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Updated at 11.30pm
HUNDREDS OF WATER charge protesters gathered outside the Sligo Park Hotel in Sligo town this evening, where the Taoiseach attended an event.
The crowd has been estimated at some 400.
Enda Kenny’s car was briefly blocked as it arrived at the venue shortly before 7.30pm, but was quickly escorted up to the main entrance by gardaí.
His arrival was met with angry chants by demonstrators, who yelled “shame on Kenny”, “out, out, out” and “no way, we won’t pay”.
This evening’s action follows a protest that targeted the Tánaiste in Jobstown, Dublin on Saturday. Joan Burton was trapped in her car for hours by a group of demonstrators, before being evacuated from the scene by gardaí.
Groups organising tonight’s demonstration, which include Sligo Says No, Right2Water, and People Before Profit, stressed earlier that it should be a peaceful one.
One protester said there had been a bit of “rough and tumble” as Kenny’s car arrived, and RTÉ footage showed protesters attempting to stop the vehicle by jumping on the bonnet — before being pushed away by gardaí.
Speaking later, the Taoiseach told local media outlets that demonstrators had agreed not to block his car, but had reneged on that guarantee.
RTÉ/Screengrab
PBP campaigner Nigel Gallagher said he could “see why there’s anger” and said the gathering momentum behind the anti-water charges movement in recent weeks was a reaction to “six years of austerity, where the Government put the needs of the rich ahead of the poor working people”.
Earlier, People Before Profit councillor Seamus O’Boyle said that the plan was to highlight opposition to an ”unfair” tax.
Gardaí maintained a heavy a presence at tonight’s event, and the protesters said they would be remaining outside the hotel for as long as Kenny was there.
A spokesperson for the Gardaí said there had been no arrests.
[Sligo Says No]
Burton reaction
Speaking earlier, at an event in Castlebar, Kenny said that what had happened to Joan Burton in Dublin at the weekend had been “disgraceful” and effectively amounted to kidnapping.
He also singled out Anti Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy for criticism, saying the left-wing Deputy had been “urging on” protesters in a non-democratic fashion at the Cósan college in Jobstown.
Murphy took on a leading role in the action as events progressed on Saturday. The Tánaiste was hit with a water balloon as she attended a graduation event, and called a “c***” by protesters, before being trapped in her car.
She was eventually taken from the scene in a patrol car.
Murphy, in the days since the protest, has insisted it was peaceful — but speaking today, the Taoiseach said that the AAA politician would be telling a different story if the gardaí had detained him in a car for two hours.
Is there any logical reason why farming and eating dog should be illegal? The animals we normally eat (cow, sheep, goat, etc) tend to be herbivores, so are easier to farm and taste different than carnivores. But beyond that, surely if we can humanely farm and eat species X, we should be allowed to eat species Y if it is also farmed in a humane manner?
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: How many pet cows do you have? Do you take your goat for a walk everyday.
Whilst there may be some validity to your argument I think you’ll find the overwhelming majority of people actually see their pet dogs as something more, even part of the family. So the prospect of chowing down on Lassie is not very appealing to most.
@damien leen: I don’t think Koreans were eating their pet dogs though.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: have you seen the way they’re killed, thrown alive into a pot of boiling water…r u ok with that!
@Clare Power: Hot dogs? Mmmmm,I love ‘em
@Larry Betts: stop Larry, yr supposed to be the funny man here
@Clare Power: boohoo
@Tom Dillon: oh that’s alrite then… C’mon man!
@Clare Power: I hope the EU doesn’t now ban German Shepherd Pie
@Larry Betts: I said your supposed to be funny Larry!!
@Clare Power: I’m never again going to ask for a doggie bag whenever I’m in a restaurant.
I’ve no time for people that haven’t empathy for animals, there’s something missing in their soul…my opinion…
About time
No more wokking the dog, as it were…
Well done, South Korea.
Lassie ain’t coming home!
For those who can’t now eat dog,they will feast on tasty Not Poodles
Koreans have swapped dogs for babies. The population has gone through the floor. By the way dog stew or boshintang is delicious – a little like a spicy lamb stew. Why should people be forced to abandon their own foid culture? Westerners complain about migrants swamping their own culture while imposing their values and culture on Asian, African and other indigenous cultures. No one who supports the banning of dog meat in Korea should oppose the imposition of Sharia in Ireland.
Personally, I think it’s barking mad decision by the government.
Banning dog meat will only lead farmers to go underground with their business.
Instead of a regulated price for the meat, meat prices could fetch a higher price due to the ban from the dog meat ban.
Anyone for a Chinese ?
@Jb Walshe: It’s only now that I realise what the Indians put in a madras curry,omg
The way some people anthromorphosise dogs, and cats, is beyond ridiculous. If some people want to eat dogs then let them.
Wokery. Wok wokery.
It’s not the eating I have a problem with, it’s the way they are “prepared”, the wire binding the limbs and mouth, the tape to stop them screaming , it’s the skinning alive, the boiling alive, the torture to promote the myth that the meat tastes better. I, for one, am extremely happy with the ban, it should be immediate, not in 3 years. It’s not just farmed dogs, it’s the stolen pets too that are affected.
Foid=food
have your say