100,000 throng Dublin city centre
Saturday's anti-war march in Dublin was the biggest protest the city has seen since the 1970s. Across the world, in over 600 cities and towns, turnouts exceeded everyone's wildest dreams, but nowhere could match Dublin for the sheer proportion of the population that turned out.
During the week, organisers had guessed on numbers ranging from 20,000 to 30,000. On Saturday morning it was clear that there was actually going to be a massive underestimate, as more and more people poured towards Parnell Square.
At 1:30pm, hundreds of Sinn Féin members from Dublin and around the country marched en bloc to the square, carrying distinctive yellow banners calling for 'No War On Iraq', as well as party and cumann banners.
By 2:45pm, those at the front of the march had reached St Stephen's Green Park while thousands still stood waiting to set off at Parnell Square. The march was too large for just one side of O'Connell Street, the city's main thoroughfare, and both sides had to be opened to cope with the numbers.
The most outstanding feature of the parade was its colour and diversity. Political groups were represented, with Sinn Féin, the Green Party and the Socialist Party having the largest contingents, but thousands of people who'd normally only consider attending a Paddy's Day parade turned up as well and protested.
Banners ranged from the mild 'Drop Bush, Not Bombs' and 'No War For Oil', to the more severe 'Bertie, Blair, Bush, B**lix' and the humorous 'Down with this sort of thing'.
Red peace balloons floated over the crowd, and flags from all over the world added colour to the march. The atmosphere was jovial and relaxed as seasoned militants marched alongside people wheeling buggies and walking dogs. This camaraderie was illustrated in unexpected form when, while marching down Grafton street, marchers jumped to the defence of a woman who was being mugged. They successfully got her bag back from the opportunist thief, to loud cheers from onlookers.
The crowd was entertained at various stages en route by singers such as Christy Moore, Mary Coughlan, Kíla, Shane McGowan and Hazel O'Connor and there were many speakers, including Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh. All five Sinn Féin TDs and West Tyrone MP Pat Doherty attended.
The march, and the atmosphere it created in the city, showed the true extent of anti-war sentiment in the 26 Counties. The question is, now that the people have spoken, will the government listen?
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)
