Video footage from demonstrations across Dublin City last night suggest that numbers attending protests against the government’s handling of the migrant crisis have now swelled considerably.
The number of people protesting increased significantly in East Wall, Finglas and Coolock, as upset and anger at the what speakers called the “arrogance” of the government’s polices continues to grow.
In East Wall, hundreds turned out in a protest against an asylum centre which they say was imposed on the area without consultation. The protest, now entering its 7th week, attracted significant numbers from a community which has argued that it is unsafe for hundreds of “unvetted, male migrants” to be placed in the area.
#EastWall out en masse as #protests sweep #Dublin again tonight. pic.twitter.com/DpunzHHjhe
— dkenna (@bigDkenna1) February 1, 2023
Protesters sang as they made their way around Dublin City centre, with many families taking part.
Eastwall on the move..!!👍👏👏💚#Eastwallsaysno…⚘️⚘️⚘️⚘️🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/isoEHxRk4M
— Elle 🇮🇪💙💚 (@Elle98759673) February 1, 2023
As before, protesters blocked traffic in the city centre, with local leaders vowing to keep the disruptions going until “the people are listened to”.
The East Wall says No group said that opposition to the government’s handling of the migrant and refugee crisis had now become “a national grassroots movement”.
In Coolock, significantly larger numbers than before turned out to march, chanting “Whose streets, Our streets’ and “Leo, Leo, Leo. Out, Out, Out.”
Massive march in #Coolock this evening #EnoughIsEnough#IrelandIsFull pic.twitter.com/fI0xMd3xGy
— Mark Egan 🇮🇪 (@EgoEire) February 1, 2023
There has been considerable upset in the area and in Artane in recent days at what is being perceived as an attempt to host migrants and refugees in or near the site of the Stardust nightclub where 48 people were killed in 1981, with hundreds more injured.
In Finglas, hundreds of people also took part in a protest centred around Finglas Garda station before marching to block traffic on M50 and the M1.
There was some disquiet when one young man took the mic and said that “you have to go to where they’re f*****g staying and burn them f*****g out”.
However, local organisers called for calm, saying: “We are a peaceful people, a spiritual people. This is a peaceful assembly, let the energy rise.”
They told the crowd: “We have a right to be heard.”
“We need to get serious, and we need to not give anybody an excuse. These people are coming into Ireland unchecked and unvetted.”
“It’s all about the numbers and we build and we build and we build until we have the numbers.”
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