What might have been?

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday March 21, 2003 19:57 by laurence

outside the dail, yesterday

The IAWM are an integral part of Irish protest against the war/invasion/slaughter current in Iraq. Their work was important in getting such a large number outside the Dail at noon yesterday. As one of seven who slept outside the Dail on wednesday night, that influx of folk absolutely invigorated me. However, i must voice my disgust at the decision of Richard Boyd Barrett to encourage, at about 2 pm, all those gathered to leave and return at six to another IAWM protest - US embassy. Propelled by the John O Donoughue incident i absolutely believe that a siege mentality was latent among the crowd, waiting only to be developed, inspired and spurred on. Instead, the crowd were deflated and told to move on. We could perhaps have, in one form or another, blocked all the Dail exits and not allowed the majority of the despicable and cowardly TDs to sneak silently home, unhindered. It was left to a passionate and courageous few to truly resist Irish complicity in this war and to risk their liberty and limbs in opposing the Iraq war, the murder there and Irish participation.