Protesters drowned out by water cannon and riot squad

AN empty pint bottle of cider was hurled from the crowd and struck a female garda. Seconds later the riot squad was moved to the front line.

The bottle was one of a number of objects thrown, mostly plastic bottles, but also some bricks, parts of slates, sticks and one fire cracker.

After a six-mile, largely incident free, but noisy march from the city centre to the Ashtown Gate of Phoenix Park, the protesters stopped 200 yards from the garda line.

An estimated 150 gardaí, three deep and wearing ordinary uniforms and flat caps, were positioned in front of a roundabout.

March organiser Dermot Sreenan, of Dublin Grassroots Network, through a loud speaker, said: "We've always said that this was a peaceful protest. We know there are riot police up there. We know there is going to be trouble if we go up there. If we go up to that line they are going to crack heads.

"We asked them to let us go through to the park, so maybe we could send someone up to see if they had change their minds?"

Groups of people rising to a couple of hundred in total moved in a disorganised fashion towards the line, where verbal insults were thrown and there was some pushing and shoving.

A small number of lead protesters argued aggressively with two senior officers, Supt John Delaney and Chief Supt John Kelly, both of Garda HQ.

Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy and scene commander, Deputy Commissioner Fachtna Murphy watched from the roundabout.

Supt Delaney, calmly, said: "Be reasonable. We can't let ye in. Cool it down."

Some of the protesters reacted angrily, shouting: "You be reasonable, f**k off. It's our f***king park. Do you think you are going to stop this."

Supt Delaney replied: "Get a few people to talk to us and we'll be reasonable."

Chants of "whose streets? Our streets" and "let us through" went up, accompanied by fog horns, drum beats and constant whistling.

A lot of pushing of the gardaí and heaving of protesters by other protesters was causing the garda line to buckle.

Supt Delaney was still trying to control the situation peacefully: "We don't want any trouble. Keep it cool."

Then from behind came a line of protesters walking behind a banner, dressed in black, some masked, some wearing balaclavas.

Most were the Black Block, others were thought to be Wombles.

Mainly made up of youths, most in their late teens, they moved in a sort of formation, stopped for a time, then moved again.

They pushed people many of them photographers and reporters into the garda line, while others were forced aside.

A group of between 40-60 riot squad members, in line formation, were deployed directly behind the uniformed gardaí.

Moments later, a second similar-sized group moved alongside.

A couple of plastic bottles were thrown. A middle- aged man fired a half-empty can of lager.

Calls of "stop pushing" went out. A masked protester, with an English accent, shouted at his group: "Pull out". There were shouts of "someone down". Chants of "Let us through. Let us through" rose again.

A small core of protesters, masked and dressed in black, hurled themselves violently at the gardaí.

At that point, some protestors broke through the cordon.

Then the cider bottle was hurled, striking the female garda. She collapsed but was helped back to her feet by two colleagues.

Seconds later, in an obviously practiced manoeuvre, the uniformed gardaí parted and the riot squad, dressed in black, with helmets and full-length shields and holding their batons close, moved to take their place.

This move appeared to unsettle the crowd and most stepped back. Then the water cannon arrived.

AMID sirens, a warning was boomed out: "This is a Garda warning. You are directed to leave this area immediately." It was difficult to hear amid the noise and confusion.

The riot squad, or to give it its correct title, the public order unit, secured its ground, before slowly inching forward.

A small group of unmasked protesters sat in front of the water cannon and held up their hands giving peace signs. Repeated blasts of water were fired out across the crowd. One protester was hit in the stomach and lifted off the ground.

The riot police moved in and struck quick, hard blows with their batons, mainly at people's calf areas.

A glass bottle was thrown at the gardaí. Plastic bottles, and one stick, followed. A couple of bricks were fired at the front of the vehicle.

A drenched young woman, wearing glasses and a multi-coloured top, danced before the water cannon as five or six climbed on. They were removed by cascading water and the riot squad on the ground. A number were arrested.

The second water cannon was brought in as the protestors were pushed back. Some, including organisers, tried to calm others, while rows broke out with those seen throwing bottles or bricks.

Many, not directly clashing with gardaí, were struck by riot officers.

One woman, who was a little over five feet tall and of slight build, stood with her boyfriend with their backs turned on the moving riot officers. As the officers pushed them on, they were given repeated kicks and blows with batons by the officers, their faces wincing with pain. But the couple refused to react.

A number of individuals, including journalists and cameramen, who had been sitting on a high wall above the lines, were told to get down and came face to face with members of the riot squad, some quite agitated.

An Irish Examiner reporter received a light blow from a shield to the head. Another was hit by the water cannon.

At that point, 11 garda vans emerged from a side road, ferrying riot squad members to side roads off the Navan Road. A senior garda calmed tensions by gathering a small group together for the walk through the line.

At the roundabout, four lumps of brick lay on the road, as well as slates and plenty of plastic bottles.

Eight mounted gardaí, wearing helmets, were deployed behind gardaí pushing the protestors back.

At the front line, the riot squad started to break into a jog, forcing protestors to flee. Some tried to escape into green areas in housing estates and side-streets, but, in many cases, were forced back by gardaí.

Some fell before the marching riot officers. A few were arrested.

Thomas Meyer from Germany, said: "I am talking to a riot officer. I'm saying I'm doing nothing. I am just walking away. She was smacking me on the side on my legs and my arms as well. I said 'what did I do'?"

For the next 40 minutes the water cannon continued to fire and the riot officers marched causing near panic in the retreating crowd. Some uninvolved in the protest were forced to turn around by the riot squad, some receiving blows if they refused.

A couple of hundred protesters still remained close to the garda line. As they were moved farther down the road, the riot squad was replaced by gardaí travelling in eight vans.

At Mountjoy Prison the crowd stopped and the gardaí, wearing helmets, stepped out of the vans and formed a line, around 100 strong, across the road.

As the gardaí followed the protesters through the north inner city, there was some applause from locals gathered outside pubs. One group of four young women, dressed for a night out, shouted: "Come on you boys in blue".

When the protesters arrived at O'Connell Street, shortly after 11pm, they camped briefly, and peacefully, outside the GPO. The gardaí maintained a heavy presence but did not interfere and they crowd disappeared within an hour.