IRELAND: Up to 20,000 people are due to attend Saturday's anti-war rally in Dublin, according to its organisers, the Irish Anti-War Movement.
Labour, the Greens and Sinn Féin have endorsed the march, but Fine Gael has not. Nor will the party have an official presence as it is holding a pre-scheduled conference at City West on Saturday.Some Fianna Fáil politicians are expected to attend, despite one aspect of the protest being against the Government's position on the war.
Speeches, music and artistic performances will take place at the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, where the march starts at 2 p.m.; the Department of Foreign Affairs, St Stephen's Green; and the Central Bank plaza on Dame Street, where the rally will end at 4.45 p.m.
Speakers will include the Labour Party foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Michael D. Higgins, Green Party MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna, Sinn Féin foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh, the ICTU general secretary, Mr David Begg, the SIPTU president, Mr Des Geraghty, Trocaire chairman, Bishop John Kirby, the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, the Very Rev Robert McCarthy, and a representative of the Islamic Cultural Centre.