I only read the article and not the entire story but what baffles me the most is that Neville claims that the house he left unattended for 8 years disappearing made him so mad he had to go in and out mental health ward several times and collapsed his marriage.
Why would he become so startled(and obsessed) by a house he never visited for 8 years? To the point that a marriage had to collapse, nevertheless.
My guess is that Neville probably had schizophrenia, and thats unique thing about this story;
I've heard a lot of stories of closed rural communities treating newcomer as pests.
As a example from my life, as a teenager I went to help a family-friend that had newly switched to agricultural lifestyle in Japan, over the summer holiday. I remember arriving at the rice field for the first time, noticing that the field was dried up and there was cracks in the soil. I asked the friend if this is how it is supposed to be, and he replied "no, probably some of the old farmers clogged the water channel". I asked why they would do that, and he said that the old farmers here didn't like newcomers, and would in the night go out and sabotage his farm.
I took a look around the farmland, and noticed a rotting hut, rusting tools, and how most of the rice field was now filled with bushes and weed and in no condition of agriculture. I again asked why, and he told me that because the old people can't take care of the land, and because they bully away any newcomer, most of the farmland have been taken back by the nature, pointing to a forest telling me that it used to be farmland. It baffled me how these old people would rather see their entire village, way of life die out than letting any new person in.
Someone that just bought a house and left it unattended 8 years in such community, is to me not surprising at all that someone there took an ire. Maybe Neville just didn't catch that in his documentary about the island, and couldn't process the deeds done to him
The High Court of Ireland's ruling [1], which this article seems to have mined for most of the facts (some of it nearly verbatim) is worth reading, rather than speculating wildly.
In short, the court found that Presho's bipolar disorder likely preceded the disappearance of the house, but that it was a factor in Presho's inability to protect his legal rights at the time.
As far as I interpret the ruling, the sequence of events was roughly:
* Persho left for New Zealand for 8 years, leaving the house boarded up and in the care of a local. During that time, a hotel was constructed next door, and its builder used the house illegally for lodging.
* Around that time, the house fell into disrepair (if you read between the lines, they may also have stripped it for scraps) and suffered serious fire damage (highly likely arson).
* At some unknown point in time, the house was demolished, probably by the owner of the hotel with the help of a local contractor (who was in possession of the only digger on the island) in order to clear the view.
* The local garda did not find any evidence suggesting (or refuting) any criminal acts. However, the court appears to recognize the existence of a conspiracy among the locals.
* When Persho returned in 1994, he responded to erratically to the loss of his house, and due to his bipolar disorder was not able to follow through with legal proceedings until the 2000s.
Yes, I was wondering about that too. Of course without knowing the details, or having listened to the podcast it's easy to come up with quick judgments.
I was thinking that perhaps original film material or personal belongings were lost. Or additionally perhaps the island symbolized something important to him and that the island, or it's inhabitants rejected him in this way hurt more than we can imagine. Or perhaps it was just a lot of money and he and his wife were financially ruined.
I am also reminded of people whose friend or family member goes missing for years and people don't know if the person dead or alive so they can't give it rest, perhaps it's similar. I never lost my house and my belongings, so I wouldn't know. I suppose I would make the best of it and accept the situation and try to move on.
Once I was scammed by a bank for a lot of money, I spent half the amount of money on a lawyer to get justice. I am normally quite stoic, but was quite upset. After a few years the government arranged a (poor) deal I took, this meant closure to me and a lot of people.
> My guess is that Neville probably had schizophrenia, and thats unique thing about this story; I've heard a lot of stories of closed rural communities treating newcomer as pests.
I don't know about schizophrenia, but my guess is that the mental illness had nothing to do with the house, it's just a convenient narrative. Being gaslit about the previous existence of your house certainly wouldn't help though.
> Why would he become so startled(and obsessed) by a house he never visited for 8 years? To the point that a marriage had to collapse, nevertheless.
I'm not sure, but I think I can understand it. A few years ago my girlfriend had her bike stolen and for at least a few weeks I would look at almost every bike I saw to see if it was hers. More recently I had my bike stolen and even months later, on holiday hundreds of miles from home, I still look at bikes wondering if I'll see my bike.
These things can hurt you. Do you have any experiences that compare?
Why would he become so startled(and obsessed) by a house he never visited for 8 years? To the point that a marriage had to collapse, nevertheless.
My guess is that Neville probably had schizophrenia, and thats unique thing about this story; I've heard a lot of stories of closed rural communities treating newcomer as pests.
As a example from my life, as a teenager I went to help a family-friend that had newly switched to agricultural lifestyle in Japan, over the summer holiday. I remember arriving at the rice field for the first time, noticing that the field was dried up and there was cracks in the soil. I asked the friend if this is how it is supposed to be, and he replied "no, probably some of the old farmers clogged the water channel". I asked why they would do that, and he said that the old farmers here didn't like newcomers, and would in the night go out and sabotage his farm.
I took a look around the farmland, and noticed a rotting hut, rusting tools, and how most of the rice field was now filled with bushes and weed and in no condition of agriculture. I again asked why, and he told me that because the old people can't take care of the land, and because they bully away any newcomer, most of the farmland have been taken back by the nature, pointing to a forest telling me that it used to be farmland. It baffled me how these old people would rather see their entire village, way of life die out than letting any new person in.
Someone that just bought a house and left it unattended 8 years in such community, is to me not surprising at all that someone there took an ire. Maybe Neville just didn't catch that in his documentary about the island, and couldn't process the deeds done to him