LAST UPDATE | 2 Mar 2023

A GROUP OF protesters have interrupted a ceremony today where former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was receiving an honorary doctorate from Dublin City University.

Dublin City University was conferring the award of Doctor of Philosophy on Ahern and Professor Monica McWilliams, who is a campaigner for peace and was a signatory of the Good Friday Agreement on behalf of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition.

The event was taking place at DCU’s Glasnevin Campus.

However, several individuals on the balcony of the auditorium who identified themselves as being from the Connolly Youth Movement interrupted the ceremony and labelled Ahern the “architect of the financial crisis”.

This is the moment Connolly Youth Movement members were removed by security while protesting Bertie Ahern as he received an honorary degree from DCU. Report will be on @thejournal_ie soon! pic.twitter.com/glOhNorZgd

— Carl Kinsella (@TVsCarlKinsella) March 2, 2023

The protestors interrupted after a degree had been conferred on Monica McWilliams and just as Ahern was about to start his speech. While Ahern did not directly address the protest in his remarks, he seemed to give it a nod when he mentioned that he was pleased to live in a democracy where such protests were possible. 

There were audible jeers from those gathered and the protesters were ejected from the auditorium by security.

In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson for DCU said: “Dublin City University acknowledges the protest made by the Connolly Youth Movement during today’s Honorary Graduation ceremony.

“As a university, we recognise their right to express their views; debate and differing ideas are the lifeblood of academia and our democracy at large.” 

With additional reporting from Carl Kinsella