Around 60 marchers listened to speeches by the playground of Fr Burke Park in the Claddagh, before parading through town to Prospect Hill, behind Irish, Ivory Coast and Offaly flags, shepherded by a heavy Garda presence.
The anti-immigrant activists also carried a flag of Jesus of Nazareth – possibly history’s most famous refugee - and Welsh-born immigrant, St Patrick, much to the mirth of onlookers, who posted dozens of bemused videos on Galwegian social media channels regarding the marchers’ misspelled ‘Galimh’ banner. United Irishmen, crowned harps, ‘Erin go bragh’ and Sacred Heart flags were also flown by marchers, who played songs by lifelong socialist, Luke Kelly, amplified through loudhailers. One woman was dressed up as Anglo-Irish nationalist and socialist revolutionary, Constance Markievicz.
Dominick Street, Mill Street and Williamsgate Street were temporarily closed to traffic around 1pm, to allow marchers and Garda units to progress to County Buildings from the Claddagh, while Bóthar Irwin, Bóthar na mBan, Eyre Square and Prospect Hill experienced severe delays, until after 6pm, when rain dissipated the far-right gathering on the plinth of County Buildings, where a number of speakers addressed marchers. Several sought shelter in the Brazilian café and Korean restaurant opposite County Hall.
Garda vans with riot screens attached, and around 40 uniformed Gardaí - including 25 Public Order Unit officers equipped with batons and pepper spray - separated marchers from a loud counter-protest of around 100 local demonstrators, outside TK Maxx.
Several out-of-town, anti-immigration influencers wielding selfie sticks made a beeline for Galway City Councillor, Helen Ogbu, who attended the counter-demonstration with fellow Labour Party councillors. Claiming to be “citizen journalists,” they were moved along swiftly by gardaí. March stewards from self-styled anti-immigration “patrol group” Sinne Na Daoine, wearing blue tabards, also restrained marchers from attempting to engage with counter-protestors, who chanted anti-fascist slogans as marchers passed by, en route to County Hall, where loudspeakers sporting The Irish People party (IPP ) logos were erected for a rally.
Councillor Níall McNelis (Lab ) said the plinth of County Hall was not a suitable place for this rally, as it was not a gathering made up of people from Galway. “I’m actually glad to see there were very few Galway people with the marchers. These were a mixture of Holy Joes, bizarre Constance Markievicz wannabees, and ‘Peaky Blinders’ from outside the county,” he said.
Kildare County Councillor, Tom McDonnell (Ind ), marched with the anti-immigration group. He recently hit the headlines when filmed giving gifts of holy water and a copy of the Constitution to presidential hopeful Conor McGregor. Galway West’s Irish Freedom Party (IFP ) general election candidate, Doran McMahon, was also spotted. He won 450 first preferences in last November’s election.
Positioned beneath a flag of Ukraine flying outside County Hall since Russia’s invasion, keynote speaker Michael Leahy, the Co Clare-based chairman of the IFP, gave a speech ranging from Cromwell to Enoch Burke, claiming that “the Irish government” was seeking to promote Islam. This elicited laughter from the nearby counter-protestors, including a handful of women wearing hijabs, and Co Galway Methodist minister, Reverend Steven Foster, in full clerical garb.
Policing operation
One bloody-nosed counter-protestor wearing a ripped Taafes Bar t-shirt, who appeared to have been assaulted, was bundled into a Garda van after someone threw eggs at the far-right speakers, while a well-known Galway city centre character, who walked with the marchers, was moved on by Gardaí after he pulled down his trousers, and mooned nearby officers.
A Garda spokesman said one man in his 20s was arrested on Saturday under the Criminal Justice (Public Order ) Act at Prospect Hill, and subsequently released without charge. Galway gardaí engaged with two public event organisers, and a policing operation was implemented to ensure public safety, traffic management, and protection of constitutional rights. “An Garda Síochána has no statutory role in designating when or where public assemblies occur,” he said.
In response to queries from the Advertiser, Galway County Council said its permission was not sought for a rally on the stepped plinth outside Aras an Chontae, which it considers “a civic space”. A council spokesperson said gardaí alerted the local authority to the gathering on its doorstep last Friday, one day before it occurred.
A number of volunteers wearing high-viz jackets from the Irish Network of Legal Observers (INLO ) monitored marchers, counter-protesters and gardaí policing the event. It is understood they were notified by the Galway Anti Racism Network (GARN ), which had originally organised, then cancelled, a counter rally in Fr Burke Park. The Prospect Hill protest was arranged by United Against Racism (UAR ) Galway.
The counter demonstration of Galwegians flew organisation flags of the Socialist Party, Solidarity-People Before Profit, the Labour Party, and Anti-Fascist Action Ireland, alongside Irish tricolours and Palestinian flags. Placards read “Galway says No to Bigots” and “Fascist Scum off our Streets”.
