Young homeless couple forced to sleep on trains and buses because they have nowhere else to stay

A young homeless couple have been forced into sleeping on trains and buses because they have nowhere else to stay. Alan Murphy, 28, and 24-year-old Kellie Gilsenan have been moving across Ireland by rail and road for almost two weeks. Kellie said: “It’s horrible. Anyone else would say travelling Ireland on a train would be an experience, not when you are sleeping on it. “You can see people looking at you as if to say ‘these are hobos’ but we are not. "It’s embarrassing. “I’ve always been one of those people that kept my appearance well. I’m not able to do the things I’ve done before.” Kellie is Alan’s carer and the Dublin pair can use public transport for free on his disability travel pass, reports the Irish Mirror. When the trains and coaches stop at night, they are sometimes put up for a night by pals across the country. The couple’s grim tour has taken them to Donegal, Tipperary, Waterford and Cork, with trains and buses providing the only roof over their heads during the day. Father-of-one Alan and Kellie, from Clondalkin, were made homeless in June when the landlord of their private rental home sold the property. And they were recently thrown out of a Dublin hotel after complaining about a stabbing outside their room. Speaking from Tipperary, Alan said: “We have been getting on long train and coach journeys and going asleep on them. We went to Donegal the other day and all the way back. Before that it was Waterford. “We are heading to Dublin but we’re back on the streets because the tent we were sleeping in got robbed out of a field.” Alan, who suffers from severe epilepsy, said the constant travelling is putting a further strain on his health. He admitted: “It’s the worst time of my life. "We had everything at one stage – we were both driving, we had a house, we had everything until the illness started. “It’s making the two of us sick. I get night terrors every night. I’m on 15 types of tablets a day.” The couple have been on a list for a council house since 2011. They were served with an injunction by South Dublin County Council in June after they refused to leave the offices for days, along with other supporters. Alan, the father of a six-year-old boy, told the High Court the offer of temporary hostel accommodation was not suitable. Yesterday Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell claimed the high levels of homelessness was the biggest crisis currently facing the country. He added: “Government departments and Dublin City Council must simply put aside their differences and get working together towards an immediate crisis solution.” South Dublin County Council was not available for comment last night. (UK Mirror)