Heavy garda presence in Dublin for planned protests

Pictured is Willow O'Brien, 5 years old, looking at the Gardai on O'Connell Street in Dublin city centre today. Photograph: Leon Farrell / RollingNews.ie

A heightened Garda presence was very much in evidence in the early afternoon of St Patrick’s Day in Dublin, with Government Buildings sealed off in all directions.

Despite the expectation of up to eight protests taking place across the capital, the city centre remained calm and relaxed, with many people out and about enjoying the bank holiday and its unseasonal sunshine.

With 2,500 gardaí deployed in Dublin as a form of deterrence by numbers against a repeat of the far-right anti-lockdown protests seen two weeks ago, at times there seemed to be more gardaí and photojournalists around than regular citizens.

Vehicles are stopped at a Garda checkpoint on the N4 in Dublin during St Patrick's Day. Picture Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Even more in evidence than the clusters of beat gardaí which could be seen everywhere were the heightened levels of Garda vehicles, with two, three, and even four Garda vans roaming the streets in columns, while overhead the steady drone of the Garda helicopter as it kept a watchful eye.

The two major protests are slated for Herbert Park, beside the RDS, and RTÉ headquarters in Montrose at 2pm, although how large those gatherings will prove to be is as yet unknown.

There was little in the way of public order offences to be seen, although one male demonstrator, who appeared to be alone, was bundled into the back of a Garda van at the GPO on O’Connell Street after confronting gardaí just after noon.

Nearby, two women remonstrated with a group of eight gardaí after being asked to move along. A young female Garda explained to the more vociferous of the two why they had been engaged with, following the force’s ‘Four E’s’ policy (engage, explain, encourage, enforce) to the letter, while the other woman wept quietly.

Gardai at a Luas stop on O'Connell Street today.  Photograph: Leon Farrell / RollingNews.ie

Across the Liffey, Grafton Street was deserted in stark contrast to the mayhem seen two weeks ago, while two minutes’ walk away Leinster House and Government Buildings were sealed to the public in all directions.

Meanwhile, St Stephen's Green was awash with people sitting in the sun at a distance from each other. No green hats and blazing sunshine - a strange Patrick’s Day indeed.