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LAST UPDATE | 10 Jun
A MARCH FROM O’Connell Street to Leinster House caused significant traffic disruption and road closures in Dublin city centre today.
Dublin Buses whose routes travel down O’Connell Street were rerouted due to the organised gathering, but those diversions have now been lifted.
Buses were diverted via Eden Quay, Gardiner Street, and Parnell Street as O’Connell Street was blocked. Molesworth Street, Dawson Street and Kildare Street were also closed.
Green Line Luas services were operating with delays due to the protest march. Trams were left stuck on Dawson Street and O’Connell Street.
Protesters carrying tricolours congregated by the Spire and the GPO on the city’s main thoroughfare and made their way down O’Connell Street, heading for Leinster House.
Barricades were erected by gardaí, stopping protesters from proceeding to the gates of Leinster House.
There were shouts of “traitors” and “shame on you” directed at gardaí by some protesters.
There were brief scuffles between gardaí and some men at one barricade but the protest was otherwise non-violent.
The museum next door to Leinster House was closed to visitors and gardaí would not allow anyone who isn’t government staff to pass through the barricades.
This left some tourists confused and disappointed.
The protest was billed as a show of opposition to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, which takes effect across the EU on Friday.
Protesters chanted, “Whose streets? Our streets!”, with one participant carrying an EU flag with a swastika printed in the centre.
On Westmoreland Street, just around the corner from Trinity College, one group carried a sign labelled ‘DUBLIN SAYS NO!”. The sign said, “Stand together in unity/ No to invasion replacement of Ireland”, a reference to the “great replacement conspiracy theory.
Other chants heard during the march included “Get them out!”, a common anti-immigration slogan, and “Whose country? Our country!”.
Protesters were taking part in the march for a variety of stated reasons.
Some were concerned about what they see as a loss of Irish sovereignty in signing up to the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, many were there to oppose immigration outright, and some speeches called for a referendum on the Triple Lock that governs the deployment of the armed forces.
At the head of the march, a man rolled a speaker playing a song with lyrics that amounted to a long list of grievances ranging from the housing crisis to the war in the Middle East, but the main thrust was a call for “civil war” in the EU.
Need more clarity and context on how migration is being discussed in Ireland? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online.
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