IAWM reports of March 8thth demo’s
Cork:
Thousands of people joined a large anti-war march in Cork city on Saturday,
8 March. Gardai estimated 5,000 were present, though a count by the Cork
Anti-War Campaign suggests that the figure was closer to 4,000. There were representatives from across the community and speakers at the rally and open-air concert in Emmet Place included Kathleen Lynch TD (Labour Party), Joe Higgins TD (Socialist Party), Dan Boyle TD (Green Party), Latif Silharden (Kurdish community), and Mary Kelly (ex-Shannon Peace Camp). Music was provided by John Spillane, Open Kitchen, Head Over Heels, and Eoin Coughlan.
Derry:
On Saturday 8th March, International Women's day, up to 200 anti war protesters
in Derry braved the wind and rain, not to mention resisting the distractions of
a Celtic-Rangers football match AND Ireland v. France in the Six Nations, to
signal their continuing opposition to George Bush and Tony Blair's aggressive
stance and threats of war against Iraq. The march, organised by the Derry Anti
War Coalition, was a colourful affair, accompanied by a battery of drums,
whistles and bells and fronted by an International Women's Day banner. The
march was just one of many taking place in towns and cities the length and
breadth of Ireland.
Starting from the
Waterside, the marchers crossed Craigavon Bridge and finished up at a rally in
Guildhall Square with an all-women panel of speakers, who included Bernadette
McAliskey, a veteran campaigner and former Westminster MP. Ms. McAliskey drew a
vivid picture of the cold and calculating minds of the warmongers who callously
weigh up human lives against their own economic survival. She called on all
Irish politicians to boycott the annual St. Patrick's Day invitation to the
White House, urging all present to withhold their vote to any politician who
"sipped champagne over shamrock on the White House lawn, whilst the bombs
were falling on Baghdad." Other speakers spoke of human rights injustices
and the consequences of war to women and children, and celebrated the role of
women and their struggle to build and share a better world.
Tullamore
250 to 300 people marched in Tullamore against the war on
March 8th.
Despite the miserable weather more than 250 people took part in a march through
Tullamore organised by the Offaly AntiWar Movement.
After sending a busfull of people to the
IAWM event in Shannon last week, collecting thousands of signatures for a
petition and organising public meetings the Offaly Anti War Movement held their
own demo in Tullamore on Saturday.
After strolling from the GAA Center to
the Market Square people listened to speakers before going back to a local hall
for a few pints and a bit of a session with local musicians.
Spiddal
and Galway.
Several anti-war events were scheduled in Galway. In Spiddal, in the afternoon,
150 people attended an Irish language service in the Catholic Church, jointly
organised by Christians, Muslims, and anti-war activists.
In Galway city centre, from 7 pm, about 500 joined a candle-lit vigil for peace.
This was fewer than the organisers expected, but was creditable given the
weather conditions. Earlier, a Galway contingent participated in the Global
Women's Strike anti-war event at Shannon airport. 'Awareness' activities in
Loughrea and Ballinasloe had to be cancelled due to the terrible weather.