"The six month insurrection begins here!" - Anarchists perform "No Justice No Peace" street theatre

dublin | eu | news report

Friday January 23, 2004 16:04

by Indymedia Kevin - IMC Éire

A short street theatre play marked the start of a series of anarchist actions for the EU presidency.

News Report and Pictures.

Getting ready in front of the Central Bank

Approximately 100 people showed up in front of the Central Bank yesterday evening at 5pm, for the first public performance of "No Justice, No Peace!", a short street theatre play, organised by the autonomous anarchists in Dublin.

The play focused on issues of State brutality in Ireland in recent years. In three acts, the play touched on the Garda assaults on Reclaim The Streets in May 2002; the McBrearty affair in Donegal; the continued use of Shannon airport by the US Military; and finally the way the State uses prison and the conditions within Mountjoy.

The crowd attempted to march onto Dame Street straight from the Central Bank but was stopped by the Garda as a motorcade (presumably one of the EU Justice Ministers) was escorted past. They marched onto the street near the Georges St junction, and attempted to walk to the gates of Dublin Castle.

There was a heavy Garda presence (roughly 100 uniformed Gardai in the vicinity, three mounted police, a helicopter flying overhead, special branch members mingling in the crowd, motorbikes and vans, and also an unconfirmed report that two vans of riot police were waiting on standby in the cobblestone street opposite Burdoch's chipper).

The Gardai prevented the marchers from getting further up Dame Street than the Parliament Street junction. An amplifier was set up on the road and the narrator announced the beginning of the play - but the Gardai then cleared the road using physical force and steel crash barriers.

One of the organisers said that they intended on having the play in the street itself, but if the performers did get pushed back, then the green opposite the Olympia theatre would be an ideal place to put the play on as a fall back.

The crowd circled around the performers, who dressed up as Gardai (with pig noses, batons, and ridiculous camp hats), Bertie Ahern, a US Soldier, and a High Court judge. Various senior Garda bristled at points during the play when they were mocked, and some of them later come up to the performers asking them why they felt it neccessary to put this on.

There was also heavy Garda surveillance in operation, with two video cameras filming the crowd. Garda Donal Corcoran was also watching the performance. It lasted approximately 20 minutes, after which the
crowd dispersed.

One Garda looks on with his baton drawn.

Bertie Ahern shakes hands with the Garda.

Gardai attempt to stop people marching on Dame Street

March proceeds up towards Dublin Castle

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Comments (10 of 10)

Round two.

Fri Jan 23, 2004 16:06

More pix.

Two Gardai discuss how they are going to frame Frank McBrearty for murder.

More on the way!

by anarchy anarchy anarchy - fuck the EU!

Fri Jan 23, 2004 16:10

The rolling series of anarchist actions mentioned above will be posted up soon on the Earrach/Samhradh site. Any other groups interested in working together then get in touch - we are open to all new creative and imaginative ideas to let people know the EU super state is not good for humanity...

Peace love and ANARCHY ANARCHY ANARCHY

wow anarchists are so cool

by bleh

Sat Jan 24, 2004 01:26

Street Theatre? What the fuck

100 people? More like

by Debra Winger

Sat Jan 24, 2004 01:54

What a pathetic sight the Irish Left has become. Where O where is our James Connolly?

The Anarchistic Beatitudes, Part 7: opposite the olympia

by kahootz

Sat Jan 24, 2004 04:07

what fun ! blessed are the playmakers...

future of protest

by indy-vidual

Sat Jan 24, 2004 05:25

"It is becoming increasingly clear that the age of revolutions is not over. It's becoming equally clear that the global revolutionary movement in the twenty first century, will be one that traces its origins less to the tradition of Marxism, or even of socialism narrowly defined, but of anarchism."

Read on...

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=41&ItemID=4796

by ica

Sat Jan 24, 2004 12:36

The Volunteer leaders became alarmed at Connolly’s drilling, which involved theatrical night marches and feigned attacks on Dublin Castle

course of history

by zebra whinger

Sat Jan 24, 2004 15:44

if you're expecting a straight re-run of history then our james connolly is probably hanging around with some authoritarian trot in the US trying to figure out what on earth all the disoranised anarcho punks are up to and why they oppose the unionification of the dead end workplaces they only want to quit or burn.

Not to worry though, he should figure it out soon, have a quick stop in scotland to try out some theories and then show up here in a few years to be first misunderstood and then spat upon by the comfortable classes before being abandoned, executed and then lionised as a martyr by the next group of glorious leaders to hijack this country.

ah go on...

by matt

Tue Jan 27, 2004 12:04

How can you not like the pig nose?

Who wouldn't matt!

by hs - sp

Thu Jan 29, 2004 17:37

Brilliant work, one thing the iriah left was always missing was a cultural side, theatre, parties all the rest. Its nice to see rts and things like this.

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"The six month insurrection begins here!" - Anarchists perform "No Justice No Peace" street theatre

Comments (10 of 10)