Gardaí attend scene of anti-vaccination protest outside Stephen Donnelly’s home

Gardaí attended the scene of an anti-vaccination protest outside the home of Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly over the weekend.

It followed a smaller protest which occurred late on Friday night when a handful of protesters travelled to Mr Donnelly's house in a rural area of north Co Wicklow and remained out front for a short time.

At noon on Sunday, about 20 people gathered again outside the house, where they held up placards about the vaccine. Gardaí drove past occasionally but did not intervene.

One attendee announced it was to be “hopefully” the first of many similar protests.

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“This is the start of a people powered movement. We’re going to start bring it to their doorsteps peacefully and lawfully,” they said.

One of the protesters present on Friday night was Dee Wall, also known as Dolores Webster, a well-known far right activist who has previously been visited by gardaí over threats she made to President Michael D Higgins.

In a video filmed outside the Minister’s home on Friday night, she accused medical workers of being involved in the murder of Irish people and promised they would be brought before a court.

Ms Wall has previously appeared to encourage violence against public figures. "You want your vengeance, you can have your vengeance," she told protesters outside a sitting of the Dáil in July. "And I will not open my mouth if you storm the building we're going to, if you take every head out of it and f***ing stand on it."

Mr Donnelly has lived in the home with his wife and three children for several years. Earlier this year, a 2m high wooden fence was erected at the front of the property due to security concerns.

This followed reports of items being thrown at the windows and being left on the doorstep by unknown persons. The protesters at the weekend did not go beyond the wooden barrier and there were no reported incidents.

A spokesman for Mr Donnelly declined to comment on the weekend’s protests or if the Minister and his family were at home at the time.

"Gardaí from Bray and Greystones Garda Station attended at the scene of a demonstration on Sunday 12th September, 2021 at approximately 12.15p.m," a Garda spokeswoman. "This incident passed off without incident," she added.