Mayor to join in Galway protest: The new Mayor of Galway, Alderman Catherine Connolly, is due to participate in tonight's protest in Galway city over the visit of President Bush, writes Lorna Siggins.
Alderman Connolly, who was elected Labour's first female mayor - and first Labour mayor in 14 years in Galway - last Monday night, has already taken part in most of the marches staged by the Galway Alliance Against War since the US invasion of Iraq. The barrister and mother of two told The Irish Times that she was determined to attend this protest and would be travelling back from a court hearing in Dublin specifically for the event.
The Galway Alliance Against War has emphasised that tonight's protest will be peaceful and will include song, music and poetry. Support for it has been given by SIPTU, the Galway Trades Council, the Labour Party, the Green Party, Sinn Féin and the Socialist Workers' Party.
A message of support to the alliance will also be relayed from the Labour Party president and Galway West TD, Mr Michael D. Higgins, who is in hospital having routine surgery.
Earlier this week the alliance hosted a visit to Galway by an Iraqi writer and former political prisoner, Ms Haifa Zangana, who has called for a staged withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq.
The march will assemble at Galway City Hall at 7 p.m. and will make its way to Father Burke Park across the Corrib river.
500 expected at Waterford demo
Upwards of 500 people are expected to take to the streets of Waterford this evening to protest against the Bush visit.
The march, organised by the Irish Anti-War Movement, is aimed at highlighting opposition to the use of Shannon Airport as a stopover for the US military.
The march, which will coincide with similar events in Dublin, Belfast, Sligo and Galway, will start from Red Square at 7 p.m. and circle Waterford city.
It will incorporate music, dance and poetry as well as speeches from the Labour TD, Mr Brendan Howlin, and a former second World War veteran and local Franciscan friar, Brother Columbanus.
Brother Columbanus, now in his 80s, is a D-Day veteran whose experiences of the war led him to become a peace campaigner. According to Mr Murt Flynn, one of the organisers of the march, protesters from across the region will also travel to Dromoland Castle tomorrow morning for a peaceful protest. The purpose of the Waterford march and the journey to Dromoland is to show our opposition to George Bush's foreign policy, particularly in Iraq. We are certainly not anti-American in any shape or form," Mr Flynn said. "We also want to highlight the use of Shannon Airport as a military stopover. The use of Shannon belittles Ireland's neutrality and our reputation as brokers of peace working with the United Nations abroad."
Security cost seen as 'disgraceful'
The national co-ordinator of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) has described as "disgraceful" the amount of money the Government is spending on security for President Bush's visit.
Speaking ahead of its a.g.m., which starts in Limerick today, Ms Fiona Neary compared the cost of the security operation with the amount of Government funding given to groups which help victims of sexual abuse.