2010 student protest in Dublin
Encyclopedia
The 2010 student protest in Dublin was a demonstration
that took place in the centre of the city on 3 November 2010 in opposition to a proposed increase in university registration fees, further cuts to the student maintenance grant and increasing graduate unemployment and emigration levels caused by the 28th Government of Ireland.
Organized by the Union of Students in Ireland
(USI) and students unions nationwide, it saw between 25,000 and 40,000 protesters on the streets of central Dublin during what The Irish Times
described as "the largest student protest for a generation". The protestors came from all over Ireland - students from most third-level colleges featured, as did some protestors from Queen's University Belfast - with many travelling to the city by coach. It took more than an hour and a half for all the protestors to walk from Parnell Square to Government Buildings
in Merrion Street
, a short distance.
Some protestors and gardaí
engaged in clashes following the protest, with an unidentified number of people being wounded and three gardaí sustaining minor injuries; two arrests were made. The two men who were arrested were in their twenties and charged with criminal damage and a breach of the peace
respectively. The Department of Finance
was occupied by protestors for a time, and 36 complaints of police brutality were made of which just over half were admitted; these led to a further march by students seven days later with the intention to "end garda brutality".
presseurop.eu wondered the day after thousands of students marched on the streets of Dublin: "Has Ireland awoken?" and said the protest had "Giv[en] the lie to general opinion that the economically stricken nation has taken swingeing austerity measures with passive resignation". "Scenes bizarrely similar" occurred in London
one week later.
's Ireland Correspondent Mark Simpson
noted that most demonstrations in Ireland had been "angry rather than violent". One example he alluded to occurred two days before students demonstrated when Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney
was successfully pelted with red paint by an opposition politician in a protest intended to highlight the "blood budget" which "will result in the unnecessary and avoidable deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of people over the coming years"; this incident occurred while she was attempting to open a mental healthcare facility in Dublin. But Simpson also wrote that "It is unlikely that their [students] demonstration will make any difference. [...] They [the Irish government] will be hoping that young people will eventually accept [that Ireland has no money]. After all, most students know what it feels like to be broke".
two days earlier. Forty minutes later, some protestors left the march route at Nassau Street and approached Dáil Éireann
's front gates on Kildare Street
. Some scaled poles and items were thrown through the gates. March organisers sent them back to the main protest.
Several dozen protestors entered the Department of Finance
's lobby at 15:00 and commenced occupation. Authorities removed some and barricaded the remainder inside. More students gathered outside the entrance where authorities lined up to separate them from those inside the building, while horses and vans were deployed to split those outside into two. A sit-down protest ensued among those who were outside. Riot police arrived on the scene and authorities removed the rest of the protestors still inside the building, some of whom had "evidence of a beating on their faces" (The Irish Times). Riot police then forced those outside to move backwards, eventually charging at them followed by horses and dogs until they reached the Shelbourne Hotel
. A second charge by the authorities forced those in the vicinity back to Anglo Irish Bank
.
Many of those left outside the Department of Finance then joined a peaceful sit-down protest which was occurring outside Dáil Éireann. Free Education for Everyone
then organised a march to Pearse Street garda station, thought to be the destination of those who had been arrested. They collected there and demanded the release of anyone who had been arrested.
After viewing video footage of the disorder MEP
Joe Higgins
said: "The use of Garda horses and dogs against student protesters in Dublin on Wednesday is an outrageous abuse of the right to protest. The intention was clearly to intimidate peaceful protesters and it is an utter scandal They should never again be used against protesters".
These events led to numerous complaints about police brutality being sent to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission
(GSOC). Within days the number of complaints had more than doubled. Video footage taken by witnesses was to be examined.
On 10 November, hundreds of students marched through Dublin again, this time before the banner "END GARDA BRUTALITY". The Irish Times stated that "While members of the Socialist Worker Student Society
and the 32 County Sovereignty Movement
were present at last night’s protest, they made up only a small proportion of the crowd". Among the protestors was Vanessa O'Sullivan, video footage of whom unconscious was broadcast on YouTube
and RTÉ
. She told the crowd: "This day last week I was knocked unconscious by a gárda... All I am guilty of is walking inside a public building and sitting down".
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
that took place in the centre of the city on 3 November 2010 in opposition to a proposed increase in university registration fees, further cuts to the student maintenance grant and increasing graduate unemployment and emigration levels caused by the 28th Government of Ireland.
Organized by the Union of Students in Ireland
Union of Students in Ireland
The Union of Students in Ireland is the national representative body for third-level students' unions in Ireland. The Union of Students in Ireland is the sole national representative body for students in Ireland but does not represent students from two of the seven Irish Universities, namely...
(USI) and students unions nationwide, it saw between 25,000 and 40,000 protesters on the streets of central Dublin during what The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
described as "the largest student protest for a generation". The protestors came from all over Ireland - students from most third-level colleges featured, as did some protestors from Queen's University Belfast - with many travelling to the city by coach. It took more than an hour and a half for all the protestors to walk from Parnell Square to Government Buildings
Government Buildings
Government Buildings is a large Edwardian building enclosing a quadrangle on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland, in which several key offices of the government of Ireland are located...
in Merrion Street
Merrion Street
Merrion Street is a major Georgian street on the southside of Dublin, Ireland which runs along one side of Merrion Square. The garden entrance of Leinster House is located on the street, as is Irish Government Buildings, formerly the Royal College of Science for Ireland...
, a short distance.
Some protestors and gardaí
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
engaged in clashes following the protest, with an unidentified number of people being wounded and three gardaí sustaining minor injuries; two arrests were made. The two men who were arrested were in their twenties and charged with criminal damage and a breach of the peace
Breach of the peace
Breach of the peace is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries, and in a wider public order sense in Britain.-Constitutional law:...
respectively. The Department of Finance
Department of Finance (Ireland)
The Department of Finance is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Finance and is assisted by one Minister of State....
was occupied by protestors for a time, and 36 complaints of police brutality were made of which just over half were admitted; these led to a further march by students seven days later with the intention to "end garda brutality".
presseurop.eu wondered the day after thousands of students marched on the streets of Dublin: "Has Ireland awoken?" and said the protest had "Giv[en] the lie to general opinion that the economically stricken nation has taken swingeing austerity measures with passive resignation". "Scenes bizarrely similar" occurred in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
one week later.
Background
The BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Ireland Correspondent Mark Simpson
Mark Simpson (Ireland correspondent)
Mark Simpson is a journalist who has been the BBC's Ireland Correspondent since summer 2008.-Career:Simpson originally began his journalistic career for a series of Northern Irish newspapers — The News Letter, The Irish News, and The Belfast Telegraph — after graduating in 1988 from Queens...
noted that most demonstrations in Ireland had been "angry rather than violent". One example he alluded to occurred two days before students demonstrated when Minister for Health and Children Mary Harney
Mary Harney
Mary Harney is a former Irish politician. She served as Tánaiste from 1997–2006, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 1997–2004, and as Minister for Health and Children from 2004 to 2011...
was successfully pelted with red paint by an opposition politician in a protest intended to highlight the "blood budget" which "will result in the unnecessary and avoidable deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of people over the coming years"; this incident occurred while she was attempting to open a mental healthcare facility in Dublin. But Simpson also wrote that "It is unlikely that their [students] demonstration will make any difference. [...] They [the Irish government] will be hoping that young people will eventually accept [that Ireland has no money]. After all, most students know what it feels like to be broke".
March and further events
According to The Irish Times, the protest was "powerful, uplifting – and very peaceful". It commenced from Parnell Square at 13:00. T-shirts bearing slogans such as "Education not Emigration" were worn by many protestors. Students from Queen's University Belfast joined their counterparts on the streets of Dublin for the protest in return for support given to their own protest at StormontParliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)
The Parliament Buildings, known as Stormont because of its location in the Stormont area of Belfast is the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive...
two days earlier. Forty minutes later, some protestors left the march route at Nassau Street and approached Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
's front gates on Kildare Street
Kildare Street
Kildare Street is a well-known street in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Some Irish government departments have their offices on this street but it is most famous for Leinster...
. Some scaled poles and items were thrown through the gates. March organisers sent them back to the main protest.
Several dozen protestors entered the Department of Finance
Department of Finance (Ireland)
The Department of Finance is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Finance and is assisted by one Minister of State....
's lobby at 15:00 and commenced occupation. Authorities removed some and barricaded the remainder inside. More students gathered outside the entrance where authorities lined up to separate them from those inside the building, while horses and vans were deployed to split those outside into two. A sit-down protest ensued among those who were outside. Riot police arrived on the scene and authorities removed the rest of the protestors still inside the building, some of whom had "evidence of a beating on their faces" (The Irish Times). Riot police then forced those outside to move backwards, eventually charging at them followed by horses and dogs until they reached the Shelbourne Hotel
Shelbourne Hotel
The Shelbourne Hotel is a famous hotel situated in a landmark building on the north side of St Stephen's Green, in Dublin, Ireland. Currently operated by Marriott International, the hotel has 265 rooms in total and reopened in March 2006 after undergoing an eighteen-month refurbishment.John...
. A second charge by the authorities forced those in the vicinity back to Anglo Irish Bank
Anglo Irish Bank
Anglo Irish Bank was a bank based in Ireland with its headquarters in Dublin from 1964 to 2011. It went into wind-down mode after nationalisation in 2009....
.
Many of those left outside the Department of Finance then joined a peaceful sit-down protest which was occurring outside Dáil Éireann. Free Education for Everyone
Free Education for Everyone
Free Education for Everyone is an Irish student campaign group which was set up in September 2008 in University College Dublin to fight the proposed re-introduction of university fees...
then organised a march to Pearse Street garda station, thought to be the destination of those who had been arrested. They collected there and demanded the release of anyone who had been arrested.
Complaints of police brutality
Two female protesters were reported to have been pulled out of the Department of Finance "by their ankles" and one by her hair. One bespectacled male student was trampled upon by a horse. A female was kicked and knocked to the ground by a horse. Another who said she was engaging in a peaceful protest was told by police to "get the fuck off the street" before being batoned. A male sitting peacefully on the ground with his hands out was reported to have been "rammed" by four garda horses. Blood and facial injuries were a common sight.After viewing video footage of the disorder MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
Joe Higgins
Joe Higgins
Joe Higgins is an Irish Socialist Party politician. In the 2011 general election he was elected to Dáil Éireann as Teachta Dála for the Dublin West constituency, having previously served in that capacity from 1997–2007...
said: "The use of Garda horses and dogs against student protesters in Dublin on Wednesday is an outrageous abuse of the right to protest. The intention was clearly to intimidate peaceful protesters and it is an utter scandal They should never again be used against protesters".
These events led to numerous complaints about police brutality being sent to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is an independent statutory body in Ireland charged with overseeing An Garda Síochána, the police force of the Republic of Ireland. It was established under the Garda Síochána Act, 2005. The Commission deals with complaints from members of the public about...
(GSOC). Within days the number of complaints had more than doubled. Video footage taken by witnesses was to be examined.
On 10 November, hundreds of students marched through Dublin again, this time before the banner "END GARDA BRUTALITY". The Irish Times stated that "While members of the Socialist Worker Student Society
Socialist Workers Party (Ireland)
The Socialist Workers Party is an Irish Trotskyist political party.-Foundation and growth:The SWP was originally founded in 1971 as the Socialist Workers Movement by supporters of the International Socialists of Britain living in Northern Ireland, who had previously been members of People's...
and the 32 County Sovereignty Movement
32 County Sovereignty Movement
The 32 County Sovereignty Movement, often abbreviated to 32CSM or 32csm, is an Irish republican political organisation.The 32CSM's objectives are:* "The restoration of Irish national sovereignty"....
were present at last night’s protest, they made up only a small proportion of the crowd". Among the protestors was Vanessa O'Sullivan, video footage of whom unconscious was broadcast on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
. She told the crowd: "This day last week I was knocked unconscious by a gárda... All I am guilty of is walking inside a public building and sitting down".
See also
- 2011 United Kingdom protests
- March for a Better WayMarch for a Better WayMarch for a Better Way was a protest organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions held in Dublin on Saturday 27 November 2010 at 11:30 am. It followed Ireland's bailout by the European Union. The Irish Independent described it as the largest trade union march of 2010...
- 2010 UK student protests2010 UK student protestsThe 2010 UK student protests were a series of demonstrations that began in November 2010 in several areas of the United Kingdom, with the focal point of protests centred in London. The initial event was the largest student protest in the UK since the Labour government first proposed the Teaching...