Tensions erupted as anti-immigration protesters – led remotely by former MMA fighter Conor McGregor – and counter-demonstrators were separated by a large Garda presence in Dublin yesterday.
However, the potential flashpoint passed off without major incident, despite fears – expressed online – of a repeat of the chaos in November 2023, when gardaí lost control of the parts of the city.
Just after 2 pm, thousands marched from the Garden of Remembrance down O’Connell Street and across to the Custom House. McGregor did not join the protest in person, but recorded a video from the Garden of Remembrance beforehand, encouraging participants to ‘be calm, be clear [and] speak with dignity’.
Descriptions of the main protest ranged from shining ‘our light upon the failure of Ireland’s government and our full disapproval of it’ (McGregor), to a ‘far-right hate-fest of racists, misogynists and transphobes’ (Dublin West TD Ruth Coppinger).
Zoomed out, at moments it could have been mistaken for a World Cup team homecoming, as hundreds of tricolours fluttered in the sun and the crowds sang Olé Olé Olé and The Fields Of Athenry in unison.
Thousands of far right supporters at the Custom House in Dublin on Saturday, April 26. ROLLINGNEWS.IE
But up close, placards reading ‘Ireland is Full’, chants of ‘Get them out’, and violent threats against counter-protesters showed that this was no festival atmosphere.
Mostly, crowds marched peacefully, but gardaí in riot gear formed a cordon around a few hundred counterdemonstrators at the GPO.
It took around 45 minutes for the main protest to move past the smaller one, as slanging matches broke out between the two sides.
Marchers passing by the Parnell statue on their way to the Custom House. A man holds up a sign that says 'Irish Lives Matter.' ROLLINGNEWS.IE
The counter-protesters, organised by the group United Against Racism, chanted ‘Shame on you’, and ‘Conor McGregor is a rapist’, in reference to the civil court finding against the presidential wannabe that he raped Nikita Hand in 2018.
The marchers made their way to the Custom House, where speakers assembled on the steps and delivered orations on the Government’s policy on immigration and the international protection system.
Speeches were barely audible to most, prompting grumbles about the sound system, ‘after all this trouble’.
One man in a Donald Trump-style navy suit and red tie and a Make America Great Again (MAGA) red baseball cap carried an American flag.
Cllr Malachy Steenson and a woman with a crucifix. ROLLINGNEWS.IE
His was not the only piece of MAGA merchandise on display, and Extra.ie also spotted a few dozen people in green ‘Make Ireland Great Again’ baseball caps.
Independent Dublin city councillor for Ballymun/Finglas Gavin Pepper told the crowd: ‘We’re sick of the Government treating us like crap.
‘We’re bringing in thousands and thousands of people and putting them up in hotels while our own people are being left to rot. Irish people come first in our own country. It’s time for mass deportations.’
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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