A Bridge Too Far

at

This afternoon.

Custom House Quay, Dublin 1.

Demonstrators gather for a protest and march to Dail Eireann/Government Buildings against Covid restriction, including new measures to deny access to pubs and restaurants to the unvaxxed.

More to follow.

Pic by KN

Update:

This afternoon.

Protestors make their way up Nassau Street to Government Buildings on Merrion Street, Dublin 2.

RollingNews/KN

Meanwhile…

Um.

This afternoon.

RTÉ News.

Anti-vaccine passport protests take place in Dublin and Belfast (RTE)

Meanwhile…

This afternoon.

Belfast, Northern ireland.

Pics by SOQ, who writes:

Bear in mind these pictures were taken at 12;30 today and the march did not start for another hour or so. Even at that point people were spilling out onto the road and traffic was getting disrupted. Unfortunately I could not hang around, but like Dublin it was big.

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128 thoughts on “A Bridge Too Far

    1. Cú Chulainn

      Why don’t they just agree to get a dose of covid, as it’s not going to do them any harm, then they can get the cert to go where they want.. no vaccine, no problem..

      1. M

        “It’s not going to do them any harm”.

        Tens of thousands DEAD and millions with serious adverse reactions – according to official statistics which are vastly underestimating – and we’re only a few months into this..

        “It’s not going to do them any harm”.

        Unbelievable.

        1. Nialler

          Just get the fupping vaccine and be done with it, I honestly can’t. When the killer comes you’ll be thankful to get a dose. And it’s not if, it’s definitely when.

      2. Tinytim

        I’m in my forties, but won’t be allowed to enter during the week because I’m not fully vaccinated. I’m not anti-vax. Just the luck of the draw I guess, but I’m not yet lucky enough to get anywhere near the front of the queue ( I registered on first permitted day).

        So – although it is great that these businesses can reopen for their viability – I do see this as a form of apartheid. I am excluded from something through no fault/action/inaction of my own.

        1. JD

          Apartheid is a bit of an exaggeration don’t you think? How can you compare the mass segregation of a race of people for generations to you not getting your prawn cocktail and sirloin steak?

          1. Tinytim

            Discrimination and/or segregation on grounds such as race. In this case medical apartheid.
            I’m happy with my choice of words thank you.

        2. fFs

          Apartheid! Get over yourself. I’m in the same boat. We’ll be grand in a couple of weeks. There’s nobody discriminating against us. There is pressure to open up businesses that haven’t been able to make money and now have at least some customer base. There’s plenty that can go ahead now. Waiting until every last person who wants a vaccine is vacced wouldn’t make any sense. They’d be all “It’s discrimination, I’m vacced and it made no difference I can’t go anywhere!!” Can we all just be reasonable. We’ll be in there soon enough. This isn’t apartheid, discrimination or even unfair

    2. seanydelight

      Can we get a reddit style top comment, cause the Gaeler-bots are quicker than us lazy casual cretins.

    1. missred

      The last photo with the left hand sign just makes me cringe. There was a similar tweet from a certain doctor listing a bunch of STIs and calling it discriminatory that people with those are allowed dine and unvaccinated aren’t. Toe curling stuff

  1. Kim Cardassian

    The clowns who have signs saying “my body my choice” are the worst. The vaccine is voluntary. Can’t go to the pub because you’re not jabbed? Well then, live with your choice.

    Look forward to these protestors taking to the streets more important issues like mother and baby homes and direct provision

    1. Daisy Chainsaw

      Pubs and restaurants should post the same sign. Their choice not to include ratlickers in the body of their buillding.

  2. Lolly

    It’s all about a vaccine that doesn’t stop infection or transmission. So unvaccinated people need to get vaccinated to protect … the vaccinated … who are still at risk even though they are vaccinated??
    If this was about the virus surely a negative pcr or antigen would be required for indoor dining…

      1. Lolly

        But it doesn’t reduce risk if a vaccinated person can walk into a restaurant infected and contagious. They get the vaccine passport and think boom I’m protected but a piece of paper doesn’t prove immunity.. To these young healthy people the risk of unknown long term side effects far outweighs any benefit of the vaccine may provide to them & they are being discrimated against because of this..

        1. E'Matty

          Precisely. If preventing spread of the virus was the real objective, all, vaccinated and unvaccinated would be receiving antigen tests. This is simply rolling out a new Digital pass controlled society.

          1. Papi

            AND THE YOUNG WILL EAT US ALL! THE UNDER 12’S WILL INHERIT THE WORLD ONCE EMATTY SHOWS US ALL OUR WICKED SINS.
            AGAIN.

    1. George

      Vaccination massively reduces infections and transmission. If everyone was vaccinated it’d be all but gone. Symptoms tend to be less severe among the minority of vaccinated people who get it.

      1. Lolly

        That’s not what they are seeing in heavily vaccinated populations. Fully vaccinated making up the majority of hospital cases in the UK. What about variants? Natural immunity will always be far superior to any trial jab. My body my choice to choose true immunity over a short lived one & I shouldn’t be discriminated because of this.

        1. Daisy Chainsaw

          https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/22/rates-of-double-jabbed-people-in-hospital-will-grow-but-that-does-not-mean-covid-vaccines-are-failing
          Covid jabs are not a perfect shield. They slow the spread of the virus, help prevent disease, and reduce the risk of dying. They do not bring all this to an end. In the months ahead many thousands of people will be in hospital with Covid. What may seem more troubling is that ever more will have received two vaccination doses.

          This does not mean the immunisations are not doing their job. Real-world data from Public Health England show that two shots of the Oxford/AstraZeneca or of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are 92% and 96% effective, respectively, against hospital admission.

          1. Lolly

            Herd immunity through true exposure to the virus will bring this to an end. They have never been able to create an effective corona virus vaccine and this case is no different. You take the jab that’s 100% your choice. But dont discriminate against those who choose their immune system to do its job.

      2. K. Cavan

        There is no evidence that the mRNA injections provide any immunity at all, if there was there wouldn’t be any need for their “Emergency Use” licencing & the most toxic substance ever injected into human beings seems to be failing to provide even minimal immunity. In several countries, anything from 40 to 60% of those testing positive have been injected.
        This was always a possibility with a rushed version of a medical technology that never previously made it past animal trials.
        So, little or no proven immunity but far, far higher mortality than any previous medical treatment ever tried, by a huge margin.
        Still, we might be able to stop worrying about Climate Change, so, you know, all those plebs won’t have died in vain.
        Ever get the feeling you’ve been had?
        Well, you should.

      1. Bitnboxy

        Grift Media are offering their “pro-life vigil counter” tool as a way to accurately count attendees. While there is no “zero” in this tool, the base setting or reset is 10K which is the ” pro-life vigil counter” zero if you wish. I mean it’s accurate in that kinda, sorta, Trumpy “it was HUGE” way.

        1. Rosette of Sirius

          I’m thinking even more than JP2 in the park back in the day. I mean, the Luas must be doing a roaring trade!

    1. The Dude

      That’s a big gang for 1,500.

      Why are the media so blatantly rotten in this state?

      Why are the Irish media not reporting the ECDC finding that AZ is twice as likely to cause clots in the 18 – 34 year old cohort than for death to occur from C19?

      Why do outlets immediately describe the march today as ‘far right’? It must really annoy some people that there are middle class people of different ethnics present. Would suit them a lot more if they could just depict it all as right wing loons.

      Why is so little prominence being given to the Omagh bomb story, where further evidence has emerged that the bomb was let happen, ie made happen, by state operatives?
      (The Examiner seems to be unique in covering that matter with appropriate prominence).

      For the record, I took the vaccine, yet equally I do not think it should be mandatory.

      The authorities are not to be trusted. People can see with their own eyes the lies, omissions and suppression.

      This is an identity card being introduced without proper public debate by a grossly incompetent government that repeatedly has demonstrated its inability to govern in a fair and equitable manner.

      1. Truth.

        No wonder RTE loses so much money,they can not count.

        The evidence of what took place is documented and published in Chicago,CIA,M15,M16,Irish involved all named.RTE were made aware of this.The truth is going to come to the surface about this soon.

  3. Blob

    Jesus statues and swastikas .. should tell you all you need to know about who we’re dealing with here

      1. Joe

        Absolutely
        the Garda helicopter passed overhead dropping the vaccine chemicals on the protesters heads all during the protest
        Must be true eh?

    1. Joe

      Most of the nonsense that the protesters had on placards were copied from and originate in far right anti Semitic hate sites. I would hope most of the protesters are too gullible to realise it rather than agree with it

      There was of course the usual far right goon squad leading it who understand exactly what they are doing and covid certs was the least of their concerns

    2. The Dude

      That statue of a deity is on land owned by the Local Authority and has nothing to do with the protesters.

      That’s the same Local Authority whose parks department maintain the church owned park on Berkley Road outside the RC church, which the public are not allowed to use even during this crucial time.

      The protesters are not the problem. What a rotten little state.

  4. Lolly

    But it doesn’t reduce risk if a vaccinated person can walk into a restaurant infected and contagious. They get the vaccine passport and think boom I’m protected but a piece of paper doesn’t prove immunity.. To these young healthy people the risk of unknown long term side effects far outweighs any benefit the vaccine may provide to them & they are being discrimated against because of this..

    1. George

      Please go and read some actual facts which are available instead of imagining things with your powerful brain.
      .

      1. E'Matty

        What facts are these George? You don’t deal in facts but following the State/NPHET/Media line on everything and abusing anyone who doesn’t. You actually ignore facts like these supposedly comprehensive trials didn’t pick up on the blood clots, heart inflammation or Guillan Barre syndrome, all short term adverse effects, yet you are utterly convinced of their long term safety. Why? Voice of authority assurances?

    2. Lolly

      The risks are unknown there are zero long term studies done on these covid vaccines. Likewise when they rushed through the swine flu vaccine using adjuvants never tested in children before. Ten years later we see 100+ cases of swine flu vaccine damage before the courts. Children at the time they received the vaccine now suffering wit cataplexy and narcolepsy – these victims will never lead independent lives.. where there is a risk there must be a choice, coercion is wrong.. Time will tell..

        1. Lolly

          Peer review of what the non existing long term studies.. the cases before the Irish courts in regards swine flu vaccine damage? It’s well documented in the media and court docs. There were warnings from Europe around the risks posed to children but Tony Holohan continued to tell parents it was thoroughly tested and as safe as any other vaccine – it was neither and these children were collateral damage..

        2. millie bobby brownie

          I don’t quite grasp your argument here, Lolly.

          You’re making an argument based on no long term data, because – as you correctly state – there is none at present. But you’re anticipating that there will be large numbers of people reporting adverse long-term effects to the covid 19 vaccine, I assume based on the swine flu vaccine – but how can you know that this will be the case? And if the H1N1 vaccine rollout was relatively widespread (according to Wikipedia the NHS recommended vaccine priority go to people over six months old who were clinically at risk for seasonal flu, pregnant women and households of people with compromised immunity, for example) then 100+ people suffering adverse long term side affects is not an enormous number. No vaccine is without side affects, no medicine without risk – that doesn’t make them inherently dangerous.

        3. Tighe’s Cylon

          There’s no pint even attempting to argue with them. It’s dogma at this stage for them. Save yourself the effort.

        4. E'Matty

          @ Millie, the issue is that you are relying entirely on assurances of safety from the very same organisations (and often the very same people) who provided such assurances during the Pandemrix scandal. You do know that vaccine was rushed to market based on an exaggerated threat (as confirmed by an EU Council investigation) with no testing of the adjuvant and antigen combination? That’s a pretty fatal flaw in the integrity of these systems and resulted in at least 100 young Irish kids now suffering a lifelong neurological disorder for a threat that never existed to begin with. It is also a fact that the trials, which do not complete until 2023, that you are relying on did not identify the blood clots, heart inflammation or Guillan Barre syndrome, all short term adverse reactions. Yet, you appear confident of their medium to long term safety. Based on what?

          We have 18 months of statistical evidence in much larger sample groups that Covid poses almost no threat to the young. Certainly no threat justifying taking on the completely unknown risks of these rushed to market vaccines. https://www.broadsheet.ie/contact/

    1. carlosfandango

      What’s that now? While I do use other names for my flower arranging, rusty bike licking and sheep worrying WhatsApp groups, I’ve always been Carlos on here. Happiness is a ceegar called Panama. My chest wig is my only disguise.

      1. Daisy Chainsaw

        It’s safer inside with the rapists and paedophiles than outside with the chemtrails and 5G.

  5. Bitnboxy

    I love the mad out of it wans with the “rapists, pedos, murders are allowed in cafés but not healthy unvaccinated people” homemade placard! I am struggling with the logic here. Not sure one’s choice to be vaxxed or unvaxxed plays any role in one’s designation as a murderer, rapist etc. You have to laugh though.

    Guards are saying 1500 attended. Most are likely genuine folks (there defintely were a few crazies present though judging by some placards doing the rounds)- it passed off peacefully and that is all that matters. You are never going to convince 100% of the population, it is their choice not to vaccinated and they are entitled to protest.

  6. Tom

    I’m half way to being fully vaccinated, so I’m hardly “anti-vax”. I would, however, be very interested in seeing the data/argument for showing that vaccine passes for hospitality are a necessary and proportionate measure for protecting at-risk populations given (a) the vast majority of the population are being vaccinated, and (b) at-risk persons are virtually certain to be vaccinated. It seems like a bind: either vaccines work well, in which case the unvaccinated are only a risk to themselves, or vaccines don’t work well, in which case the unvaccinated aren’t a massively more serious cause of Covid spread than the vaccinated.

    1. E'Matty

      Such reasoned and logical thinking is not allowed anymore. Did you know you’re apparently now Far Right for expressing such a view?

    2. Micko

      -+1 Tom

      “ either vaccines work well, in which case the unvaccinated are only a risk to themselves, or vaccines don’t work well”

      Schrödinger‘s Vaccine…

      1. Cian

        Let’s pretend the world is black and white and force a continuum of options into a binary choice.

  7. Fearganainm

    Dolores Cahill appears to have been cancelled, her and her freeze peach.

    Maybe she’ll storm the stage later.

  8. Peter Dempsey

    The most annoying are the people who claim to have been vaccinated but “support” the protestors and say there should be “no discrimination”.

    I got my two vaccines, so have all my family. I have sympathy for people who are waiting to get theirs. But for anti-vaxxers, I have nothing but contempt.

  9. ce

    I’ve said this before … it’s made no sense to me since to Covid fun and games kicked off…but… I don’t understand how people who are suspicious of the state interfering/surveillance in their lives… and therefore who have been concerned – possible even vocal – about things like the proliferation of cc-tv and face recognition etc… would not have jumped at the opportunity to wear a mask anywhere and everywhere… does not compute!!!

  10. John F

    It’s depressing looking through some of the comments regarding public gatherings or exclusion.
    On one extreme of this debate are the zero Covid/lockdown infinity crowd and on the other. The people who wear tricolours and think there will be another Nuremberg trial or something.
    To be honest, I’m not too sure which crowd I hate the most.
    That argument has gotten so polarised that it’s borderline impossible to have reasonable conversations with people. And this is by design me thinks.
    What ever a person thinks state official’s have used this crisis to give them unbelievable control over people’s lives. Personal freedoms have been trampled on in a relatively short period of time.
    Nobody should be celebrating this or grandstanding about one’s virtues whilst pointing out what they perceived to be the lack of virtues in others.
    If history has taught us anything, is that too much power is do the state. It invariably ends badly.

    1. Nigel

      If a state can’t exercise appropriate power to take action during a crisis, then it’s a pretty useless. state. To prevent a state taking actions during a crisis is also an exercise of power, and we should be just as cautious when it comes to ceding that ability to exercise power during a crisis to the veto of a minority of people, many of whom refuse to recognise that there is a crisis. Warnings about elements within and without the state acting opportunistically are well taken, but we’re on the verge of an era of global crises, we either work out how to respond to them effectively without turning into a dystopia or we stand by foolishly and let them overwhelm us.

      1. John F

        I agree with the appropriate use of power. But what we have seen is far from appropriate. Over 18 months now and still no end in sight. First it was “2 weeks to flatten the curve”, the politicians and officials behind this mantra new damn well what was coming. So they acted in a contrived and disingenuous manner to ram things through.
        You mentioned the will of a minority of people but tends to be scuppering things.
        I’m pretty sure its the will of a minority of NGOs, official’s, politicians, academics and Nphet members ruining things are everybody else.
        The government’s line hasn’t helped this matter. They keep shifting the goalposts to suit piling on restrictions or extending them.
        And there is the perception that bureaucrats outside of the state are pulling the strings. We have had the longest lockdown in the world and its effectiveness or necessity is up for debate.
        Then there is the issue of trust, public perception of this government and general trust in the state apparatus is pretty low. That is adding all of this tension. A few months ago the relative data leak by the HSE, the whitewashing related to the nursing home deaths, ministerial resignations and total lying about all aspects related to it. A 2nd in command under criminal investigation for fraud. The high and mighty didn’t really care about this virus in Cliften when there are having a big dinner after a golf game.
        And yet people are queueing up to give and grant more power to these people. Power over many aspects of the daily person life.
        I don’t imagine that the general population will go along with it past the first couple of weeks.

        1. Nigel

          What are you complaining about? They are our democrattcally elected representatives. If we wanted people better equipped to handle a crisis, we should have voted them in. Meanwhile, all I see are a bunch of people who don’t want ot have any more mass deaths on their record, who are desperate to reopen but also desperate to cover their backsides. It’s not ideal, but I generally struggle to see anything sinister in any of it. Honestly, I think it’s the LACK of trust in the government that’s keeping this thing on the rails, and it’s only individualists and cynics and the out-of-touch that don’t realise it.

          1. Ghost of Yep

            Stop putting the guilt from the wrongs of the world on the electorate. It’s regressive and self-serving.

  11. SOQ

    The vitriolic comments on this post are very telling.

    Face it lads- there is an popular uprising and by your own sneering and bitchin, you are on the wrong side of it.

        1. Nigel

          Is this the best a ‘popular uprising’ can do? Rejecting public health measures during a pandemic? It’s an expression of middle-class anxiety and ennui infected by internet memes.

        2. Fearganainm

          Oh wait, you’re serious?

          You maybe want me to pass an opinion on a ‘government in waiting’ that contains people like Ben Gilroy, Graham Carey, ‘Dee Wall’ aka Dolores Webster, Dolores Cahill et al? You imagine that I, or anyone with a living brain cell, could look upon that shower of rabble as some kind of ‘leadership’ that has solutions to any of Ireland’s problems?

          If for one moment you really think that a ‘popular uprising’ is in progress there is something badly wrong with you. Nobody in their right mind would follow that risible rabble anywhere.

    1. Cian

      a few thousand people at a protest versus 2,900,000 people that have had at least one dose of the vaccine.

      Yes, I think i know who is on the wrong side.

      1. GiggidyGoo

        There weren’t many at the pro-vaccine protests though. Oh! – there were no such protests.
        So what are you comparing the thousands of attendees at this protest to?
        Cast your mind back to the pensioner protests. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XfR9LvqvPt8

        If we base it on your methods, those pensioners hadn’t the support of the people because millions didn’t turn up.

        You’re using the four D’s again Cian.

        1. Nigel

          ‘So what are you comparing the thousands of attendees at this protest to?’

          Show you haven’t read the comment you’re responding to without saying you haven’t read the comment you’re responding to.

          1. GiggidyGoo

            Looks like you’re writing to yourself Nigel. If it’s too difficult for you to understand, not my problem.

        2. Cian

          There have been almost 3,000,000 at the “pro-vaccine protest” also known as the “vaccination centre”.

          1. SOQ

            You know rightly that this passport discrimination is not the same thing as making a personal choice about the CoVid-19 vaccine.

    2. Django O'Reilly

      “A popular uprising” … the gags just keep coming, thank you SOQ, you always cheer me up.

  12. Responsible Citizen

    What a bunch of loosers, not to mention child abuse by bringing kids out to join the nutters.

    1. Skeptik

      Gwan the 5G/Bill Gates/flat earthers.
      It’s funny how the argument always ends up back at children/Nazis?
      Real life Godwins law.

      1. Cui Bono?

        It’s funny how the ignorant masses always conflate flat earth/5G with opposition to Digital IDs (vax passes).

        You haven’t a clue what’s happening.

  13. stephen moran

    Jaysus…If Oliver Cromwell himself showed up with 1,500 roundheads @ Dublin airport if wouldn’t get that many pix on the tabloid Broadsheet Express

    1. SOQ

      The two are not mutually exclusive- many people who were marching in both Dublin and Belfast are vaccinated.

      It is the discrimination most people object to.

      1. Bitnboxy

        Lol. Yeah, ratlicker Ben Gilroy who gave one of the main “speeches” is motivated by “discrimination”. He was roaring about Michael D being a “pedo”.

        1. Daisy Chainsaw

          No mention of Terry McMahon and his speech featuring such important health matters as Twitter and his sperm!!

          1. Fearganainm

            There’s talk that McMahon raided back copies of the British ‘Daily Mail’ to find talking points based on ‘culture wars’ material which he then used to bore most of the audience to death as he droned on. ‘Unoriginal’, ‘soporific’, ‘second-rate and second-hand’ were just some of the terms used to describe his contribution.

            No change there then.

        2. SOQ

          The only reason right wingers are stepping into the vacuum is because the left are sitting with their thumbs up their backsides. Belfast was way more left than right and had a dance scene hippy vibe to it.

          Either way, this is the biggest mobilisation of people since the water protests and for every person who felt strongly enough to take to the streets, there are multiples who also do not agree with this segregation.

          It is the clearest indication yet that vaccine passports will not accepted by the general public and injecting children will not be tolerated.

          1. Daisy Chainsaw

            What’s the reasoning behind antivaxxers like yourself accusing our president of being a pedo?

          2. Bitnboxy

            There is no comparison with the “water charges”, not with one of the lowest levels of vaccine hesitancy in the EU. If a protest such as this is attracting the dregs of our society, crooks, actual criminals and bigots, this is not remotely comparable to the water charges. Sorry!

          3. SOQ

            If at this stage you don’t understand the difference between vaccine hesitancy and opposition to vaccine passports or jabbing children with something where the long term side effects cannot be known, then there is no hope for you.

            As for comparisons with the water protests- name me one other topic since which has brought such numbers onto the streets?

  14. bertie blenkinsop

    Definitely feels like there’s a desire to get a rise out of you Frilly.
    The less you’re on here, the more you’re being referenced and dragged into rows randomly.
    It’d be a shame if you’re lost to the site after all this time because of a few saps.
    Keep on keeping on!

  15. retroboy

    Saw you guys on the bus today with your masks half down, tootle you and your lack of respect for you and others around you. If I can do it, so should you.

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