Retired Defence Forces member,  whose wife died just weeks ago, faces being homeless at the age of 70 as council demands he leaves the couple's home... and suggests he 'sleep on a couch somewhere'

Published: 23:41, 12 July 2026 | Updated: 23:41, 12 July 2026 A former member of the Defence Forces is facing life on the streets – just weeks after his wife’s death – as a local council demands he leave the couple’s home. Anthony Mangan, 70, buried his spouse Teresa only a month ago. He told the Mail he believed he was ‘doing the right thing’ by sending her death certificate to the council, and handing over other documentation required of him. He said he spoke with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council about the next steps, and claimed he was assured he would be paying the old-age pensioners’ rate of rent, and would continue to live there. However, Mr Mangan was devastated when he received a letter the next day telling him he would have to vacate their home on Loreto Row, Rathfarnham, south Dublin. The letter said his wife was the only person listed as living at the address. Pensioner Anthony Mangan in the home he shared with his late wife Teresa Mr Mangan said his name was not on the home as ‘there were relationship issues going back and forth over the years, and she thought it was best to have her own name on the place’. ‘I thought nothing of it,’ he added. Mr Mangan has now vowed to stay at the property until he is given suitable accommodation. The grieving widower said he has been working since he was 12, and has ‘put in the hours and paid my taxes my whole life’. After the Defence Forces, he moved on to private security and also worked in the building industry as a labourer. ‘I thought I had done the right thing,’ he said. ‘I was told to come down to them [the council, today] with the keys, and to bring some personal belongings with me. ‘And I said, “Where am I going to go?”, and they said, “We’ll try to organise a hostel for you somewhere”. Then there was someone saying: “Is there not a couch somewhere you can sleep on?” It’s a joke. ‘I told them I’m 70. What do they want from me? I’ve gone into a serious depression since Teresa died. I’m on tablets and I’m going back to the doctor this afternoon as they want to get me on stronger ones. ‘I don’t know where to turn, but I’m telling you one thing, if they think they’re getting me out of the house without somewhere else to go to, they’ll have another thing coming.’ He continued: ‘I’m ready to sit here and wait it out. I have no other choice. It’s like I’ve fallen through the cracks. They said to me: “Do you not have family you can go and stay with?” I said I do, but they’ve children of their own and that’s not going to work. I just thought to myself that I’ve gone about this the right way. I’ve gone in with the death cert and I’ve given them everything, her welfare card and all that. ‘The fella at the time said to me I was a very honest man coming in, and I could have just not told them she had died. But I didn’t want to do that because that’s not fair and it’s not right.’ Mr Mangan, whose wife Teresa sadly died from cancer, said the house has been earmarked for a young family who have children with disabilities, and he has to leave it immediately. Anthony Mangan's wife Teresa had cancer and died recently He said he can sympathise as he has a grandchild with additional needs, but that he’d be ‘on the streets’ if he didn’t dig his heels in. He added: ‘Look. I don’t mind at all leaving this place, and there’s a family to come in and they have kids who are disabled. ‘Lord above, let them have this place. I don’t mind. ‘Bring them in and they can have it, but I just want to make sure I have somewhere that can be my home before then. ‘I have a grandson who has a disability as well, so I completely understand. By all means, take the house, just give me somewhere to go.’ Mr Mangan said all of Teresa’s ‘stuff is still here, her clothes and jewellery’, adding: ‘Everything reminds me of her. I carry around her passport with me so I can still see her whenever I want. ‘I’m in a terrible place anyway, and this has just really hit me. I’m not well at all. The doctor thinks I should go to hospital as I’m so mentally unwell.’ Once Mr Mangan received the letter stating he would have to vacate, he did some detective work and heard of apartments on Loreto Avenue, close to where he is currently living, that are unoccupied. When he asked if he could be moved to one of those instead, he was told he would have to go on a list for them. He said: ‘I informed the council that there’s apartments for senior citizens on the corner of Loreto Avenue. I went down one day and I asked the man who lived there, and he said. “I’m here 16 years. Them ones on my right have been locked up for years”. ‘I said to the council, “Could you not put me in one of them and I’ll get my son to get a van down, and I’ll have everything gone and it’ll be yours?” ‘They said it didn’t work that way, and I’d have to go on a list. ‘So, I said, “Well, where am I going to go?”, and another fella came over and said, “You shouldn’t be living there”. ‘I said I’ve nowhere else to go. I’m 70 and the house is still full of furniture belonging to my wife, and it has all her personal belongings as well.’ In response to detailed queries from the Mail, a spokeswoman for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said: ‘In accordance with our organisational policy and obligations regarding confidentiality and data protection, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council cannot comment on individual cases. ‘We are, therefore, not in a position to provide information or comment regarding this case.’ Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.