A NUMBER OF Extinction Rebellion protesters were moved by gardaí during a sit-in on the road outside the Dáil this evening. 

A large number of gardaí arrived at the scene earlier this evening and directed protesters to leave the area, warning them that they faced arrest if they did not comply.

Gardaí initially carried a small number of people from the road, but subsequently allowed the demonstration to continue and no arrests were made.

Around 50 gardaí formed then a human chain in front of the gates of Leinster House as a barrier was erected to allow vehicles to exit and move along Kildare Street. 

Source: Stephen McDermott/TheJournal.ie

When officers arrived, organisers asked the protesters to remain peaceful and the crowd began to sing “gardaí we love you, we’re doing this for your children too”.

A spokesman for the group read out a list of demands, calling for protesters to make noise as politicians leave Leinster House. 

Gardaí disbanded the human chain after the barrier was completed, and the garda leading the operation praised demonstrators, saying they were an example to how peaceful protests should be carried out.

The protest was joined later by a separate Extinction Rebellion protest, which gathered at Parnell Square at 6.15pm and made its way through the city centre to the gates of the Dáil.

Speakers once again read a list of the group’s demands, and called for the government to abandon its plans for its controversial Shannon LNG terminal, before the demonstration ended and protesters made their way to the group’s encampment on Merrion Square.

Yesterday thousands of people took to the streets to mark the beginning of Extinction Rebellion’s week-long protest. Protesters marched from the Dáil to Merrion Square, which is the base for activists this week.

Extinction Rebellion has said it will bring demonstrations to different areas of the city over the course of the week to highlight a number of environmental issues.

With reporting from Stephen McDermott.