HE MAY OR may not be coming to Ireland this week – but the protests are ready to go ahead, no matter what.
It emerged last week that presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump would most likely be skipping Ireland on his planned transatlantic visit (he may pop over if he has time, a spokesperson said).
Organisers of rallies to protest his presence said initially they’d monitor the status of the mooted trip. And while his plans are no clearer today, they went ahead with a press conference this afternoon to give details of the planned protests.
An array of speakers – including Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, AAA-PBP TDs Paul Murphy and Richard Boyd Barrett, along with campaigners from from anti-war, pro-choice and anti-racism groups – gathered in a Dublin hotel to discuss the plans.
And while it appears the businessman plans to keep us guessing while he’s in Scotland over the next three days – the ‘Trump Not Welcome’ umbrella group says it’s made preparations for rallies in Dublin and Ennis tomorrow evening.
Depending on Trump’s plans, those protests could be pushed into Friday – or may not happen at all.
Said Murphy:
The protests on Thursday are subject to him coming – so if he’s here or if he’s on the way, 6pm at the Spire in Dublin and 6pm at the O’Connell statue in Ennis in Clare.
If they find out at a later stage that he’s planning a visit to Clare “then we’ll do it Friday”. There may be a protest at Shannon Airport at some stage too, but details are still being discussed.
What’s going on?
Trump is expected to fly to Prestwick in Scotland tomorrow sometime, and will hold a press conference at his Turnberry golf course the following morning. He’ll make a flying visit to Aberdeen on Saturday to check in on his golf interests there too, according to a schedule released last week.
The mogul had initially tweeted that he would drop in on Doonbeg in Clare, where he also has a golf resort. The ‘Trump Not Welcome’ group was launched shortly afterwards – and, speaking today, Richard Boyd Barrett said it had clearly had an effect.
The south Dublin TD said the businessman was “running scared” – and that if he decided to come to Ireland he would effectively have to “sneak” over.
“I think it’s important to say that our campaign has already had, to a very substantial extent, the desired effect,” Boyd Barrett insisted.
If Trump comes now he’s going to have to sneak in, in ignominy. There will be no official red carpet roll-out, and it will be clear I think to most people that, you know, this is a man who is a pariah.
Given the uncertainty, the campaign group will have to “act fast” to respond to the presumptive Republican nominee’s plans, Boyd Barrett added.
To follow the protest plans, keep an eye on the #trumpnotwelcome hashtag on Twitter.
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