Diarmuid Breatnach

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The Ard-Fheis¹ of the Fianna Fáil political party, one of the main two parties in the Coalition Government, on Saturday was visually and aurally disturbed by Palestine solidarity protesters outside the Royal² Conference Centre in Dublin.

At College Green a broad group broke away from the monthly national march of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign and headed for the Conference Centre booked by the Fianna Fáil party for its annual conference, to protest Government collusion in ‘Israel’s’ genocide.

The Irish state is the single biggest importer of ‘Israeli’ exports, flights of military-use material are permitted regularly through its airspace and US military flights regularly refuel at Shannon Airport in violation of the formal neutral status of the State.

To the frustration of Palestine activists, this continues to be the case despite the overwhelming majority public’s feelings about Palestine, ranging from sympathy and horror at the carnage to outright solidarity, accompanied by hostility towards the actions of the ‘Israeli’ Zionists.

Chant leaders using megaphones led the protesters in the usual call-and-answer chants of From the River to the Sea/ Palestine will be free! Enact/ the Occupied Territories Bill! Mícheál Martin, you can’t hide/ You’re supporting genocide! and Your hands are bloody too!

The depth of the genocide collusion of the State is clear from its constant shelving of the Occupied Territories Bill, a very mild measure which passed through both Houses back in 2018 but, despite promises and weakening further, is yet to be brought on to the floor of Leinster House for a vote.

Calls on the Government to Do your job! are mistaken and unfair – they ARE doing their job, their real job as representatives of the neo-colonial, neo-liberal Irish Gombeen class. What we need is for them to be unable to do their job and to be replaced by a people’s socialist government.

Garda violence had erupted earlier in the day when protestors sought to take advantage of an unsecured gate to bring their protest closer to the FF conference, Gardaí hurling people away and pepper-spraying a number.

No headlines such as “Protesters batoned and pepper-sprayed at Fianna Fáil conference” appeared and the fact received no mention in the media. Protesters expressed hostility towards a press photographer wearing a FF conference lanyard but others stepped in to his defence.

Presumably protesters want media coverage? The reporter was seen earlier inside the conference centre grounds attempting to approach the barrier where the protesters gathered but was repeatedly refused by the chief security person. He then came out to take photographs from among them.

The IPSC had advertised a protest at the FF ard-fheis for earlier in the day and presumably this was the one where people had tried to gain entry and had been attacked by the Gardaí. But most of those protesters had departed to join the IPSC march at 1pm from the Garden of Remembrance.

Could the main march not have been brought past the Conference Centre, even if continuing to the IPSC’s stage in Molesworth Street? Of course, many might have stayed to protest the FF event. Would that have been so bad? What has been achieved by the monthly ritual march up to now?

In any case, the party faithful attendees at the annual conference of a senior member of the neo-liberal, neo-colonial Coalition Government were made unmistakably aware of what a section of the population – representing a great many others – think of them.

However the genocide continues without visible end. As does the Irish Government’s collusion. Wednesday will see a bill proposing sanctions against Israel being debated in the Irish Parliament; despite its broad support, the Government Coalition usually has the necessary numbers to beat it.

end.

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FOOTNOTES

SOURCES

Brief coverage of some of the FF Ard-Fheis protest: https://www.thejournal.ie/protest-fianna-fail-palestine-dublin-7041797-May2026/

Coverage of the main IPSC march only: https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026/05/16/palestine-solidarity-march-calls-for-sanctions-on-israel-and-boycott-of-fai-match/

1Annual Conference

2Strange name for a venue chosen by a party with a Republican past history and which recently enough was claiming to be the ‘REAL Republican party’! The party was formed in a split in 1926 from the abstentionist Sinn Féin party on the issue of its elected representatives taking seats in the parliament of a partitioned Ireland.