LIVE: Fuel protesters 'ambushed' by gardaí; Cabinet to hold emergency meeting
Gardaí remove fuel protesters from O'Connell St in the early hours of Sunday morning.
- Emergency Cabinet meeting to take place on Sunday to sign off on fuel-cost measures;
- Government devising temporary fuel support scheme to provide support;
- Gardaí clear O'Connell St in early morning operation;
- Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly vows to step up enforcement against fuel-cost protesters;
- Whitegate blockade in East Cork stood down on Saturday.
Fuel protesters in Dublin city centre were “ambushed” by an “army” of public order gardaí, according to a spokesman for the blockaders.
Around 20 large vehicles and tractors remained on O’Connell St and the nearby quays in Dublin at 8am on Sunday, with dozens of protest participants and supporters.
Steel barriers have been erected on surrounding roads to prevent further access, with the Irish police service An Garda Siochana monitoring the cordon while street cleaners cleared debris.
Speaking about the overnight Garda operation on O’Connell St, protest spokesman Christopher Duffy said he was “upset”, “disappointed” and “angry” as he described the Garda response to the blockade as “overkill”.
He added: “Nobody in the city of Dublin or the country could say our assembly was anything but peaceful.”
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Mr Duffy said he believes protesters were denied due process, adding: “We got absolutely ambushed here last night by what I can only describe as an army of (public order gardaí).
“At this point, we’re pulling out of O’Connell St because we have been threatened with — I don’t know the law, section 8 on the vehicles — if we don’t get out by a certain time they’re threatening to tow the vehicles on us.
“These vehicles are very expensive with automatic transmissions and everything, and if they drag them with the engine not on they could wreck them.
“So we have no choice, financially we have to move the vehicles.”
Mr Duffy said the operation was “frightening” for some of the younger drivers and said there were “mixed messages” about tractors and trucks being towed.
Mr Duffy also called for a motion of no confidence in the Government. He said the power lies with rural TDs and independents “propping up the Government”.
He said: “How could a rural TD or any independent go back to their constituency after this and see what was done to the farmers, truckers and builders?”
Reflecting on the protest, Mr Duffy said: “I don’t know where we move on from here.
“I know we came united, and we leave united.”
Asked if the overall protests are now over, he said: “I don’t think so.”
A Garda Operation is ongoing on O'Connell Street to remove all illegally parked vehicles.
— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) April 12, 2026
Frontline Uniform Gardaí, Plain Clothes Gardaí and Garda Public Order Units have been deployed.
Blockaders must comply with Garda directions. pic.twitter.com/2qvGP0GzZ4
Around 20 large vehicles and tractors remain on O’Connell St and the quays in Dublin following a major Garda operation to clear the blockade in the early hours of Sunday.
Steel barriers have been erected on surrounding roads to prevent further access.
A small group of protest participants and supporters remained at the scene at 8am.
A Garda presence was monitoring the cordon while street cleaners cleared debris.
A blockade of Dublin’s main thoroughfare has been cleared in a late-night Garda operation, ahead of an emergency Cabinet meeting to sign off on measures the Government hopes will bring all protests over fuel costs to an end.
The protests, which involved blockades of Ireland’s only oil refinery in Whitegare in East Cork, as well as key depots, strangled fuel distribution across the country and prompted an escalated Garda response that resulted in several arrests and public order gardaí deployed in Cork and Galway and Dublin.
Participants – largely led by hauliers, farmers, and agricultural workers – began separate but coordinated actions on Tuesday with slow-moving convoys and outright stoppages on major motorways, as well as the blockades of critical infrastructure.
The protests rolled into a sixth consecutive day on Sunday, with spokesmen calling on Government to take urgent action to reduce fuel costs which they say are at unsustainable levels and will lead to people going out of business.
On Sunday morning, gardaí announced all blockades in Dublin had been cleared following an overnight operation on O’Connell St.
It said illegally parked vehicles would be removed and blockading vehicles were removed under escort.
Gardaí said: "Frontline uniform gardaí, plain clothes gardaí and Garda public order units have been deployed. Blockading vehicles being removed under escort."
In a separate operation, gardaí have also been clearing blockades on the M50.
The Coalition is expected to sign off on fuel-cost measures on Sunday, but it remains to be seen if it will convince protesters to call off their actions before the return of schools on Monday adds to pressure on the roads.
Gardaí cleared a blockade of the Whitegate oil refinery in Co Cork around lunchtime on Saturday and vowed to implement further enhanced enforcement actions.
It saw physical clashes between protesters and gardaí, who used pepper spray during the hour-long operation which resecured access for fuel trucks.
Gardaí were later called to a similar action at Galway harbour, where hundreds of protesters gathered in pouring rain while restricting access to a fuel depot by blocking the way with tractors.
Members of the Public Order Unit, wearing protective gear and batons, were at the scene for hours overnight.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly had vowed to step up enforcement against fuel-cost protesters “endangering the State” by blocking critical infrastructure.
Protesters’ demands for meetings with Government were not acceded to but relevant ministers held talks with established national representative bodies on Friday and Saturday.
These meetings concluded with a “substantial” package involving a temporary fuel transport support scheme” and “temporary fuel support”.
It is understood the transport support scheme would see direct payments to businesses in the sectors affected by high fuel costs.
A senior source said the scheme will be part of a broader package on the fuel crisis.
The engagements included Irish Road Haulage Association president Ger Hyland, who said there were “the bones of an agreement” with the Government.
He added that he hoped the “substantial package”, understood to include a direct payment scheme, would be agreed by Sunday morning.
The Cabinet is due to meet on Sunday afternoon to sign off on the measures.
The pledge of a “substantial” package was not enough to dissuade protesters away from other blockades of a fuel depot in Foynes, Co Limerick and the main thoroughfare of Dublin city centre.
Mr Kelly said: “Some people have decided to escalate an already difficult situation by blockading critical national infrastructure such as fuel depots and refineries.
“This has resulted in fuel shortages that are directly impacting on emergency services such as hospitals, the ambulance service and the fire service, as well as businesses and the general public.
“These are blockades. They are not a legitimate form of protest.”
He said: “We gave the blockaders fair warning that we were moving to enforcement and they choose to ignore it and continue to hold the country to ransom.”
A small number of Defence Forces personnel with heavy-lift recovery trucks have been on standby to assist gardai with moving large vehicles if needed.
The escalated enforcement action came after Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said around 600 of the 1,500 filling stations in the Republic of Ireland had run dry on Saturday morning.
He had predicted that the number “would grow quite dramatically” if the blockades on Whitegate in Galway and Foynes, Co Limerick, continued.
Elsewhere, Rosslare Europort was expected to hit capacity by Sunday evening or Monday morning.
Operations at the port, run by Irish Rail, have been affected by a blockade of fuel protesters in the nearby town of Kilrane, Co Wexford.
A spokesperson for Irish Rail said the port will soon be unable to take in any more freight – resulting in ships having to wait on anchor or being diverted to another port if possible.
Blockades have resulted in full closures of parts of the M50 ring road around Dublin, as well as other major motorways.
Meanwhile, police in Northern Ireland said they were “maintaining an ongoing assessment” in relation to social media posts calling for similar planned protests there.
A PSNI spokeswoman said: “A policing response has been prepared, if needed, to ensure public safety and to help minimise any potential disruption to the wider community.”
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