Blockades of key fuel and freight sites in counties Galway, Limerick and Wexford ended on Sunday after several days of protest.
Gardaí had cleared a blockade at the Whitegate oil refinery in Co Cork on Saturday afternoon and said it would implement further enforcement actions where necessary.
The six-day blockade at the fuel depot in Galway harbour ended following a co-ordinated operation involving dozens of gardaí, including members of the public order unit. Officers moved in just before 8am, with a series of roadblocks put in place beforehand. Two boats from the Garda Water Unit and a Garda helicopter were also involved.
Special equipment was brought in to dismantle barricades erected last Tuesday. Videos posted online showed heavy vehicles being taken from the area and individuals being removed from the main bridge out to the depot.
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A tanker called Thun Gemini – carrying six million litres of fuel – was able to dock at Galway Port later on Sunday after spending two days waiting in Galway Bay. The boat was unable to land as the tanks in the port, into which it would have unloaded, were full due to supply lines having ground to a halt because of the blockade.
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In Co Limerick, barricades were lifted at the entrance to the Foynes fuel terminal after six days when protesters agreed they would rather go home than face a wall of public order gardaí.
“It’s been a long week, and while this started out as a fuel protest it turned into a movement,” said Eugene O’Connor, a truck driver who helped to organise the blockade.
“We have woke this country up. It’s not just about fuel prices, it’s about a cost of living for everybody in this country.”
O’Connor said he was “very disappointed” to see gardaí use force to remove protesters and open blockades in other parts of the country.
“The last thing we wanted was for it to kick-off here, so we told the gardaí we would stand down, and I think we made our point,” he said.
“I apologise to anyone who missed appointments or anything like that, we don’t want to put anyone out, but this [protest] is what we felt we needed to do.”
Independent Ireland TD Richard O’Donoghue said he “couldn’t be more proud of the people” he met while taking part in the protest. He said he would support similar initiatives in future as long as they were peaceful.
In Co Wexford, a blockade that caused disruption at Rosslare Europort came to an end on Sunday afternoon. The demonstration at Kilrane village, a short distance from the port, began early on Thursday. Hundreds of lorries were denied entry and exit.
Those moving goods deemed non-essential by the protesters were not allowed to pass, though refrigerated units and those carrying pharmaceuticals and food, as well as private travellers, were permitted.
Jane Cregan, spokeswoman for Irish Rail, which runs the port, had earlier warned there would be no capacity to unload freight from docking ships by Monday morning unless truck drivers were allowed access to collect “unaccompanied freight” that had already been unloaded.
Jack O’Donoghue, one of the organisers of the protest, said the decision was taken to avoid any possible escalation of the situation.
“This decision to end peacefully was not made lightly, but we will not be shown to be thugs or bandits,” he said, also saying the protest was held by and supported by a community and would not be tarnished with the threat of escalation.
