The morning protest passed off peacefully, with many employees in Galway city's industrial estates and city centre offices reporting they had reached work earlier due to reduced traffic and a greater Garda presence on the streets.
Yesterday evening, however, was a different story. Some 150 trucks left Oranmore at 4.30 p.m. for the city centre in a bumper-to-bumper procession, driving via one of the city's busiest arteries, the Headford Road, and continuing to Terryland and to the Tuam Road before disbanding. Everywhere they went, they caused delays, a Garda spokesman said.
This was the culmination of the Galway drivers' protest which began at 7.30 a.m. when 70 hauliers congregated at three roundabouts to the north, east and south of the city on the Headford Road, the Tuam Road and the Dublin Road. They then made their way to the city centre, taking three routes and having little impact on traffic.
Many employees had made contingency plans to ensure they arrived at work on time. "Half of our workforce of 130 came in an hour earlier at 7.00 a.m.," said Mr Nial O'Donoghue of FKM Software, at Parkmore, off the Tuam Road. "But we had no disruption, with normal deliveries and collections."
Generally, the public's response to the protest was benign, with most complaints centring on the noise. From early morning, callers to Galway Bay FM radio urged drivers to have consideration for night shift workers by not blowing their horns. However, the horns were in evidence at lunchtime and in the evening.
Overall, the protest was good natured, said Mr John Kenny of the Irish Road Haulage Association in Galway. Hauliers in the west remain angry, however, that the Government is refusing to act on the excise issue and are not prepared to wait until December's Budget, he said.