Thousands of people gathered in Dublin on Saturday for a rally against "spiraling" abortion rates in Ireland. 

The "Rally for Life" began at the Garden of Remembrance at 1 p.m. on Saturday before making its way down O'Connell Street to the quays. 

Roughly 3,000 people attended the rally, which aimed to hold the Irish Government "to account for the spiraling abortion rate". 

It also called on the Irish Government to retain a mandatory three-day waiting period before an abortion can take place. 

A number of political groups and politicians attended Saturday's rally, including Aontú leader Peader Tóibín and independent TD Mattie McGrath.  Members of the National Party were also in attendance. 

Attendees expressed concern over a Government bill to allow women to have an abortion later in their pregnancy. The bill is currently at the second stage in the Dáil. 

They also expressed concerns over rising rates of abortion in Ireland, stating that there had been a 22% increase in 2022. 

"There were 8,156 abortions in 2022 - up from an estimated 6,700 the previous year," Rally for Life spokesperson Megan Ní Scealláin said on Saturday. 

"This rise is both steep and deeply disturbing, and it's also heartbreaking.

"We're seeing calls for the three-day wait before abortion to be scrapped - even though about 4,000 women between 2019-2022 did not return for an abortion after the three-day period of reflection," she added. 

Rally for Life campaigner Niamh Uí Bhriain told Irish radio station Newstalk that she wanted to know how the Irish Government planned to combat the rising abortion rates. 

"Where's the accountability for this from a Government that said abortion was going to be rare?

"Can we really say we're offering a choice to women if so many women feel that abortion perhaps is the only thing that's available for them?" 

Abortion was legalized in Ireland following a historic referendum in 2018, which repealed the controversial 8th Amendment by 66.4% to 34.6%. 

Several protesters at Saturday's rally praised the US Supreme Court for overturning Roe v Wade last year, stating that it was evidence that the "tide is turning".