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This afternoon a protest rally will take place in Cork calling for an end to the lockdown restrictions.
The organizers, The People’s Convention, have said it will be a peaceful event and have described the risk of trouble there to the minimum.
Gardaí has said that an extensive police plan has been put in place to monitor the event.
After last weekend’s violence at a protest against the blockade in Dublin, attention has turned to the Cork rally, scheduled for 2 p.m.
Organizers have said the event will be peaceful and that attendees are at greater risk of being run over while crossing the street than of witnessing trouble at the rally.
The Garda plan involves Gardaí from the Cork North and Cork West divisions, which are being drafted to boost the number of Garda in the city.
Specialized national units will also join them, including Air Support and Law Enforcement Units, along with Mounted and Dog Garda Units.
Garda Superintendent Liam Geraghty has said that public gatherings are prohibited under Level 5 public health regulations, and that they will be enforced.
He said the organizers of this afternoon’s event have been identified and spoken to, adding that they have been told they will be investigated if the event continues.
Superintendent Geraghty also said that traveling for the purpose of attending the rally is not a reasonable excuse. Gardaí will impose the 5 km limit on trips and those who violate it will be sanctioned.
“Our appeal is to the people not to break the regulations and our hope is that there is no orchestrated violence, but we have a plan for what may happen,” said Superintendent Geraghty.
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Diarmaid Ó Cadhla is a former member of the Cork County Council. He describes himself as a spokesperson for today’s event, appointed by the People’s Convention. He denies being the organizer of the event and refused to identify those who are organizing the rally.
“Number one is not relevant and number two can lead to unnecessary and petty persecution and that should be avoided,” he said, when asked why he did not identify those who were organizing the event.
When asked who could carry out this persecution, he replied: “The State.”
He said he didn’t think there were any problems at the rally. “This is a peaceful event. It is a family event, I hope my own grandchildren will be with me that day,” he said.
Ó Cadhla said he did not accept the argument that there was an increased risk of violence in today’s protest in Cork, given what happened at last weekend’s anti-closure protest in Dublin.
When asked about the risk of trouble in Cork today, he said: ‘I think it’s so small; you have a higher risk of getting run over when crossing the street. I don’t think there’s a realistic prospect of it happening, but we’re not.’ calm down ‘on that
“We are taking steps to make sure we stay tuned for the day and if we see a hint of anything, we will report it to Gardaí immediately,” he said.
Ó Cadhla said that the organizers would take responsibility for what they organized, but not for any problems that might occur in Cork.
He said he condemned the violence that happened in Dublin as, he said, any reasonable person would.
“There may be a lunatic anywhere, or there may even be an agent sent among us to create trouble. We will try to avoid that and I’m pretty sure the gardai will be very vigilant to prevent it as well. But the probability and history of that here it doesn’t exist, “Ó Cadhla said.
He said the rally was being organized to give a voice to people who were frustrated and angry about the ongoing blockade in Ireland which, he said, was longer than the blockade of any other European state, and five times longer than in Germany.
Ó Cadhla said he was not a Covid-19 denier but wanted a “proper” public health service, looking at all diseases that affect people, including cancer, heart care and mental health.
He said the Covid-19 death figures were being “distorted” and claimed that neither the Government nor the National Public Health Emergency Team were telling the truth about the virus.
“The death figures, although we sympathize with everyone, are not all Covid deaths,” Ó Cadhla said. “They are being distorted by this logic of people dying with Covid and so forth, or they can have a heart attack and fall like a Covid death. That’s not right.”
He said he condemned the violence that occurred in Dublin last weekend, but said it was carried out by “a small minority.”
He said such violence would not be in the nature of the Cork demonstration, adding that he also did not believe it was in the nature of the Dublin protest, but that the violence had “skewed” the information about the event.
He said there would be several speakers at the rally in Cork and that several musicians would also perform.
Ó Cadhla said he was quoting Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, saying that the country had taken on a debt of 50 billion euros due to the virus.
“People will have to pay this debt,” he said, “how and why and when we are not told and if we try to discuss it, they somehow label us terrorists or rioters of some kind. We are not that.” “
He rejected calls to cancel the rally, adding that it had been announced on social media five weeks ago and the organizers had decided to continue.
Among those calling for the rally to be canceled is the Mayor of Cork, Councilor Joe Kavanagh.
He said the rally is likely to lead to a large gathering of people in the city center.
“I am not a medical expert and I do not pretend to be,” Cllr Kavanagh told RTÉ News, “but we are all guided by medical experts who really know what they are talking about.
“What they have clearly said is that any large gathering should be avoided and (this demonstration) qualifies as a large gathering, so I ask whoever is organizing this meeting to cancel it.
He also asked people who are considering attending the rally not to do so.
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