People Before Profit and activist groups have condemned what they described as “excessive and illegal use of force” by gardaí against pro-Palestine protesters at the weekend, allegedly resulting in several injuries.
Thousands of people marched through Dublin’s city centre towards Leinster House on Saturday in the 17th national mobilisation of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) since October 2023.
Conor Reddy, People Before Profit councillor for Dublin north west, said he witnessed violence used by gardaí against a separate breakaway group of what he said were “around 150 peaceful protesters” who were marching towards Dublin Port when they encountered a Garda line.
Last Thursday evening, a similar demonstration in support of those on board the Gaza aid flotilla had blocked the southbound lane of the Dublin Port Tunnel, disrupting traffic.
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Videos posted online at the weekend appear to show incapacitant spray and long batons being used on protesters by the Garda Public Order Unit in the East Wall area of Dublin on Saturday.
Two people were arrested for public order offences after a “co-ordinated effort to breach” a cordon at the port, gardaí said.
One member of the group, who has asked to remain anonymous while his case was being investigated by the Irish Council of Civil Liberties, sought medical attention on Saturday after sustaining a broken wrist.
Video footage seen by The Irish Times appears to show the 26-year-old man approach a Garda at the protest with both his hands up. The Garda is then seen pushing the man, who falls backwards on to the ground.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy called for an “urgent Dáil debate this week on the Garda violence against Palestine protesters” and he demanded a statement from Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.
In a statement on Monday, Mr Murphy said several protesters had been injured “including one with a broken wrist and multiple head injuries”.
“I think it’s reasonable to presume that people were going down there to engage in civil disobedience,” he said, “but I don’t think that justifies this disproportionate level of violence from gardaí.”
Last month, the Dublin South-West TD joined an international flotilla of aid-carrying boats hoping to break Israel’s long-standing naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.
He described the scenes on Saturday as “the most extreme display of Garda violence in a long time”.
Mr Murphy spoke at the IPSC demonstration at the Dáil on Saturday. However, he did not attend the “breakaway” protest with Mr Reddy.
Having joined the smaller protest after marching to Leinster House, Mr Reddy described what he saw as an “excessive and illegal” use of force by gardaí on the crowd, which included “Palestinians who have lost family members in Gaza, students, older people and people with disabilities”.
“I can’t over emphasise how new and young a lot of these people are,” he said, saying the use of force “felt like a punishment.”
The Ballymun-Finglas councillor expressed concern at what he believed constituted a breach of Garda protocol where dispersants were “used much closer than the one-metre minimum distance” and batons were used at head height.
The IPSC, the Student Neutrality Front and Boycott Divest Sanction groups from Trinity College, UCD and DCU also issued statements criticising the response.
In response to questions, a Garda spokesperson said there was a constitutional right to peaceable assembly “subject to statutory provisions” including the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1984.
“Any Garda activity in relation to evolving events involves a graduated policing response taking into account relevant legislation and public safety, with enforcement as a last resort,” the statement said.
“An Garda Síochána conducted two separate interventions in the course of these public gatherings in response to co-ordinated and concerted efforts to physically breach the Garda cordon, while on occasion also being subject to a number of missiles thrown towards Garda members.
“During the second intervention, members of the Garda National Public Order Unit, dressed in ’soft cap’ uniform, supported by frontline uniformed gardaí, once again intervened to prevent a breach of the Garda cordon which included the use of incapacitant spray and baton.
“As previously highlighted, two individuals were arrested in the East Wall area for public order offences.
“An Garda Síochána has no further comment at this time on operational matters related to this public disorder incident.
“Any person who believes that they were treated inappropriately by a member of An Garda Síochána is invited to make a complaint regarding their interaction to the office of the independent police ombudsman, Fiosrú.”
