To coincide with Focus Ireland's annual Sleep Out Night on October 14th, we share stories recently featured on Sunday Miscellany of encounters with homelessness, and the sanctuary of home - listen to The Night Visit, by Tess Hughes above, and A Tale of Two Stories by Kevin Marinan, below.

I was walking down Camden Street in Dublin, one warm summer's night, close to midnight. It was 2010.

I was walking close to the buildings and needed to step out a little in order to avoid tripping on something sticking out of one of the shop doorways. As I did so, I looked into the doorway and saw a man wrapped in a sleeping bag. Our eyes met. He was rolling a joint.

"Hi" I said "You like that stuff?" He smiled and gestured me an invitation to join him in smoking it.

There was a piece of cardboard on the ground as a mat. He gave it a wipe by way of cleaning it and gestured me to join him on it. I did. I did while making it clear that I would not partake in the smoking.

Apart from the sleeping bag and the cardboard mat, the only other thing in this space was a half full bottle of water...

From A Tale of Two Stories

In the last few years I've lived in hotels, friends' houses and a homeless shelter here in Ireland. I have seen things in Ireland from a few perspectives...and met people from many walks of Irish life.

Here are two examples; one good, one not so good. But in reverse order, so we end on a happy note. This first story is from 2015.

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It was raining. Pouring. Most people were either snoring or preparing to try. I was in a town in the west of the country but had nowhere dry to sleep for the night. I walked down a path from the main town until I saw a large house that was surrounded by a new and expensive looking grey wall. The property had a couple of outbuildings that I thought were probably for cars or storage; garden equipment or similar.

The main gate wasn’t locked so I sleekly nudged my way through it and walked up the path to the furthest outbuilding from the house. Unfortunately the door to the outbuilding was locked, so I put down my bag and sat under the shelter of the door overhang. I had been relaxing for a few minutes, as best I could after a long day travelling, mostly on foot, when the front door of the house opened and a man with a dog on a leash approached me.

Now I understand how this person had no idea if I was a friend or foe, all he knew was I was an intruder to his property. As he and his animal walked towards me I said "hello...I’m sorry for being here, but I just had to get some shelter from the rain. I’m on my way to Mayo but I have nowhere to stay for the night. I’m sorry for disturbing you... I’ll leave."

What, dear listener, would you have done if you were in this man’s position?

Focus Ireland's Shine A Light Night takes place on Friday 14th October, where business leaders, companies and individuals will sleep out in their workplace, home, or gardens for one night to shine a light on homelessness in Ireland. Find out more here.

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