Stupid, stupid garda
How did they think they could political march down O’Connell street, a building site and not have trouble? I had hope that people would let the march go by and just laugh at them but no, they fed into the hate behind this parade. Gave what they were looking for – a riot. And the police are the main cause of it all. Feck the real IRA gobshite, the young scuts, this was a dreadful display of policing. I am not blaming the hyped up young gardai who were badly trained but their heads who left them open to such attack.
As for Bertie saying he defends the democratic right, does that mean it’s okey to throw stones? This march took place as I say down a building site. Choose your weapon lads, please? A stone, a barricade. a piece of iron? And as for the riot squad, they just hit out at everything that got in their way. Slap, bang, wallop policing belongs to the dark ages.
Remember back to the Mayday preparations during the EU enlargement. The garda had done their workshops in Seattle. Ready for rioters, anarchists. Helicopters in the air, police everywhere, water canons brought down from Northern Ireland to drown a few hoddied protesters. And today? Three garda standing outside the GPO. No helicopter, no monitoring. Riot squads flying in from far away. No blocking off the streets. No garda lining the route. For feck’s sake, did they not think this home grown political rally was going to cause trouble. Feck Seattle, get real men, what sort of time zone are you living in? Do you not remember the IRA, the UVA. The garda looked just liked they did when the English “fans” rioted at Landsdown, open mouthed and amateur. Is this what we get for our money? Gobshites, bullying, hysterical gobshites and that is only the police.
Why didn’t they line the route with the new yellow packer police and see how they could stand up to real pressure. Bet they would run. Everything was after the fact. I saw one police van driven by a female garda, shoot up O’Connell street past the GPO and into the crowd only to back up, YES back up, though the crowd and keeping backing up several yards down the street and across the centre aisle. She could have killed someone.
If the gardai and the politicians hype up on this, don’t believe them, this was a disgrace. And enough said on it for the moment. McDowell must be thinking he was right all along on this one but the truth of the matter was it was a giant cock-up by his Department and the Gardai HQ. Totally out of touch, rough shod and very, very badly handled. Heads should roll on this at they should start at the top. Afer all Bertie was looking for a gap at ministeral level, now you should have one. McDowell was totally out of touch as usual on this one.
I think this goes to prove that Sinn Fein/IRA don’t want a PROD about the place.
A real own goal – hows Gerry and Martin going to explain this in Washington ?
Headlines on CNN “IRA supporters disrupt parade, attack police”
JC
I´m living abroad at the moment, a Dub blue & true. The images I´ve seen on the net tonight make me sick. Surely we can´t load all of this on the gardai? Admittedly though I wouldn´t have chosen the low-key security strategy which was implemented.
From rte.ie:
“Mr Ahern said there had been word in his Dublin Central constituency last night that trouble was likely. He said that gardaí had been assured by the contractors that a construction site on O’Connell Street, where implements were used as missiles, was protected but that in the face of determined rioters that proved inadequate”.
Surely someone in the City Council should have ensured these implements were “removed”, and not “protected” on site. How can you “protect” implements from animals like these?
I’m also a Dubliner living abroad, and the images and stories coming from Dublin absolutely disgust me.
Most of my anger lies with the rioters. They’ve made us into a laughing stock overseas, which may not matter to some back home but it matters to those of us who have to keep our head up.
By implements they mean building material such as paving stones, metal bollards etc
At least that’s all I’ve seen going by the building works
As for marching down a bulding site if you are going to go by the GPO there’s no way to avoid it
I’m the reverse – an American living in Dublin. I think the police in the streets did the best they could with limited resources and manpower. They held their lines, followed orders, and didn’t react to provocation with unnecessary force. I find the building contractors saying “No one could have foreseen the use of building supplies on O’Connell Street” to be the same as George Bush saying (regarding Hurricane Katrina) “No one could have foreseen the levees breaking.” When you hold a position of power and protection, it is your job to foresee these things.
im sure there were pleanty of petrol cans, snooker balls, golf balls, and fireworks among the building site – think about it. this riot was not organised by anyone, it was haphazzard with several groups of young scum in attendance without leadership in the end with no common goal only intent on causing trouble. republican groups discouraged people from attending leading up to this. im ashamed that those scum used my national flag to hide thier faces when the attacked the organs and principles of my state. the flag green for nationalism, white for peace and orange for unionism. – nice one lads.
Tom: what you say about the flag is true but you have to ask yourself how come the Celtic football club gets away with it too. There seats are in green, white and orange. Irish flags are part of the scene and at the GPO on saturday, they were singing the feilds of Anthery. This was not so much political as a form of senseless football hooliganism. Violence for the sake of violence.
auld dub.
what makes me laugh is the ignorance of these thugs. they are supposedly in attendance to demonstrate against all things british such as the occupation of part of ulster. what did we see?? thugs in celtic jerseys?? british jerseys allbeit founded by the irish and strong irish connections but a british club and a so called “foriegn game”. i didnt know that seats in celtic park were green, white and orange, thought they were just gree/white. the fields off in athenry is a song written in the 1980s about deportation of an irishman to australia in the 1800s – im sure most gobshites there had no idea of that, hence supporting your point abount mindless violence. its a wonder they didnt sing the scottish song willie mcbride :-) i agree that it was not so much political as mindless violence. in my opinion alot of ill informed, uneducated and so called “bar stool republicans” arrived on saturday in different groups to demonstrate “thoose fucking orange bastards marching through dublin”. groups were not organised like other demonstration with specific goals as we have seen at other marchs in the past. mixed it with alcohol and hatred for the police and bang by the end it turned into a anti garda riot. – i applaud the gardai present and think they done a great job with the resources at hand. but garda management seem to have underplanned or underprepared for the march, was it a question of finance and payment of overtime? however hindsight is best sight.
The gardai did an excellent job under the circumstances. Referring to the gardai as “hysterical gobshites” etc. just espouses hatred.
Dervla: I accept your comments. I agree, the ground police did their best under trying conditions. But reading and listening to the top gardai go on about the merits of a good baton charge, confirms that this police have too much fire in their blood. In others words, hysterical and talking rubbish i.e. hysterical gobshites. Proper policing would have been not leading them through a building site, I really don’t think the orangemen wanted to march down O’Connell street but to make their case to the Dail @ Leinster house. The route could have taken another direction. There could ahve been police on the rooftops, monitoring the conditions. They could have blocked off the streets or looked in pubs nearby to see pople getting pumbed up. I know hindsight is a great teacher but it is just a miracle that no policeman or woman was killed, or any one in the area too.
asshole what would you know about policing? blame the gardai for the shortcomings of irish society! every day we turn more and more into the english whom we’re meant to hate! Auld Dubliner! knew you were a dub by your comments! Asshole
Mossie: Who I blame are the Garda bosses and the Minister for Justice, McDowell. They are the ones who let the rank and file gardai down on the day. Even the gardai association themselves have felt this and called in the health and safety authority to question the matter. Saturday reached critical mass, which really has no one head but changes according to circumstances. The current rush to blame somebody is only a fudge to not blame the garda heads who organized this march down a building site between the HQ of Sin Fein and the Celtic supports fan club pub. These are the same people who ordered 600 gardai to mind GWB touchdown in Shannon and he didn’t even get off the plane but only 300 on the street in Dublin for the first and bound to be controversial orangeorder march.
Mossie:I am a dub and not worried by your comments. Even the Taoiseach is not doing the regular gardai any service by covering up for the the mismanagement of the suitation. Who said we’re meant to hate the english, actutually if this had happened in England, the minister would have resigned in respect of his not doing a correct job but here it’s just cover up and distraction.
Oh, and being a true Dubliner, you don’t scare me, or bully me, but I fight for your right to speak your speak.
I was at those riots and i can say one thing for a fact…the scum that came out onto the streets of our capital were not fighting for our country or our city as they could have done with a peaceful stance…they were there to cause maximum damage and to destroy our city, our reputation, to hurt our gardai, who did the best they could given their limited resources.
I doubt very many of the gardai wanted for loyalists to march down our city streets, but they kept order, our gardai did not cause any damage with unnecessary baton use or foul language…they were not the filth throwing stones, bricks, iron bars and destroying the city they set out to defend.
The “proud” irish lads with their chav style burberry hats and FOOTBALL jerseys, had no idea of what it meant to be irish on that day. They took the attention from where it was deserved… the few true protestors who left early after seeing the way the city, which their own family had died in regaining throughout the civil war, being torn to pieces by hooligans who ultimatly made a mockery of the true patriotism felt by many irish people.
Granted, True pride in your country means you won’t let the people who held you oppressed for 800 years march through your capital, but it also means you do not destroy what you say you fight to defend. LIARS. You should be ashamed but you are incapable, so go on gloat in your own victories…you managed to prove the “fuckers” right, you gave them the riot they wanted to shove in the peace processes face. GLOAT ON THAT…