Thousands of people took to the streets of Dublin on Thursday, November 12, as European leaders met in the capital. The crowd marched from the Spire on O’Connell Street to Molesworth Street, around the corner from where a dinner was being held at the National Gallery of Ireland.
The event marked the end of the European Political Community (EPC) summit, with high-profile figures like French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and more in attendance. During the protest organised by the Irish Anti-War Movement in collaboration with the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, marchers called for EU sanctions on Israel, alongside an end to trade with the country and the occupied territories.
People Before Profit drew attention to the fact that Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, was in Dublin for the occasion. Rutte has denied that Israel is committing genocide and “has been exposed as trying to whitewash its crimes,” according to the party. People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett was one of the leaders of the march, which had a strong anti-NATO sentiment, chanting “protect the Triple Lock, save our neutrality”.
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Protesters in Dublin singled out many European leaders, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin, chanting their names followed by “blood on your hands”. The crowd also protested the presence of US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Ireland, calling them “war criminals”. The pair met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday evening.
There was heavy Garda presence throughout the streets of Dublin, including cars, public order units and patrolling officers. Earlier in the day at a different protest organised by Mothers Against Genocide, two men were arrested for public order offences. That demonstration started at the old Central Bank Plaza on Dame Street, before moving to Westmoreland Street, D’Olier Street, Grafton Street and Harcourt Street, as Gardaí prevented them from accessing the quays where restrictions were in place.
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