|   Ben Scallan   |   Irish News

Leftwing NGO prepares for battle: Sweep anti-lockdown protesters “off the streets”

Umbrella NGO Le Cheile has retweeted a Twitter post calling to “gather forces now” and sweep anti-lockdown protesters “off the streets when the time comes.”

Le Chéile, an umbrella organisation for a range of taxpayer funded NGOs and leftwing political movements, which describes itself as “a cross-sectoral alliance working together to challenge the far right in Ireland,” was quick to lump last Saturday’s anti-lockdown protesters in Dublin into the “far-right” column.

“The scenes on Grafton Street show the ugly face of the far-right in Ireland. They have been seeking to capitalise on the frustration felt by many with the government’s covid strategy. They aim to turn discontent about lockdowns into an organised and violent far right,” the group said in a statement.

“The growth of the far-right will be stopped by an organised anti-fascist movement.”

Shrotly following this statement, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, a People Before Profit activist and self-described “eco-socialist”, tweeted that “It’s clear establishment won’t pose any opposition to [the] far right, but will actually enable them. We can sit around & complain about this, or we can organise to stop them. Need to gather our forces now & sweep them off the streets when the time comes. Get involved with @LeCheileDND”, tagging the NGO group in question, who then retweeted it to their own account.

The group has tweeted numerous militant-sounding quotes, with statements appearing on their timeline such as “Don’t expect government to solve the problem – smash the system”, and seeming to call on people to “smash fascists”.

https://twitter.com/LeCheileDND/status/1366471592952348677

They’ve also retweeted a post by People Before Profit activist Conor Reddy, stating that “Neither the Gardaí, the courts, the panel shows nor the ballot box will beat [the “far-right”]”, indicating that whatever means of defeating their opponents are used, it will not include legal proceedings, the media or democratic elections.

Individuals they have also labelled as “far-right” include respected barrister Una McGurk.

Le Chéile features an “endorsements” page on its website, including a list of individuals who they claim have supported their work. These include Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly, People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett, Bríd Smith, & Paul Murphy TD, Gary Gannon TD of the Social Democrats, as well as Independent politicians Thomas Pringle, Eileen Flynn, Emmet McAleer, & more.

They also list journalist Vincent Browne, Fr. Peter McVerry, a Catholic priest, Gisèle Scanlon, President of Trinity College GSU, Lorna Fitzpatrick, president of the Union of Students Ireland, along with numerous others.

The full lists of prominent endorsements and supporters can be found below:

 

 

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