AN ENNISCORTHY mother of five was taken to Mountjoy Jail last week after she refused to vacate her home of 35 years after a notice to quit was served on her.

A well-known figure in the local area, Tammy Ianetta (58), ran a takeaway and raised five children with her husband Dario from 5 Cathedral Street for over three decades. However, now she

Tammy Iannetta pictured in her sitting room at Cathedral Street, Enniscorthy. Pic: John Walsh

 is essentially left homeless after Gardaí, acting on orders, removed her from the property and took her to Mountjoy jail last Tuesday evening where she says she spent around 13 hours in custody.

“It’s a disgrace,” said Tammy’s son Paschale. “My mother is not well. Only the week before she had collapsed and had to be taken to hospital. They shouldn’t be allowed to just come in and take her out of the house. They should have given her more time to find somewhere else to go. She’s been left traumatised and scared by the whole incident.”

Paschale explained that the problem arose when his father returned to Italy to attend his grandmother’s funeral in 2012 and never returned, leaving Tammy to fend for herself.

“He’s off living the high-life now in Italy while my mother is being thrown out of her house,” he blasted.

Paschale says that his father had always looked after paying the rent on their Cathedral street property and as far as his mother was aware, he was still paying the rent after he left.

“Now my mother has moved in with my brother temporarily, but she is essentially homeless,” he said. “Christmas is coming up quickly and she’s sick and fighting for a home. It’s not easy. We’re hoping someone out there might be able to help us with trying to sort out some accommodation where she can live out her days.”

For more on this story, see this week’s Enniscorthy Echo.