The hotel only opened in mid-March when, in response to the pandemic, almost 100 asylum seekers were moved there from their emergency accommodation centres. By May 7, a Thursday, up to 30 people marched silently in Cahersiveen, but their placards spelled unity with the Skellig Star residents. Twelve days later, The Kerryman reporter Sinéad Kelleher heard that the Justice Minister had reserved a full page of this newspaper, having penned an open letter to the people of Kerry, in particular those of Cahersiveen. "I was working from home that Tuesday and we were quite close to deadline," Sinead says. "There was only one word for it: unbelievable."