Around 80 people attended a concert in the back room of Dublin’s Cobblestone pub launching an initiative to “build a community of solidarity and resistance through culture”. Flags of Irish and other struggles around the world decorated the venue.
The evening’s entertainment consisted of five musical acts and one of poetry. The MC for the evening, Diarmuid Breatnach, told the audience that Irish struggles had always found an expression in culture and that culture itself encouraged further resistance.
He gave the example of Thomas Davis who founded with others the patriotic newspaper The Nation in the mid-1800s, publishing contributed songs and poems and his own, including The West’s Awake and A Nation Once Again, songs still sung in Ireland nearly two centuries later.
The first act of the evening was the folk duo The Yearners, specialising in harmonies around renditions of song covers and their own song about the Mary of the New Testament, as a woman pressured to bear a child because “How can you say no to God?
The audience joining in on Pearse’s Gráinne Mhaol was followed by some songs with hard satirical edges like the Kinky Boots song from the Irish Republican repertoire and their own Save A Landlord.
The Yearners during their performance. (Photo credit with thanks: Dermo Photography)Dúlamban during their performance. (Photo credit with thanks: Dermo Photography)
The MC introduced another all-female duo, Dúlamban, recently formed from two individual singer-musicians. Among their material, Sinéad on violin played two compositions of her own while Aisling sang her adaptation and translation of the Rising of the Moon: Ar Éirí na Geallaigh.
The one poet of the evening, Barry Currivan, performed a number of shorter and longer pieces of his repertoire. He was particularly applauded for his “anti-othering” piece Those People and his humorous concluding piece comparing himself to a good cup of tea or coffee.
After the break, the MC spent a few minutes outlining the Solidarity Sessions collective’s project and encouraging the audience to take part in it by spreading word of its events and supporting them in person, in addition to stepping forward to assist in organisation and in poster design.
Barry Currivan during his poetry performance at the Solidarity Sessions launch. (Photo credit with thanks: Dermo Photography)Section of the audience presumably during Currivan’s performance. (Photo credit with thanks: Dermo Photography)
Another female duo took the stage, Sage Against the Machine on guitar accompanied by Ríona on violin, performing a number of love pop covers and SAM’s own song against patriarchy.
Some remarks about Bob Dylan’s Zionism followed in Sage’s introduction of the former’s Masters of War which she performed with great feeling and followed with El Gallo Rojo, an anti-fascist song from the Spanish ‘Civil War’.
Sage Against the Marchine (right) and Ríona during their performance. (Photo credit with thanks: Dermo Photography)Jimi Cullen during his performance at the Solidarity Sessions launch. (Photo credit with thanks: Dermo Photography)
Breatnach then introduced Jimi Cullen who he said has been hosting a weekly musical protest picket for an hour on Wednesdays (2-3 pm) outside the US Embassy for a great many weeks, in which the MC had sometimes accompanied him amidst the solidarity beeping of passing traffic.
Jimi accompanied himself singing his Housing for All and Guthrie’s You Fascists Bound to Lose, then commenting on Bob Marley’s Zionism while introducing the latter’s One Love song, saying that love above all is what binds humanity together, a theme also of his We Are All Palestinians.
His monologue The Genocide Will Be Televised was much sharper and renewed an earlier Death, death to the IDF!1 chant from the audience.
Trad Sabbath during their performance. (Photo credit with thanks: Dermo Photography)
There was much irreverent comment about the name of the band to conclude the evening, Trad Sabbath, a four-piece band of guitars, banjo, bodhrán and fiddle, apparently in the context of the very recent death of the Black Sabbath band’s lead vocalist, Ozzie Osbourne.
Sardonic cries about “his poor widow”, Sharon Osbourne2 were also heard, a Zionist personality star in a ‘reality’ TV show about the late Ozzie’s family. To fill in the delay in their setting up with the sound engineer, Breatnach sang Kearney’s Down by the Glenside ballad.
The band concluded the evening with traditional melodies and some songs from Eoghan and Hat with others backing on choruses.
Poster advertising the event (Design: Ríona and D.Breatnach)
The MC thanked all for their attendance, performances and technical support before reiterating the Solidarity Sessions’ objective and encouraging participation. His comment that “Repression is here and more is coming down the road” was underlined by the presence there of a prominent victim.
In the audience was Richard Medhurst, the Britain-based journalist specialising in Middle Eastern coverage who was recently detained under anti-terror (sic) legislation and charged by British police as he returned from abroad and again later detained though not actually charged by Austrian police.
Richard Medhurst’s tweet during the evening at the event.
End.
FOOTNOTES
1Made famous by the Bob Vylan duo at Glastonbuy getting the audience chanting the slogan. The IDF is what the Israeli Occupation Forces call themselves.
2Who had called for the banning of the the Irish rap group Kneecap.
An estimated 10,000 people marched through Dublin city centre on Saturday in a national protest organised by CATU about homelessness, high rents, lack of public housing and the facilitation of property speculators by Irish Governments.
Groups from across Ireland attended the national march organised by the Community Action Tenants Union and without regard to the British Border around the Six-County occupied colony. They gathered at the Garden of Remembrance before marching towards Leinster House.
One of the housing groups that travelled to Dublin from the occupied Six Counties (Photo: D.Breatnach)
It was warm but not excessively so and the rain held off. The march ended with a rally in Molesworth Street, where Garda barricades prevent marchers from crossing the street to approach the gates of Leinster House, where the parliament of the Irish State sits.
In addition to drummers and also some singing, many chants could be heard: Homes for need – not for greed! What do we need? – Public housing; When do we need it? Now! When tenants are under attack? Stand up, fight back! (also something like: Get the landlords out of the Dáil!).
Among banners and flags of local area housing action groups and trade unions there were a great many Irish Tricolours in view; to see them being flown on a demonstration not of the Far-Right was a welcome sight. There were some Starry Ploughs and some red flags flying also.
It was good also to see the Irish language on some placards among the demonstrators. A notable feature was the high proportion of young people participating, many with their own home-made placards.
A certain species of vulture seems to have raised hostility in Ireland! (Photo: D.Breatnach)(Photo: D.Breatnach)Too Damn everything – except good! (Photo: D.Breatnach)
A lot of people were also in Dublin that afternoon for other events, including supporters of Gaelic Athletic Association county teams competing in Croke Park, in particular the Cork Vs Dublin teams in the Hurling Semi-Final. (Dublin getting that far surprised many but Cork beat them decisively).
A large anti-abortion demonstration also took place in the city centre, starting later than its advertised hours but immediately after the start of the CATU march. There are a range of attitudes on abortion but in general those campaigners like to project themselves as ‘pro-life’.
Some might comment that a pro-life cause would also include good housing for all – or to support the Palestinian people but generally the anti-abortion campaigners do not march in support of those, which is why they are often accused of being ‘pro-birth’ rather than ‘pro-life’.
Numbers of homeless single people and families with children rising annually passes 15,000 for the first time.
Out of 10,743 adults accessing emergency accommodation in March this year, 1,178 were under 24. In addition, 4,675 children were also using emergency accommodation.1 In January 134 individuals were counted sleeping on streets and in parks in the four Dublin areas, a 14% increase on 2024.2
In addition, the numbers of homeless does not include those sofa-surfing, awaiting eviction, in domestic violence refuges or unaccommodated refugees.
CATU’s list of demands points to the unfilled needs across a range of indicators and in itself is an indictment of the current state of affairs. In addition, the numbers of homeless has been rising annually and does not include those sofa-surfing, in violence refuges or unserviced refugees.
(Photo: D.Breatnach)
Prior to the march, CATU published a list of objectives and demands:
End child homelessness by 2026
Eviction ban North & South, Lower rents
Properly resource the Tenant In Situ scheme
End Direct Provision
Ban Vulture Funds
Build and maintain Public Housing – use public land
Build and resource culturally-appropriate Traveller Accommodation
Homes, not Holiday Lets
Build Communities of Care: education, community, addiction & mental health services now!
Front of the CATU march comes around from D’Olier Street while the rest of it is still coming down O’Connell St. (Photo: D.Breatnach)(Photo: D.Breatnach)
COMMENT – Housing Need and Action
It was an excellent turnout for CATU who are to be congratulated on their mobilisation and organisation around the country and in Dublin. The housing crisis is one of the great practical problems facing working people and a very big public housing program is the only solution.
However, the Irish neo-liberal ruling class are clearly wedded to housing provision by the private sector, with its soaring rents and mortgage payments resulting for many in sleeping on the street or living in hotels and hostels, not just single people but family groups with children too.
Housing marches and occasional symbolic occupations of buildings through the years have not changed the situation which worsens annually. The far-Right use the issue to target migrants who have not caused the crisis and even asylum seekers who cannot possibly have any effect on it.
Plentiful public housing is clearly the answer, rented according to the occupiers’ income. After the initial building cost, the rents will pay for maintenance, repairs, upgrades and even new buildings. And the construction program will provide much employment too.
Clearly a radical program of action will be needed to force the Irish ruling class to adopt a large public housing program. It does not require a revolution to achieve the change but it will almost certainly need the fear of one to move our rulers in the necessary direction.
In the 1960s and 1970s a number of housing schemes construction and renovation programs were won by the direct action of the Housing Action Committees of Dublin and Dún Laoghaire. The Committees included occupations in their program, alongside street rallies and marches.
Some years ago a small group called Revolutionary Housing League began a series of occupations of empty buildings, also refusing to give guarantees not to continue the actions when taken to court. They called for replication action on a wide scale along the same lines but that did not materialise.
Action of the kind up and down the country seems to be what is required and activists may be jailed before this ruling class is prepared to supply the basic human need of decent and affordable housing for the working people. It remains to be seen what role CATU will play in all of that.
The Far-Right mobilised a large number1 of people for a national protest march in Dublin on Saturday 26th April, pretending the main target was the Irish Government and the housing and health service crises but was purely racist, anti-immigration.
A counter-rally was organised from the Left in front of the GPO, past which the far-Right demonstration was scheduled to pass. They were kettled on three sides by crowd barriers with two Garda vans and Gardaí on foot in front of them.
A number of far-right elements gathered on the sides of the confined mass to throw insults at the anti-racist there, policed very lightly and gently by Gardaí, in stark contrast to how the latter have treated some anti-fascist and anti-racist activists in the recent past.
Among the anti-racist crowd there were many flags of the People Before Profit and Labour parties, an Irish Tricolour or two, two Starry Plough flags and a couple of Palestine flags.
Section of the counter-protest to the anti-immigration march in Dublin on 26th April (Photo: D.Breatnach)
When the Far-Right march came down O’Connell Street, as might be expected from past experience, they carried a flood of Irish Tricolours and some ‘Irish Republic’ flags.
It was not the first time the Left – and these are for the most part the electoral Left – had acted so stupidly from a visual point of view. Because they claim to represent the workers, they pretend to scorn nationalist flags – well then why not at least fly the Plough,2 flag of the Irish workers?
But no, flying red and pink party flags and leaving the national stage to be represented by the Far-Right. And why not fly the flags of national rebellion anyway, are they not honoured for their anti-colonialism and revolutionary spirit? Why neglect to confront the Far-Right with the contradiction?
I have been pointing that out over years without any seeming effect on the Left (or indeed on the Republican movement). However the Mála Spíosraí (Spice Bag) artist group posted a similar objection, making many of the same points and they may have better luck with it.3
The Far-Right when they arrived were met with jeers but the marchers were jeering the anti-racists also. It was interesting to hear the anti-racist crowd switch from shouting that “refugees are welcome here” to baiting the Far-Right with: “Where’s your Union Jack?”4
Confronting the pretend patriotism of the Far-Right with their leaders’ connections to British fascists and Loyalists is much more effective than some of the slogans that are regularly shouted by the Left on these occasions. Reminding people of McGregor’s wearing a Poppy5 might be useful.
Creating slogans to expose their role in distracting attention from property speculators, big landlords, bankers and foreign multinationals on to migrants, who don’t cause any of the problems, would be very useful but expecting creativity and initiative in the electoral Left …!
At least one of the FR leaders, Malachy Steenson and some marchers were seen wearing caps in Trump imitation with “Make Ireland Great Again” printed across them. Unless pre-invasion 1169, there was no hint as to when the ‘great’ period in Ireland’s history might have been.
The country was under total occupation by the 1800s. The Irish State was set up in 1922 on a partitioned land with continuing high emigration. Steenson is an ex-Republican so presumably he knows this. Can he be hearkening to the days of the Church domination of the neo-colony?
Among the banners and flags seen among the marchers were those of Irish fascist organisations, the National Party and Irish Freedom Party. Slogans of “Ireland for the Irish” and “Get them out” were frequently to be heard and “Ireland is full” was seen on a number of placards.
The first two slogans are shouted by people many of whom have no interest in freeing the Six Counties from British Occupation nor the whole country from foreign multinational companies; in fact these are issues which the fake “Patriots” of the Far-Right never address.
On population statistics alone it can be shown that Ireland is far from “full”, given that the population of the country now is lower than the 8 million plus which was recorded in 1845. But lies of the sinister repeated by the ignorant and credulous have long been the stock of fascism.
Homelessness is due to affordable housing shortage, in turn is due to construction, sale and rental being for profit alone. We’ve had a housing shortage for centuries and expelling immigrants will not cure it – a social housing construction program can but the Far-Right never agitate for that.
Expelling immigrants might seem to shorten health service queues but in fact would lengthen them as those members of staff in paramedical services, nursing, surgery, cleaning and security left the country. But none of the anti-immigrant propaganda is about logic – quite the contrary.
A position that it’s patriotic to allow only the Irish-born to live and work in Ireland would have meant lost us four of the Seven Signatories of the 1916 Proclamation James Connolly, Tom Clark, the father of Patrick (and Willy) Pearse and the mother of Thomas Mac Donagh.
The racists flying the “Irish Republic” flag may be unaware that it was painted on one of her curtains in the house of London-born Constance Markievicz, delivered by her during the 1916 Rising to the GPO and installed on the roof by Eamon Bulfin, born and reared in Argentina.
The Irish Tricolour was presented to Irish Republicans by French Republican women during the Paris Revolution of 1848. The Harp on a green background was the flag of the United Irish, nearly all of whose leaders’ antecedents had come from other countries.
IT’S OUR FAULT
We can expose the ‘patriotism’ of those who ignore the foreign occupation of one-sixth of our land but organise against foreign workers; we can laugh at the ‘patriotism’ and ‘anti-globalism’ that thinks it fine to follow “Poppy” McGregor cosying up to a US imperialist president.
But in the end, those contradictory positions and don’t-compute beliefs won’t matter. The fascists are out to mobilise the ill-informed and gullible who have been hurt by the capitalist system and, it must be said, who have been largely ignored by the Irish Left and by Irish Republicans.
At the very least, the progressive forces could have fought for a wide public housing program. A campaign of occupations could have forced that though people would have gone to jail for it. Attempts were made by the Revolutionary Housing League but they were not supported.
The speculators, big landlords and bankers would hate it but in the end could afford to let it happen. They would still be in charge and still making money. It was not a revolutionary demand.
But the campaign was not pressed and now the Far-Right are there with a simplistic but completely wrong answer: stop immigration.
The electoral Left is not interested in fighting fascism but instead in anti-racist posturing. The Irish Republican movement is in general more interested in getting the British out of their 6-County Irish colony. Even on causes with which they agree, they can rarely stand on the same ground.
The advance of the Far-Right is the fault of the spaces left empty by the Left.
end.
FOOTNOTES
SOURCES
1The numbers quoted varied hugely. The first report on Breaking News had them at twice the number of the counter-protest, which they estimated at 2,000, an under-estimate to my opinion by almost a thousand. The next B News report put the anti-immigration numbers at “hundreds of thousands”, i.e at least 200,000! A more realistic guess would be around 10,000.
2The Starry Plough, flag of the Irish Citizen Army, the first workers’ army in the world, formed to defend the workers from police attacks in the employers’ attempt to break the Irish Transport & General Workers Union with a Lockout of union members.
3The Tricolour will be a right-wing symbol soon if it’s not front and centre at counters. Being allergic to your own flag is moronic and damages your legitimacy as a national movement. A sea of red and pink flags without the hard won symbols of Irish nationalism plays into the right-wing narrative that left is inherently anti-Irish. Fly the tricolour if you don’t want it to end up like the St George’s flag in England.
The left have a tendency to abandon things that are being co-opted by political opponents. In a country where nationalism, socialism and patriotism go hand-in-hand, this would be extremely damaging. Look no further than the Provo/Stickie split in the 1970’s for an example of the left losing legitimacy by putting the red before the green during a crisis.
You’re not just fighting the domestic right, you’re fighting US and UK conservative media and Zionism. Ireland is unique in Europe as a post-colonial state and we can be unique in how we fight our culture war. Nationalism should not be given away, the ‘left’ should not become the generic caricature pushed by right wing media. Our national flag should vastly outnumber all other symbols — it is a symbol of resistance.
4Increasingly the Far-Right leaderships have been exposed in alliance with British fascists and racists such as Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage and with British Loyalists such as James Dowson.
5In 2015 Conor McGregor wore the red Poppy, causing controversy in Ireland as the symbol is firmly associated with the British imperialist army. McGregor claimed it represented all soldiers in all wars, which is patently nonsense. The Poppy is trademarked and produced by the British Legion to commemorate the UK soldiers killed – not even those of the Commonwealth, to say nothing of the soldiers on the other side, nor the millions of civilians killed.
Twenty-three activists arrested at three different Dublin events between Monday and today (Friday). Three women reported being strip-searched. Six activists were pepper-sprayed into the eyes.
Oppression leads to resistance; the system responds with repression. But repression can also lead to resistance.
Dublin city centre on Saturday witnessed another giant Palestine solidarity march with a breakaway group; also a picket against internment of Irish Republicans; fascist provocations and Gárda repression resulting in the arrest of a demonstrator.
The national demonstration march had been called by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign as part of a solidarity and protest pattern that included fortnightly Dublin marches last year but is now generally monthly and at times with other events in addition.
One of the banners just having crossed O’Connell Bridge on the IPSC-organised march (Sourced: IPSC Facebook)
Numbers on these marches in a city of only around 1.5 million population are impressive, though they draw on some participation from outside Dublin but there also regular local pickets and demonstrations of much smaller numbers at locations of high visibility or of specific significance.1
The march set off from the Garden of Remembrance in the north city centre proceeding towards Leinster House, seat of the parliament of the Irish State, near O’Connell Bridge passing a picket with an anti-Internment banner organised by the Anti-Imperialism Action organisation.
Anti Imperialist Action displaying a banner against extradition to the passing Palestine solidarity march. (Photo sourced: Anti Imperialism Action Leinster FB page)
As the march reached the non-pedestrianised stretch of Grafton Street a half-dozen fascists made their presence felt on the sidelines by throwing insults at a section of the marchers, who responded with louder From Ireland to Palestine – Occupation is a crime! and antifascist slogans.
Not just the Irish state but fascists and other far-Right elements in Ireland have a real problem with Palestine solidarity, claiming that’s because the protesters should be marching for Ireland. However those elements for the most part have zero track record in marching for Irish independence.
No, for them ‘Irish nationalism’ consists of demonstrating against immigration and burning buildings intended – or which they believe intended – for housing refugees. Clearly as fascists and far-Right what they detest about marches such as these is internationalist solidarity itself.
Placard calling for what is surely the minimum we have the right to expect from the Irish Government, followed by some of the placards of Mothers Against Genocide. (Photo sourced: IPSC FB page)
Incongruously for those who want only internal causes upheld, the fascists of the Loyalist variety in the occupied Six Counties uphold the Zionist state of ‘Israel’ and those inside the Irish state, as was seen in Dublin on Saturday too, laud and uphold as an example Donald Trump!
Mock Icon of Irish Central Bank carried against processing Israeli Bonds (Source photo: IPSC FB page).
Very shortly after the verbal exchange with the fascists, a section of the march diverted to walk up the pedestrianised section of Grafton Street. A couple of Gardaí, reinforced by the fascists, attempted to prevent this but the marchers flowed around the obstruction to continue up the street.
On Wednesday evening, some of those present had marched down that very street on their way to occupy O’Connell Bridge, bringing traffic in both directions to a halt for half an hour.3
Further along the pedestrianised street the breakaway, including Ireland Action for Palestine and Saoirse Don Phalaistín groups, joined with another section of marchers who had earlier broken away from the IPSC march, this one led by the Mothers Against Genocide banner.
The shouted slogans from what were broadly two differing sections tended to merge with regard to calls to stop the bombing, opposition to genocide and broad support for Palestine but differed in that one section was also calling for support for the Palestinian Resistance and resistance generally.4
Content of slogans from the groups differed less markedly in calling for Irish Government intervention in support of Palestine, with the ‘Mothers’ mostly demanding the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill5 and others condemning Government collusion in Shannon Airport.
The whole breakaway mass marched along South Stephens Green and turned north into Dawson Street, to pause inside the junction with Molesworth Street, where the tail of the main march, was already beginning to reduce although speakers and artists were performing on the IPSC platform.
Molesworth Street facing Dawson Street after the breakaway sections arrived and before the later incidents. (Source: R. Breeze)View of the IPSC-organised march at its destination, the Garda barriers in Molesworth Street across the road from the entrance to Leinster House. (Photo: R. Breeze)
On Dawson Street, across from the junction, the fascists had installed themselves, including a man in a red ‘Trump’ hat waving a “Make America great again” flag.
Two known fascists from the group trying to harass Palestine solidarity marches from Grafton Street to Dawson Street. (Photo sourced: AFAhttps://www.facebook.com/afaireland)
The Palestine solidarity protesters here – some distance from the diminishing main march crowd,6 with some IPSC stewards standing watching nearby, responded to the fascists’ jeers and Trump fan with jeers of their own, slogans and some bursts of song.7
According to a report form Anti-Fascist Action observers nearby and posted later that day, a senior Garda officer approached one of the fascists and had a quiet word with them, after which the fascists packed their banner and went away quietly smiling while the Public Order Unit arrived.
Soldiers of the master race (ehem) packing up after notification from their friend in the Gardaí that the POU would soon be deployed against some of the Palestine solidarity demonstrators. (Photo sourced: AFA Ireland)
These then began to aggressively push the demonstrators back towards Molesworth Street and as a demonstrator remarked it was the POU that were now blocking Dawson Street to traffic.
Soon the Gardaí seemed to decide to arrest one of the Palestine solidarity demonstrators and charged into the crowd, shoving, knocking down and even punching people who resisted strongly or just held on to the intended victim as long as they were able to.
A woman struck back at a POU man who had seized her by the throat but even so it took the intervention of one of his unit to get him to release his hold. The marks of his hand on her throat could be seen afterwards. Interestingly a press report later stated the Gardaí denied there was any incident.
Eventually the Gardaí succeeded in their intent and the protester was taken away to chants of Let him go! Numbers of the main march were dwindling greatly by this point but so were those of the breakaway section and people there were concerned to support their arrested comrade.
One of three police stations was the likely destination: Store Street, Pearse Street or Kevin Street. It was established that he was held at the latter station and was later released, given a few days to decide, under the Public Order Act whether to accept a caution or to be charged and face trial.
More confrontations of various sorts are likely as the Zionist genocide in Palestine ratchets even higher and frustration mounts at the Irish Government’s persistent refusal to end their collusion with the Zionist state and with its main supplier, US imperialism.
2Breakaway actions by groups often take place when they seek another target to that of the march organisers or to spread the visual and auditory impact of the demonstration or to break the ‘normalisation’ pattern, as when protesters feel the IPSC leadership is organising set marches of minimum disruption, on routes agreed with the Gardaí (which is not legal requirement in the Irish state).
4There is only one solution – Intifada revolution! From Ireland to Palestine – Occupation is a crime!
5 Agreed years ago in the Irish Parliament before but prevented from enactment by successive coalition Governments.
6As soon as the IPSC march arrives numbers always begin to leave, either to commence return home journeys or because they feel they are not going to hear anything new and their contribution was to be part of a visible mass, which they have now done.
7The Irish-language Gráinne Mhaol and English-language Come Out Ye Black n’ Tans.
Evening traffic in Dublin’s southside city centre came to a halt as Palestine solidarity demonstrators, frustrated by the collusion of the Irish Government with the Zionist genocidal massacres, marched from Leinster House to block O’Connell Bridge.
The early evening protest for Wednesday at Leinster House was called by Collective Action for Palestine. It is not certain whether this is an actual organisation or a flag of convenience for a collection of solidarity groups and certainly many of those present were identifiable from different groups.
An early view of the Wednesday evening rally outside Leinster House (see in the background), home of the Irish Parliament. (Photo source: Journal)
This included, from their banners, Mothers Against Genocide and Irish Jews Against Genocide but among the hundreds present, activists of other organisations such as Action for Palestine Ireland, Saoirse don Phalaistín, Anti-Imperialist Action Ireland and Social Rights Ireland were in evidence.
The People Before Profit party, which would usually mobilise strongly for marches called by the IPSC, did not have a noticeable present, which may reflect a lack of contact with the organisers of yesterday’s event or a lesser ability to mobilise quickly.
Irish Republican organisations were also not noticeably present, with the exception of the AIA mentioned earlier.
The protesters’ rage and frustration was lit by images of dead and injured Palestinian children in the return to genocidal bombing of Gaza by the ‘Israeli’ armed forces, once again violating their ceasefire agreement, along with besieging and ethnic cleansing of cities of the West Bank.
The previous night Zionist state bombing had killed 414 Palestinians, including 174 children, and hospitalised over 550 more.
The marchers called for action from the Government, such as imposing sanctions on Israel in general and enacting the rather mild Occupied Territories Bill, approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) but seven years since, still sitting in a drawer; awaiting enactment.
Those calls have been repeated week after week, month after month in the final months of 2003 and throughout last year but only words of concern from Government ministers resulted, followed by friendship visitsto the very supplier of the Zionists’ weapons of genocide.
Successive governments of the ruling class of the ‘neutral’ Irish State have actively colluded too in genocide through refusing to bar Irish airspace to Zionist military supply flights1 or to monitor and prevent US military flights through Shannon airport.
Still as true today, unfortunately, as it was in August last year.
MARCH AROUND SOUTHSIDE CITY CENTRE
From outside Leinster house the protesters proceeded southwards up Kildare Street, turning right to flank Stephens’ Green, where they paused to chant more slogans and display banners and placards to stopped Luas trams before then turning northward into Grafton Street.
The solidarity protest rally becomes a march, proceeding southward up Kildare Street. (Source photo: Irish Independent)
In that pedestrianised shopping street the march stopped near one of the many buskers regularly performing there, apparently Italian who launched into an amplified rendition of a celebrated song from the Italian antifascist tradition, Bella Ciao, with many of the marchers joining in.
The northward march continued with stops up Westmoreland Street, where the clientele of a pub came out to cheer and applaud the marchers. Then on to the southern end of O’Connell Bridge, occupying both southward and northward-bound lanes with traffic blocked in both directions.
Indeed the traffic was soon backed up southward around Stephens Green and to the north, up to Dorset Street. On the Bridge, flares were lit and the crowd heard speeches of protest interspersed with solidarity slogans. Many passers-by expressed support, some stopping to participate.
A protester lights a flare as the march proceeds northward along Grafton Street. (Photo source: Participant)
What was most unusual indeed was that during the half hour or so that the marchers remained there, no angry beeping of horns nor shouts of impatience were heard from drivers of private cars or from passengers in public transport buses.
The crowd left, marching west along Dame Street, northward at Georges Street South and Aungier Street, then left to march along Stephens Green North, pausing outside the HQ of the Department of Foreign Affairs, where the Gardaí scuffled with some protesters.
Section of the protest on O’Connell Bridge. (Photo source: Participant)
The protesters then returned to Kildare Street to the seat of the Irish Parliament, Leinster House where they concluded the evening’s event.
A couple of hundred protesters had achieved, one might argue, more than many thousands on regular national marches of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, in terms of public exposure and paralysis of city traffic in several directions, therefore putting pressure on the Irish Government.
Section of the march in Grafton Street. (Photo source: Participant)Grafton Street:Gardaí wondering where the marchers are heading and what going to do. (Photo source: Participant)
As a tactic this has much to recommend it. My opinion is that one has to time the length of remaining in each location just right to maximise the disruption while reducing the impact on people at each spot to a tolerable degree.
The movement needs to further awake people and to shake the elite but it also needs to minimise the impatience of people returning home from a day’s work or indeed travelling to begin their night shifts, or hurrying to meet others by arrangement.
They are not the enemy nor do we wish to make them so.
A narrower view of the temporary occupation of O’Connell Bridge. (Photo source: Participant)
I would also criticise the reciting of an amplified prayer on O’Connell Bridge. The solidarity movement is secular and no section of it has the right to impose prayer upon all or to represent the whole as religious –whether Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Hindu or any other.
SLOGANS
All or most of the slogans one hears on Palestine solidarity demonstrations in Dublin (and endorsed by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign) were shouted but so were others in addition such as There is only one solution – Intifada Revolution! And No peace on stolen land!
A group of Anti-Imperialist Action photographed during the O’Connell Bridge occupation. (Photo source: Participant)
Others included Resistance is an obligation – in the face of occupation! From Ireland to Palestine – Occupation is a crime! Brick by brick, wall by wall – The colonies will fall! It’s hard to imagine the IPSC leadership, whatever they might think privately, endorsing those slogans in public.
Although the last slogan might not be seen as specifically referring to Ireland, there was also one in the Irish language which is now common among native Irish and many of migrant background, Saoirse don Phalaistín! And the unequivocal From Ireland to Palestine – Occupation is a crime!
Ceasefire now! resurfaced from time time and though a good call when the Resistance is calling for it, can be problematic when they are not, as with the end objective being liberation, do we have the right to call on the Resistance to cease fighting, even if the Occupation ceases temporarily?
Another problematic call for example is Mícheál Martin, do your job! because in fact members of the Irish Government are doing exactly their job, which is to manage the contradiction between the peoples’ wishes and the needs of the neo-colonial Gombeen ruling class in favour of the latter.
Sanctions Now! is a call with very wide support across revolutionary and non-revolutionary sectors – the division is more around whether periodic marches to Leinster House for example is likely to achieve that or whether more radical action is necessary to pressure the elite to enact them.
The march pauses along Stephens Green North (the Green is out of sight to right of photo). (Photo source: Participant)
The demands of the Government, i.e representing the ruling class, are not revolutionary or even huge: to apply sanctions (economic, cultural and political) against the genocidal entity and to cease permitting Irish airports and neutral Irish airspace to be used in supporting genocide.
The genocidal entity cannot hurt the Irish state much directly. Of course, its main backer, the United States, is another matter. But then, if principle is not enough, the Irish elite could calculate that during the current split between the EU and the USA might be the best moment to take that step.
Demonstrators scale an ornamental lamppost during the O’Connell Bridge occupation, erecting a Palestine national flag bearing the legend “Saoirse Don Phalaistín” (‘Freedom for Palestine’). (Photo source: Participant)
A night of resistance and other songs on Friday night in Peadar Browne’s Dublin pub raised funds to assist in fighting state repression of Palestine solidarity activists in Ireland, as Palestine solidarity activists face persecution across the Western world.
The evening’s performance consisted of a mix of political and other songs, a number of which were original material. However it was the political material that most drew interest, ranging from international struggles to the rich Irish Republican tradition.
Olive and Fynn in performance at the fund-raising event (Photo: R.Breeze)
To begin the event Diarmuid Breatnach explained the need to support Palestine solidarity activists against the repression of the Irish authorities, hence the fundraising event and announced that in addition to performing he would be standing in for the event’s MC who had been unable to attend.
Breatnach began his set combining two songs from the German antifascist tradition, three verses of Peat Bog Soldiers and three from the Hans Beimler ballad.1 Then from the Spanish Anti-Fascist War he sang Ay Carmela!, the air of which he said was from an anti-French occupation folk song.
Next the MC announced a performance by two performers, half of the four-strong Croí Óg ballad band. During their performance with voice, guitar and banjo there was an incident from a couple of unruly elements nearby who had substantial drink taken and had been very loud throughout.
Two members of the Croí Óg band performing at the fundraising event (Photo: R.Breeze)
A man who had been refused permission to sing solo began shouting that the songs were not Republican, ironically interrupting Grand Old Country, a song about the Fenian tradition. It became clear that what he wished was to perform the Grace ballad, which he began to sing loudly.
A male confronted the interrupter; the latter’s friend, a big elderly Glaswegian protested; others took to the floor … but the incident wound down, the interrupters and audience resuming their seats. However, the putative Grace singer threw threats at his earlier confronter across the room.
The big Glaswegian then crossed the room to confront the audience member, a female audience member intervened, he brushed her aside and the audience section erupted, only the quick arrival of the pub’s landlady preventing a fight … And the musicians resumed their performance.
Among the songs performed by Croí Óg were Crossmaglen and British Soldier Go on Home. The MC called for appreciation applause for them, made some barbed comments about the recent anti-social behaviour and welcomed the song-and-guitar duo Olive and Fyn to the stage.
Sage Against the Machine performing at the fundraiser event (Photo: R.Breeze)
The duo performed their own material in lovely harmonies, mostly non-political, also including their ironically titled Save the Landlord! After they had left the stage to applause Breatnach got up on stage again to announce a short break and to remind the audience to contribute to the funds.
His additional comment: “Remember when someone sang in a Dublin pub and everyone went quiet? Remember those days? Remember?” was followed by loud applause throughout the pub.
Breatnach restarted the second half, singing a capella again two songs celebrating Irish women’s resistance,2 ending with songs in Irish including the ballad of Rodaí Mac Corlaí. After concluding he introduced Sage Against the Machine to take to the stage, singing solo with guitar.
Sage’s material was mostly original, sung in English but went on to Masters of War in a spirited concluding verse, followed by Gallo Rojo, Gallo Negro3 in Spanish from the anti-fascist tradition in Spain. The MC then presented Eoin Ó Loingsigh, also with voice and guitar.
Eoghan Ó Loingsigh performing at the event (Photo: R.Breeze)
Although no further incidents occurred, the volume of ‘conversation’ between a number of people not far from the stage was high. Loingsigh’s material included Only Our Rivers Run Free, Viva La Quince Brigada4and a satirical song contrasting the fates of the rich and the poor after death.
The evening’s scheduled performances concluded with Seán Óg, also solo with voice and guitar, his selection including Ho Chi Minh, republican ballads Boys of the Old Brigade, The Patriot Game, Boolavogue and his own composition Boys of Gaza to air and structure of The Boys of Kilmichael.5
Breatnach thanked the attendance for their support, restating the context of the event and asked for another round of applause for all the performers, who gave their time and creativity for free, then called for people to stand for the Irish national anthem6 which he led with the first verse in Irish.
Diarmuid Breatnach in performance at the fundraiser event (Photo: R.Breeze)
At the concluding line of “seo libh, canaig …” the audience exploded to complete the words “Amhrán na bhFiann!” followed by launching into the chorus, also in Irish.
The event had been organised by two broad Palestine solidarity organisations, Saoirse Don Phalaistín and Palestine Action Ireland and among the attendance were a number of their activists, including some victims of state repression.
Most of the charges to date have been under the Public Order Act but also some around ‘criminal damage’ and the potential is there for more serious charges and possible jail sentences, as have been the case in some other European administrations.
In addition to actions of their own, including occupying and picketing the Israeli Embassy, Axa Insurance and picketing the Palestine Authority, Saoirse don Phalaistín and Palestine Solidarity Action organised Resistance Blocs to participate in mass demonstrations organised by the IPSC.
Seán Óg performing at the fundraiser event (Photo: R.Breeze)
Peadar Browns pub has become increasingly known as an Irish Republican tavern on the south side of Dublin city. Its small stage area is decorated with Republican artwork on the walls and on many of the bodhráns7 hanging there, along with some Glasgow Celtic celebratory material.
The side of the pub, on a minor street, carries a large mural representation of the Palestinian national flag, along with the slogan SAOIRSE DON PHALAISTÍN. However Dublin City Council have directed that it must be removed, to the anger of a great many people.
Mural on the side of the Peadar Brown pub (Photo sourced: Internet)
Historically cultural events of this type have a function other than to raise defence funds and to promote the cause: they are also occasions for replication of the cultural face of resistance and for expression of new cultural compositions but additionally for the creation of a community of resistance.
4About the Irish who went to fight against fascism in 1930s Spain.
5Also known as The Kilmichael Ambush, celebrating a famous event in West Cork during the War of Independence (1919-1921). However, the air of both songs is that of an older ballad about the 1798 Rising called Men of the West.
6The lyrics were originally written in English and later translated to Irish in which language it most usually sung today.
7A shallow one-sided Irish drum, same shape as a tambourine but much larger, played with a wooden striker on the outside with variation in tension achieved by hand pressure on the inside.
The CCJ (Criminal Courts of Justice) in Parkgate Street, Dublin, are seeing an increase in political cases in recent weeks with activists in housing and Palestine solidarity as well as Irish Republicans fighting extradition to the British colony.
Eoghan Ó Loingsigh, who made the mistake of asking a Garda for his badge number while they were carrying out an eviction, appeared there in February only to see his case thrown forward to June.
Picket anti-extradition display by Anti-Imperialism Action outside Heuston Station in February. (Photo: R.Breeze)
Another housing activist’s charge of attempting to break into an empty property was dismissed. The property in question, empty for a number of years is leased to the Salvation Army and three years ago two RHL1 activists were evicted from it by 100 Gardaí (some armed) with helicopter support.
Jack Brazil, a Palestine solidarity activist whom the Gardaí are trying, believe it or not, to tie into the racist and criminal riots of November last year, had yet another appearance in court without trial as he’s still trying for CCTV footage from Gardaí to support his alibi for the night.
At least the remaining bail restriction on Brazil was lifted: at the outset he had to sign on at Mountjoy Garda station once every week, observe a curfew of 12am-6am and not to loiter at any point in the Dublin city centre (D1 and D2). His case is now remanded to 26 March.
Jack Brazil (in the suit) and other Palestine solidarity activists outside the CCJ after Brazil’s most recent appearance there. (Photo: R.Breeze)
Jim Deneghan had a number of court appearances fighting extradition to the Six Counties on foot of charges alleging an act during the 30 Years War there – fifty years ago. He was unsuccessful and it appears that the only avenue open to him now would be to challenge it in the High Court.
Should they even grant him leave to do that which is not always the case.
Some of the AIA-organised anti-extradition banner drop on the Fairview pedestrian bridge hold up placards against extradition. (Photo: R.Breeze)
Another extradition case has been dealt with in the Special Criminal Court, which is located within the same building as the CCJ, distinguished from other courts by the glass-enclosed reception ‘box’ through which one must pass to gain entry, first satisfying ‘security’ provisions.2
Sean Walsh has been fighting extradition to the UK’s Irish colony, the Six Counties on a charge of membership of an armed Republican organisation, which is deemed illegal on both sides of the British Border. He is in custody in Portlaoise awaiting a decision from the ECHR in Brussels.
Independent Dublin Republicans organised solidarity pickets outside the court on the mornings of Denneghan’s appearances, while Anti-Imperialist Action held a picket against extradition outside the nearby Heuston Train Station and a more recent banner drop on the Fairview Pedestrian Bridge.
Picket organised by Independent Dublin Republicans outside court where extradition of Jim Deneghan (Centre, next to State Harp) was being decided in February. (Photo sourced: IDR Facebook page)
The CCJ courts, in particular those on the ground floor are extremely busy with what seems at times like industrial-scale processing of setting further dates for court appearances, granting or refusing bail, requiring ‘discovery’ and other documentation from the Gardaí and some sentencing.
The human subjects of these proceedings are mostly from what might be termed the under-class of Dublin with some migrants added for good measure. Most face charges of possession of drugs, anti-social behaviour, threatening behaviour, theft and breach of bail conditions.
A huge amount of court, lawyer and Garda time is taken up with processing people accused under these charges. On the other hand the processes also interfere hugely with the normal lives of those charged and in addition, in the case of political activists, disrupt some of their legal activity.
And can cost them loss of pay and even threaten their employment. Which might be deliberate on the part of the system or if not, at least something those who manage it will not regret.
Banner drop by AIA from Fairview pedestrian footbridge. (Photo: R.Breeze)
The sheer number of that social group being processed through the courts daily is an indication of something really wrong with Irish society and which worsens even through generations, while the major reaction of the State is to maintain the social conditions and repress its victims.
By and large the middle class only come into contact with that element of society when they are prosecuting or defending them in court, or professionally dealing with them in hospital or social services environments.
It is also where many of those who are trying to change the prevailing social and economic conditions, i.e political activists, will first rub shoulders with that group while next to them on court seating benches. Unless the political repression goes a step further and they meet in jail.
End.
1Revolutionary Housing League which had renamed the building, on Eden Quay, ‘James Connolly House’.
2The non-jury SCC was established under an Amendment to the Offences Against the State Act, pushed through Leinster House by Fianna Fáil amidst collapse of its opposition during a panic caused by (British Intelligence) terrorist bombing of Dublin in 1972 killing two and maiming many. The scene of many unjust decisions, its most famous was the conviction of the innocent ‘Sallins Four’ when the SCC was based at Green Street, appropriately enough the scene of many injustices under the British occupation, including the death sentence on Robert Emmet after his famous speech. The existence of the SCC is opposed by Amnesty International and Irish civil rights organisations and, until a few years ago, by the majority political party in Ireland, Sinn Féin, which no longer opposes it.
Many who supported Saturday’s march of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign advertised as going to protest at the US Embassy found themselves led to a rally in a residential street bordering the Embassy and far from the main road.
The IPSC march had gathered at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Stephens Green and proceeded from there to Ballsbridge, the last section passing through quiet residential streets to hold the rally in Elgin Road, some distance from and hardly visible from the main road.
Section of the IPSC march on Saturday (Photo cred: IPSC)
Before the arrival of the IPSC march a handful of people gathered near the main road, displaying Palestine national colours to acclamation from passing motorists. As the IPSC march arrived nearby some others with flags, banner and placards joined them near the front entrance of the Embassy.
From that position one could see the IPSC rally taking place quite some distance down the quiet street, distant enough that speeches could not be heard, though chants from the crowd were audible.
Earlier in the day the Palestinian resistance had released three of their prisoners in good health while the Palestinian prisoners of ‘Israel’ were beaten and insulted as they were leaving and made to wear special demeaning clothes (which they burned). Four had to be rushed to hospital after release.
Long before Trump’s proposal of ethnically cleansing Gaza of Palestinians, it is important to understand that Israel’s genocide could not have been sustained for more than a week without funding and munitions supply by the USA, which also supported them politically.
In the sixteen-plus months of the current phase of Israeli genocide, the IPSC has led a march to the ‘Israeli’ Embassy only a few times and to the US Embassy exactly twice, each time to the side road (though the stage of the first one was closer to the Embassy’s main entrance than was today’s).
The front of the IPSC march at its destination at the rally on Saturday. (Photo cred: IPSC).The IPSC rally in the distance, taken from in front of the US Embassy main entrance. (Credit photo: Rebel Breeze)
A police officer approached the early demonstrators near the Embassy main entrance to encourage them to move down to the location of the IPSC rally but they politely declined. One of the IPSC’s committee members also wandered by to see who these mavericks could be.
A Zionist passing by claimed the demonstrators should be ashamed but they told him it was he who should feel shame, supporting genocide. Anger soared when he called for killing more Palestinians – including children– until some began to suspect he was provoking an assault leading to arrest.
Certainly he felt safe enough with Gardaí close by.
As the group consolidated a woman began to lead call-and-answer chants which were taken up: Saoirse – don Phalaistín! Resistance is an obligation- in the face of occupation! 1, 2, 3, 4 – Occupation no more! 5, 6, 7, 8 – Israel is a terrorist state! Free, free – Palestine!
Section of those who chose to stand near the US Embassy main entrance (out of shot to the right of photo) and in full view of passing traffic on the main road (just out of view to left of photo). (Photo credit: Rebel Breeze)
Also From the river to the sea – Palestine will be free! From Ireland to Palestine – Occupation is a crime! Car horns of passing motorists joined in, beeping in solidarity.
It began to rain heavily and the protesters endured it for a while before heading for shelter.
One of a number of Palestine struggle supporters appeared in court again on Wednesday and, though the case was postponed for hearing until 26 February, was successful in having one of the conditions of his bail, his daily curfew, removed.
Jack Brasil raises a clenched fist outside the Dublin Court on Wednesday. (Photo: D.Breatnach)
Palestine struggle supporters sat in Dublin’s Central Criminal Court with Jack Brasil, New Zealander of Irish descent, through many other case applications until his own was dealt with, before accompanying him out of the intimidating building.
Another of the bail-related restrictions, that Brasil not present stationary in the Dublin 1 or 2 areas (i.e in the Dublin City centre) remains, at least for the moment. This restriction has also been imposed on a number of other Palestine solidarity activists in a clear restriction of their civil rights.
As in many other Western states, Palestine solidarity activists have been charged with offences under Ireland’s criminal code but, when released on bail, remain under restrictions for months at a time after their arrest, interfering with their normal routines.
It also hampers or even prevents their participation in solidarity activities.
Palestine struggle supporters outside the Dublin court on Wednesday after Jack Brasil had the curfew removed from the conditions of bail. (Photo: D.Breatnach)
To date it seems that none of the Irish civil rights NGOs have challenged the State on the wide-scale use of those undemocratic bail restrictions from participation in lawful solidarity protests on people who are, even according to the criminal code, innocent, unless convicted in a court of law.
During the 2014-2015 mass-popular protests against the imposition of a third water tax in preparation for the privatisation of water supply in the Irish state, similar restrictions were imposed on protesters. Two however refused to accept the conditions and were jailed.
Protests outside Mountjoy Jail followed and, under the threat of hunger strike by the detained, they were released and the restrictions removed. It may be that this option will need to be explored by Palestine supporters if charged in Ireland in the future.
rebelbreeze 