THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE gathered outside Leinster House in Dublin this evening for a vigil organised by a number of pro-life groups.

The demonstrators held large banners calling for Taoiseach Enda Kenny to “keep your pro-life promise” with a number of representatives from the pro-life campaign giving speeches.

The crowds gathered on Molesworth Street and Kildare Street in the capital, bringing traffic to a standstill.

Pro Life Campaign legal advisor Caroline Simons said that “the way in which the debate is being stage managed and railroaded through the Dáil is deeply disturbing and undemocratic”.

She said women deserved better and added: “So do unborn babies”.

According to a statement from the Pro Life Campaign those who attended said they did so because they “passionately care about protecting the lives of expectant mothers and their unborn babies”.

The demonstration came as TDs inside the Dáil opened a debate on the findings of the expert group on abortion which was tasked with identifying for the government options for implementing the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in the A, B and C v Ireland case.

Here are some pictures from the event this evening: