Yearly Archives: 2014

watermarch

Seasonally-attired protestors at yesterday’s anti-Irish Water demonstration

PE Power rhymes:

People thronged till Dublin felt
Alive as downtown Delhi
Your heart couldn’t help but swell with pride
(Unless you’re Alan Kelly)

Placards, blackguards, taps on hats
Young and old and middle
Oh how your soul would sing for joy
(While D*n*s joined in on the fiddle)

Some say 100,000 marched
Chanting for our deliverance
RTE’s stooge saw a thousand or two.
Or should we split the difference?

United in a common cause –
No bond so great as unjust laws –
Government trembling, war declared…
Enda Kenny wakes up pale and scared
Reaches for his Times, smiles as he reads –
“Sinn Fein took over.” Exactly what he needs.

(Pic: Barbara McCarthy)

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Irish Water protesters surrounding an SUV after it mounted the pavement and hit a lone pedestrian, by Butt Bridge in Dublin city centre yesterday

Further to our earlier post of a video showing an SUV mounting the pavement and striking an Irish Water charge protester before speeding off with another person on the bonnet in Dublin city centre yesterday, Kevin Des Keane – who witnessed the incident and took pictures – writes:

“It happened on Butt Bridge around 3:15pm. A silver SUV (Landrover?) mounted the footpath from behind the lorry. When it got to one of the 30-odd protester that were slow marching at that junction on the road and path, the SUV, after what looked like a brief start/stop situation, didn’t stop and knocked him over. As that was happening more people realised what was going and went towards the SUV. It then continued through with one person on its bonnet a few meters who was also in its way. He managed to get off with being run over and the jeep left the scene on past the Customs House. The first man was taken away by an ambulance. I don’t think he was hurt too bad but both were definitely very lucky. It could have been really bad.”

These are Kevin’s pictures and captions:

20141210 Water Protest 1

This was taken 3 mins before the incident. Everyone young and old were in good spirits. You can see the lorry behind her. From behind the lorry the jeep mounted the footpath.

20141210 Water Protest 3

Second man on bonnet as jeep tried to come off the footpath onto the road.

20141210 Water Protest 4

First man on the ground immediately after being hit by SVU. You can see the position and the distance the SUV had to travel on the footpath to reach the first protester it hit.

20141210 Water Protest 5

First man being treated by paramedics 10 minutes after the incident. Again, more perspective of the footpath and distanced travelled by the jeep.

Out and about (Kevin Des Keane)

Previously: Law & Order SUV

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The top 20 Irish media twitterers.

The list (from PR firm Murray Consutants) “ranks journalists….measuring popularity, quality of engagement and level of activity”.

But only if all their followers are genuine followers.

Pause.

FIGHT!

RTE’s Des Cahill Comes Top in #murraytweetindex (Murray)

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This morning.

Dublin Says No writes:

Carnew Street [in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7] blockade ongoing. Irish Water workers threatening and intimidating local residents this morning. It is an intolerable situation. Please show your support. There have been a number of arrests in neighbouring areas of Phibsboro and Grangegorman. One man arrested for filming the protest, while Irish Water’s private security filmed protestors unimpeded by Gardaí.

Dublin Says No

Previously: Dumb Intelligence Gathering

Update:

paulmurphy

In the Dáil this afternoon Paul Murphy attempts to describes an alleged incident in Stoneybatter this morning involving private security firm Guardex.

Update:

Mark Malone writes:

Today in Dublin 7, Guardex, hired by #IrishWater, threatened numerous peaceful campaigners in Stoneybatter. One local resident, Mick Mooney, was on his way to work when he was pinned against a wall by three private security guards and told ‘I’ll get you. You don’t know who you’re messing with.’ They then showed him a photo of his car and its number plate. Several women in the campaign were told by private security that they’d find out where they live.
Three people were arrested in the Dublin 7 area today for protesting against the installation of water meters.
In Phibsboro, police arrested two campaigners while Irish Water contractors allegedly assaulted campaigners across the street.
In Grangegorman, a car belonging to a peaceful campaigner had its tyres slashed.
The guards arrested another local resident for filming the protest.
Today, there has been invasive surveillance of peaceful protestors by shadowy private security firms. Today, there have been violent attacks on peaceful protestors by the hired mercenaries of billionaires. Intimidation, fear, bullying and violence seem to be the only solution Irish Water can propose to local residents’ peaceful protests. If they get away with this violence in Stoneybatter, it will spread to other communities. This is not just an attack on the Dublin 7 campaign, this is an attack on us all. Join us tomorrow from 6:30 am outside Kavanagh’s pub at the top of Manor Street, and from there we will organise demonstrations around Stoneybatter, Grangegorman and Phibsboro to make a peaceful stand against this horrific behaviour. Keep Irish Water out of Dublin 7.

 

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Niall Neeson writes:

“Welcome to the first of two Brian Lotti edits from our international gang of marauders, as we linked up with the Belfast crew for a few days of rampaging around old haunts. From there, our adventure took us up through County Antrim to Portrush, right on the north coast, for a solid day of street skating in glorious sunshine.”

“Morning would come too early and we would find ourselves putting in the hard yards to cross Lough Foyle and into the majesty and mystery of County Donegal where we once again had hospitality to take your breath away from skaters and old ladies alike.”

“Running the gauntlet of storms we crammed in some schoolyard sessions and stopped the traffic once or twice before easing out across the lakelands of Fermanagh and across the entire country to Dublin. That, however, is a story for next week; right now enjoy some lesser-spotted skateboarding from the backstreets and backyards of Ulster.”

40 Shades: Bobby Worrest and friends in Ireland (Redbull.com)

Thanks Colm