Anti-capitalist protest ends in street battles

PASSERS-BY watched in disbelief yesterday as an anti-capitalism protest in Dublin city centre erupted into violence.

In some of the ugliest scenes seen in the capital for years, gardai used batons to disperse a crowd of around 250 people who had gathered in Dame Street, having earlier staged a rally in Burgh Quay as part of the "Reclaim the Streets" lobby a loose network of various groups opposed to globalisation and the excessive use of cars in inner cities.

Spray-painted signs around the city had advertised a "street party" but what had begun peacefully with diverse groups gathering in Burgh Quay ended in a tense confrontation between gardai and the crowd.

Eyewitnesses said that when the crowd, some of whom were chanting and beating bongo-style drums, refused to move on from Dame Street, gardai reacted by drawing their batons and moving in on them.

There were further confrontations and scuffles as the crowd were directed by gardai along East Essex Street towards the civic offices.

No gardai were reported injured but 12 people were taken to hospital and 24 arrested, including Irish Independent photographer Steve Humphreys, who was covering the disturbance.

A number of gardai who had drawn their batons on the crowd did not have their shoulder member numbers displayed and later an inspector on duty declined to be interviewed about what had happened.

Trinity College student Rob Sixsmith (23) said the gardai had appeared "overwrought" by the situation in which they found themselves and unsure how to handle the demonstration.

"To say the least, it was definitely an over-reaction," he said.

David Loughran (30), a resident of Temple Bar, said he had not been part of the demonstration but had been astonished at the behaviour of the gardai, who, he said, seemed to have used "great force" to disperse the crowd.

"I have absolutely never seen such brute force", he said. While there did appear to have been "a slight yob element" in the crowd the vast majority were peaceful, he added.

The day of protest had begun at about 2.30pm at the GPO.

The number of protestors varied between 200 and 300. The general group were out for a "fun day", according to a number of gardai, who added that there were also elements within the crowd intent on causing trouble.

They then moved to Burgh Quay, where they tried to erect barriers to block traffic, but gardai moved in on them. Later at Corn Exchange Place, a group of protestors moved a Ford Fiesta car into the middle of the road, danced on the roof, broke a window and threw an orange smoke bomb into the car. Four people were arrested at this stage.

The protestors did not follow any definite route and instead switched directions and broke into a number of groups. According to gardai, scuffles broke out and missiles were thrown. Traffic was disrupted as the crowds swirled along the street.

Gardai were there in force. Most traffic units were on duty and beat-gardai from Store St, Pearse St and Kevin St stations were diverted to the scene. Extra gardai were also called to the city centre from outlying areas.

Some 35 gardai and 16 units including seven vans and a dog van took up positions along O'Connell Bridge around 8pm amid fears there could be further clashes in O'Connell Street. A garda source said at no times was it considered necessary to draft in the riot squad.

A group of about 20 protestors last night massed outside Pearse St station, where arrested people were still being detained.

John Fitzpatrick from Artane, who had joined the protest to campaign for greater access for pedestrians in the city centre, said the gardai did not seem to have any clear idea how to handle the situation.

"There were a few people who had been drinking but this was a peaceful day out and when the gardai moved in, most people looked stunned. This was not a bunch of violent anarchists out to cause trouble. It was just a street party and there was no need for anything heavy-handed", he said.

Eugene Moloney, Grainne Cunningham and Brendan Farrelly


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