Residents said that if they had only been told in advance and consulted, there would not have been any need for a blockade.

The common denominator running through much of what was on everyone's lips was people — even those tasked with helping refugees in Co Clare integrate into the local community — not knowing anything until they heard it on the news.

What had also caught residents by surprise was the fact that refugees were to be housed at the hotel, which — they understood — had been considered too unsuitable to accommodate Ukrainian families late last year.

This was apparently due to issues over fire safety and sewerage, although the Government later insisted on RTÉ that these issues had all been dealt with.

On Tuesday morning, the blockade was lifted briefly when an empty bus arrived at the hotel. Protestors thought it was there to take the refugees away, but it didn’t, and the blockade was reinstated.

As bales of hay were rolled across two side entrances and a white car parked across another entrance, the refugees could be seen playing football in the grounds or sitting around in groups.

While some residents stood guard, a crowd of around 50 people travelled up to Clare County Council at around 9am to talk to officials.

A behind-closed-doors meeting appeared not to have ended quite the way many had hoped and the day was spent by a small but determined group at the entrance to the hotel and at the foot of a country lane leading to it, stopping all but essential traffic from coming in and out.

Just before 1pm, several refugees walked out of the hotel grounds, carrying their belongings.

One, who did not want to give his name, told the Irish Examiner: “I don’t feel safe or welcome.” 

Inside one of the three holiday houses in the grounds of the hotel was Rahmat Ullah Dawlatzai, 20, from Afghanistan.

He was delighted with his new home, which is a small bungalow with a toilet and a shower and beds crammed into each bedroom.

His room had six beds, and little else. The kitchen appears to have been removed a few weeks ago.

With broken English, Rahmat said: “I am very happy to be here in Ireland from my country and I am very grateful for the welcome I have received.

“I came here about five weeks ago, lived in CityWest for a while and my plan is to work and earn some money.” 

Another man from Afghanistan, Sultan Muhammad Nassiri, said: “I did not like CityWest at all. I was there for five months and at least two of those months was spent with just a chair or the floor for a bed. I eventually got a bed.

“I like the accommodation here in Inch, but I am hoping the protest will be over in a few weeks and that the issues get dealt with.

Like many of my fellow countrymen, we really appreciate being given somewhere to stay and we want to work and contribute to this society.

There were claims during the day that the hotel’s new residents were not allowed to leave the premises.

The protestors denied stopping anybody coming and going and general manager Salman Ahlam also insisted “everybody's free to come and go as they please”.

She also said the first she knew the refugees were to be coming was three months ago, but that was long before the locals knew. Local resident Agnes O’Malley said the first she knew was last week.

“I am not against immigration, and I appreciate we all have to do our bit,” she said.

“But this is not a suitable location for a large number of single males many miles from the nearest shops, with limited transport and other services."

Helping the refugees integrate into the local community are members of the Clare Immigration Support Centre.

You would think given their State-funded role, they would have known sooner.

But, like so many involved in this case, the first they found out the refugees had arrived was, according to senior case worker Karyn O’Donovan, the morning after they had already arrived.