A major policing operation was in place in Cork City this afternoon as thousands of people marched in two separate rallies.
Dozens of uniformed gardaí, backed up by dozens of members of the Garda Public Order Unit — all deployed in soft cap mode — and members of the Garda Mounted Unit were on duty on the Grand Parade in Cork.
Thousands gathered in one area for a Munster-wide pro-Palestine march, and nearby for what was billed as a “national protest for Ireland,” organised by anti-immigration campaigners.
Several prominent far-right agitators were involved in that event, including former Ireland First leader Derek Blighe.
Hermann Kelly of the Irish Freedom Party was among those attending.
Rebel News, a Canadian-based far-right online news website, had a reporter on the ground covering what it described as a rally of Irish patriots opposed to the Government’s mass immigration policies.
Crowd control barriers were in place to keep both sides apart.
The Garda Air Unit patrolled the skies above, and with road closures and diversions in place, there was widespread disruption to public transport timetables.
Following initial chanting, some verbal insults were traded back and forth between sections of both crowds before the marches began.
The pro-Palestinian campaigners were marshalled in one direction — down St Patrick’s Street, onto Oliver Plunkett Street, and back to the Grand Parade for speeches and music — while the anti-immigration protest marched in the other direction, down the South Mall at around the same time, to gather on MacSwiney Quay outside City Hall for speeches.
Gardaí have not given out official crowd estimates, but organisers of the pro-Palestine march, the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign — who record attendance at their weekly rallies — have put their numbers at just over 4,500 people.
They heard calls on the Irish Government to place sanctions on Israel, pass the Occupied Territories Bill, and stop the Central Bank of Ireland from authorising the sale of Israeli bonds in Europe.
Naser Swirki, a theatre and film director who was born in Gaza and now lives in Skibbereen spoke of the horror that Israel is inflicting on people who are trying to survive in his country.
“In Gaza, death spares no one — doctors, children, the displaced, and even hope itself,” he said.
“In Gaza, instead of saying, “See you tomorrow,” they say, “See you in heaven.”
“Parents memorise their children’s clothes to identify their remains later.
“They struggle to get a piece of bread, offering it before bed, so their children don’t die while they’re still hungry.”
Limerick-based Palestinian poet Tamar, 26 — whose four brothers and parents are still in Palestine — and activist Tadhg Hickey were also among the speakers.
It is estimated that around 3,000 people marched in the ‘national protest for Ireland’ rally, with many carrying tricolours.
They heard speakers criticising government immigration and housing policy.
Mr Blighe also addressed the Irish diaspora and said Irish nationalists want to give them a “homeland to return to.”
Wearing a set of blue rosary beads on his left wrist, he said the government wants to put climate, diversity and foreigners first.
“What counts in my heart is to put the Irish first,” he said.
The organisers of both events encouraged participants to behave responsibly.
Both events passed off peacefully and there was just one arrest for an alleged public order offence.
