Protest Against Presence of British Warship

16/03/10

Around 15 éirígí activists gathered at Dublin Port on Saturday [March 13] to protest against the docking of a British warship in the capital.

The HMS Daring, a destroyer, arrived in Dublin last week.

The éirígí activists were met by a large uniformed and Special Branch Garda presence on Saturday, who refused to allow the peaceful demonstrators anywhere near the vicinity of the British ship. As a result, access to the Port was closed off for the duration of the protest.

Towards the end of the protest, two cars, one of them a taxi, approached a Garda checkpoint in an attempt to enter the Port. When the occupants produced ID cards, it became clear that they were members of the British armed forces and they were quickly spirited away by Gardaí, almost causing a serious road accident in the process.

éirígí activist and Dublin City councillor Louise Minihan, who was at the demonstration, said: “There are two crucially important reasons why the Dublin government should not be offering succour to the armed forces of the British government.

“First and foremost, Britain remains in occupation of a large section of Irish territory, artificially dividing the Irish nation. British forces in Ireland should be greeted with nothing but a hostile attitude until the occupation of the Six Counties is ended.

“Secondly, the Twenty-Six Counties is a supposedly neutral state, while Britain is engaged in a brutal and immoral war in Afghanistan. Clearly, British forces should therefore be treated as belligerents and denied entry to Ireland.”

Minihan continued: “éirígí will continue to actively oppose the British military presence in Ireland, wherever it manifests itself. All those with an interest in national independence and unity should do likewise.”