlebar court to be drowned out by decades of the rosary and an attempted citizen's arrest.

Early in the day the names of lending institutes and borrowers were merging as one by one the cases were quickly called, adjourned or put back to second calling, where just five repossession orders were made.

A packed courtroom which had sat quietly until the 50th case was called, suddenly changed as one by one a handful of protesters stood to make their claims, calling into question the constitutionality of the cases and even the right of Mr Murphy to sit over them.

After repeated requests for those protesting to make their case outside, pointing out that those facing the court were already under extreme stress, the Registrar was forced to adjourn the cases.

But his hopes that tempers would cool proved fruitless. Around 16 protesters refused the gardaí's call to clear the court.

As they looked on helplessly the protesters stood firm reciting two decades of the rosary, before sprinkling the room with holy water. After half an hour those protesting realised the cases had been moved to another court. A stampede followed only to be met by gardaí on the door refusing access to anyone not involved in the case.

While the media was allowed in, up to 30 protesters and the public were kept firmly away. This led to one protester attempting a citizen's arrest on the gardaí manning the doors.

For the men and women who had orders before the court, the additional tension was evident. Some seemed buoyed by the protesters while others kept their heads bowed.

After lunch all seemed calmer, the numbers of protesters dwindled after a spin to the local garda station in a bid to make an official complaint. But once again a cohort made their case known, interrupting the court for the second time.

To one protester who accused the Registrar of political policing, Mr Murphy replied: "Take it up with the Taoiseach" before adjourning the case once again.

Gardaí again attempted to calm tensions but, as a third decade of the rosary rang out, they eventually removed two men from the court to shout of "Shame, shame, shame on you".

A third man who attempted to disrupt the court upon it's final resumption was given short shrift from the Registrar who this time opted to carry on over the shouted claims.

As the final case of the day was heard a lone protester approached the bench, attempting to serve papers on Mr Murphy - only to be sent promptly to the courts office.

Irish Independent