Sir, – Miriam Lord (Home News, April 16th) refers to our protest demonstration at Labour’s conference, as a “rabble”. If that is what she calls people exercising their democratic rights, then I am proud to be one of them.
Our protest in Galway was against acts – excessive tax, cuts, unemployment, emigration – affecting the poorest of the poor. Nothing to be humorous about.
She also refers to a “fairly useless Garda cordon”. In fact, the cuts are also affecting the gardaí.
The Garda barrier was at a small bridge over a deep dangerous ravine leading to the conference. Young students were pushing the barriers and swinging across to get to their campus, when they were sprayed with pepper. A young girl was in distress. Gardaí saw the deep ravine was dangerous and they let us through to exercise our individual, natural, inalienable rights at the conference door. – Yours, etc,