It seems that the mainstream wanted to catch up with the protesting season by having two of its puppet organisations stage protests — “Anti-fascist Ireland” held one at the GPO to ostensibly “reclaim” it from the “far-right.” Yellowvest Ireland, whose website had stated that they were based out of the same building as the Sinn Féin offices before being scrubbed, held another at the GPO.
Neither protest managed to bring together more than a few hundred stragglers, with our estimates at 100-200 at the GPO and 300-400 at the Customs House.
This is a far-cry from the two and three thousand that had taken part in simultaneous protests at Leinster House and the Customs House a number of weeks ago, and it must be noted that the energy surrounding the protest at the Customs House on Saturday was non-existent.
The National Party had publicly dissuaded its members and supporters from attending the Yellowvest protest in the days prior, because of the murky (and so far unaddressed) relationship between the Yellowvest movement and Sinn Féin. Likewise the Irish Freedom Party was not in attendance.
Nothing more ought to be said about the protest at the GPO except that it exists as evidence as to the inability of the far-left to put bodies on the streets. Bally’d up individuals in attendance there belied their fragility — while previously “antifa” would have confronted other protesters, there was no attempt to move from the GPO to the Customs House.
The protest at the Customs House was itself a shambles — individuals brought flags of Lithuania, Slovakia, the US, and even one of the Templar Order. The charade degenerated into a Bob Marley sing-along and a denunciation of political engagement. If political power is not the end-goal of protesting, then what exactly is?
It is clear, both from media coverage in the weeks prior and from attendance at the protest today, that Nationalism is the driving force of the dissident Right in Ireland. When Nationalists do not attend, the protests fail, and long may this continue.
It is high time that the cranks put aside their protest-junkie approach to politics and stop wasting energies on egotistical displays of seeing who can bring out more people for their odious protests about absolute nonsense. Who in their right mind thinks a Brit singing Bob Marley will be the spark that destroys liberalism, and re-establishes the Irish Nation as supreme on this island?
Protests must be coupled with aggressive electoral politics, and must be used to the utmost effect in establishing the Nationalist narrative. After the March for Innocence, the National Party led a petition throughout Dublin West with Patrick Quinlan, demanding the resignation of Roderic O’Gorman.
Another protest has been planned for next week, and this one has been endorsed by Nationalists. We will see clearly where the dividing line lies between Nationalists, and cranks.
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