Love Ulster group hoping to hold march in Dublin

The organisers of last Saturday's contentious loyalist march in Dublin have said they want to restage the event at a future date.

The so-called Love Ulster parade, arranged by the loyalist victims group FAIR, was cancelled after hundreds of rioters attacked gardaí and blocked the route along O'Connell Street.

Speaking at a press conference in Belfast today, FAIR founder Willie Frazer said he wanted to hold the march in the future, but would only do so if the Irish authorities guaranteed it would not be attacked.

Asked about the matter this morning, the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, said it was up to the Gardaí to decide if the march should be allowed to go ahead given the violent scenes of last Saturday.

Republican Sinn Féin, meanwhile, has vowed to mount another protest if the march is allowed to take place.

He said the march was being portrayed as a remembrance for victims of republican violence, but was actually a show of loyalist triumphalism.

"If these people are genuine in what they claim to be, the question I would need to pose is why the need for the loyalist paraphernalia," he said.