A Limerick poet is refusing solid foods as a part of a weeklong protest against the imposition of refuse charges in the city.
Mr Patrick Moore, from Thomondgate, was enjoying unseasonal November sunshine yesterday, sitting on an armchair outside City Hall with just a radio for comfort.
He intends keeping the vigil until next Tuesday's corporation meeting on the estimates.
He said refuse charges were immoral and "a penal tax". His action follows a series of protests held by the Limerick Against Refuse Charges (LARC) group since the service was privatised in July.
In the early hours, Mr Moore has been kept company by neighbours and well-wishers.
Alderman Michael Kelly, one of five councillors who voted against the charges last December, has been keeping a check on him and providing hot drinks through the security company he runs.
"The support makes me feel great," Mr Moore said.
He added he had paid the charge under protest because he did not believe in littering the city.
Alderman Kelly said Limerick people had been wronged by the imposition of the charges.
Mr Ron Byrne, secretary of the LARC, said he did not condone the hunger protest but Mr Moore was one of many householders who felt strongly about the issue.
"It is his decision. It is his way of highlighting his disgust with the situation we have at the moment," he said.