On Saturday, September 30, community members gathered in Cork to rally in support of librarians across Ireland who have been facing anti-LGBTQ+ book protests in recent months. The crowd braved the rain and assembled outside Cork City Library on Grand Parade, with reports estimating that around 100 people were in attendance.

Organised by the Cork Says No to Racism umbrella group, and supported by Cork Rebels for Peace, the purpose of the demonstration was to display solidarity with librarians who have endured what has been described as “intense harassment by far-right individuals”. Furthermore, the rally aimed to celebrate all that the city has to offer “in diversity, inclusion, culture, free access to information, and above all, every citizen’s right to live peacefully and safely”.

Joe Moore, an organiser of the rally, was among those to address the crowd. He said that while the far-right began to rise during the covid pandemic in opposition to lockdown restrictions, the attention has now been turned to “asylum seekers, migrants, people of colour, trans people, queer people, women.”

Similarly, People Before Profit party member Shane Laird added that “libraries across the country have come under attack by a fascist movement,” and that “books have always been by far the most effective way of immersing people in different world views, the best way of walking a mile in someone else’s shoes.”

I proudly attended the solidarity rally in Cork today. Despite the awful weather, people came out in numbers to celebrate what this city offers the best: diversity, integration, love, and peace. It is crucial that we send strong message of inclusion and unity to the far right ! pic.twitter.com/DSY24kPtc2

— Honore Kamegni (@honorekamegni) September 30, 2023

Matthew Morrissey of Cork Alt Pride stated that the anti-LGBTQ+ protestors “want me to go back into my closet”, and Arther Leahy of Gay Project commented that the same political energy that resulted in achieving marriage equality now needs to go into tackling homophobia.

🚩 CORK SOLIDARITY RALLY 📚

✍️ We share below today’s speech in full, including references to @WritersUnion_ie and @CorkLifeCentre .
✊ #Solidarity with the workers!

[2/2] pic.twitter.com/yxebz3ZzIQ

— IWU (Independent Workers Union) (@the_IWU) September 30, 2023

Libraries across Ireland have been targeted throughout 2023 by small groups of people opposing certain LGBTQ+ titles in their catalogues. The protestors have been accused of intimidating and harassing staff members while filming them without their consent.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies have held counter-demonstrations on several occasions, which have included creating human chains at Cork City Library to prevent the agitators from entering building.