"How come there's millions of police mum?" a little girl this afternoon asked her mother on the
Another Europe is Possible
march in Dublin.
"They're watching to see if there's any trouble," answered her mother
"But there isn't any!" said the little girl.
And she was right. So far all the protests have passed off in good humour and without incident.
Around a thousand people marched down the South Quays and gathered outside Heuston Station to listen to a concert provided for by
Another Europe is Possible.
Another Europe is Possible protest marching along West Moreland Street
Elsewhere in the city a Reclaim the Streetsprotest marched on the Department of Justice and then on to Leeson St where three people were arrested earlier in the week.
At the bottom of Lesson St they made their way to Fitzwilliam Square where they scaled the railings to gain access to the park. There they staged a "mass trespass" for close to an hour.
Apart from the number of black and red flags the "mass trespass" felt like any other sunny day in a park in Dublin city centre. People sat around and talked, some danced to music, others played football but most simply enjoyed the sunshine.
A force of about twenty gardai had come into the park to monitor the situation They were only called into action when a man was spotted climbing a tree. Two gardai approached him to tell him to get down but he had jumped and joined his friends before they could reach him.
Some of the younger protesters also required the services of the gardai when they had to ask the name of the park after mistaking it for Merrion Square. The gardai duly obliged in their civic duty.
At the end of their "mass trespass" the protesters were asked to tidy up their rubbish and move on. Gardai escorted them on their way towards O'Connell Street and the GPO where there is an ongoing anti-war protest.
As they marched past Holles Street concientious anarchists reminded people around them they were passing a maternity hospital and to please keep quiet.
A guard videoing the protest on the Quays
One shopkeeper en route did appear nervous as he scurried to pull down the shutters on his shop before the marchers past. This led to a rush of photographers followed by about 10 protesters over to his shop desperate to see some action. Both photographers and protesters seemed disappointed when nothing happened.
When
ireland.comasked a one garda what direction the protesters were planning to march in he replied "I don't know, they won't tell us," before adding "Ah sure that's the fun of it I suppose".
