From the Newswire: "After 2 months of media hysteria and hard work on the part of the organisers, the Mayday weekend kicked off with a Critical Mass which was large, vibrant, good humoured and, of course, completely peaceful. Although it's difficult to estimate the numbers of people on cycle-protests, educated guesses from experienced massers ranged from 400 to 700. What's for sure is that it was the biggest critical mass ever to take place in Dublin. It is also certain that it was carried out entirely in a light-hearted atmosphere. Policing was low-key and there were no tensions.

The route took the crowd down O'Connell St, down Dame St, past Christ Church, down the hill to the river, back down the north quays, up O'Connell St and finally around Parnell Square to Mountjoy prison, where a rally was held to demand the release of Polly Murphy - in prison since last Tuesday for the crime of trespass. Cries of 'Our passion for freedom is stronger than your prisons' and 'homes not jails' ran around the crowd."

Indymedia Ireland Mayday Critical Mass Video
Dublin Hosting Biggest Ever Cycle Campaigners Conference on Mayday
Video Clip from 'IMC Travelling Circus' (500K, mpg)
Clip Two from our 'Circus' Friends (800K, mpg)
Some previous Critical Mass reports: September 2003 * Reclaim The Streets '03 * Dublin Cycling Campaign * Dominick St. protest * Belfast "Bikes Not Bombs"
From the archives: Critical Mass and RTS for MayDay 2002

More Pictures and Video at the 'Feature Continues' Link Below . . .

• ORGANISERS CONDEMN BANNING OF MAYDAY PROTEST
• 'THIN GLOSS OF UNITY': DEBATE
• DUBLIN GRASSROOTS NETWORK – GOVERNMENT ARE INCITING A RIOT’
• THREE JAILED: FIRST ARREST DETAILS
• DGN INVITATION TO DUBLINERS
• BOMBSCARE A ’CYNICAL EXERCISE’
• NO-ONE IS ASKING WHY WE ARE PROTESTING?
• ANOTHER EUROPE IS POSSIBLE – MARCH AND CARNIVAL
• DGN NO BORDERS WEEKEND DETAILS

GOVERNMENTS EAST AND WEST OF EUROPE 'UNITE' IN REPRESSION OF DISSENT:
Where are we? Are we in Europe, the UK or Ireland? Are we in Poland because it seems that what has just gone on there in the runup to the EEF Summit is now being replicated here? The Poles stood up to active and ongoing villification and harrassment and made themselves heard despite blanket repression redolent of the Soviet era in Eastern Europe.

MIASMA OF FEAR: UNQUESTIONING MEDIA
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell have succeeded – with the help of an overwhelmingly unquestioning media happy to print Garda press statements verbatim and relay Garda corporate videos over the airwaves - in spreading a miasma of fear and violence and militarism over dear old dirty Dublin.

NOISY PROTESTERS ARE THE TERROR THAT THE ‘WAR’ IS ON? IS IT ABOUT THE OVERTIME? THE BLUE FLU? BIN-LADEN? WAR IS PEACE? A FAVOUR FOR GW?
The Gardai and Irish Government seem determined to conflate International Terrorism with the Anti–Authoritarian Wing of the Global Justice Movement. Repeatedly tonight – Primetime – Ireland’s main TV current affairs programme – hinted at the threat of a Terrorist Spectacular without ever plainly saying the words ‘Al Qaeda’. They also Broadcast what can only be described as a Security Services Public Announcement laying out where and how protesters would be stopped if they attempted to move closer than a distance of approximately four miles from Farmleigh House where the EU Summit is taking place. Basically Protesters are being mixed up with and portrayed as a terrorist threat by the Gardai, State and Compliant Media. The word ‘Agitators’ is substituted for ‘Protesters’ in Primetime lingo. How convenient for this agenda that a ‘suspect device’ was found yesterday in the environs of Mountjoy Square where Indymedia and Community Media Network are welcoming protesters from Ireland and abroad (and others) to an Independent Media Festival. An Indymedia Videographer who was at the scene at the time describes the bomb squad ‘operation’ that ensued as ‘a cynical attempt to justify the militarisation of Dublin’. The pictures and video are worth a thousand words. Sudden Northern Irish style Militarisation of Dublin because of what exactly? Sounds like some surreal upside-down rerun of Derry in the runup to the Troubles to me. ‘Young Hooligans’ (repeatedly and bizarrely scapegoated by the mainstream press as a species of ‘British Invaders’) are once again painted as a threat sufficient to require and justify an open ended anti-democratic pseudo – military response. Wtf? Have the Gardai got a good taste of the ‘Overtime’ from Policing at Shannon? Payoff to prevent a repeat of the Blue Flu’? Or a carefully planned favour (and practice run) to go along with the Shamrock for George Bush and his increasingly unpopular Friends in the EU. Big Bold Demonstrations in Dublin or Shannon when the EU comes back to meet Bush again in Clare might prove to be an embarrasment to ‘Boston’ so why not create a full on climate of fear well in advance of his arrival. It might conveniently keep the natives at home later in the summer. How far the state is willing to go in this pre-emptive campaign of villification and hysterical fearmongering is as yet unclear. We'll know by the end of the summer and the (various) elections.

THE DUBLIN GRASSROOTS NETWORK MEETING POINT IS BEHIND POLICE LINES / BUTCH GARDA PANIC BROADCAST / WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? / WILL THE ENGLISH TURN US INTO ZOMBIES (AGAIN)? Continues . . . . .

From The Newswire:
Armed Garda and Army patrol the streets of Dublin, looking for Wombles.
Is Ireland under martial law?
In a blatant attempt to silence the press I was pushed off the street, told to stop filming as my camera was interfering with their equipment. I left when they threatened to take my video camera. The guy with the gun gave me a slap for my troubles.
- Full Video will follow -

Full account at the 'FEATURE CONTINUES' link below . . . . .

A conversation with Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD (Sinn Feín) about the history of Temple Bar and the Irish tradition of public speaking... Click below for more photos and comments...

On Sunday 25 April 2004, the beginning of a revival of street speaking happened at Dublin's Temple Bar Square.... Click on the MP3 icons to download and listen to the street speakers... Richard Boyd-Barrett, of the Irish Anti-War Movement speaks about street power and the need to speak out against Ireland's complicity in the Iraq War.... Ciaron O'Reilly, of the Dublin Catholic Worker / Pitstop Ploughshares, explains Direct Action from a biblical perspective.... The Shannon Colleens, introduced by Donal O'Kelly, sing about a different kind of Direct Action that could play out at Shannon Airport.... Smith recites his poem about something (you decide).... Green Party candidate: 'Safer, Cleaner and Happier'... more info:FreeSpeech.Community.ie

It is critical to show, during such a display of media power and control as we have seen in the past few weeks in Ireland in the run-up to the EU Summit, that independent groups and people have the ability to create and share their own media, self publish, build networks and communicate freely and autonomously. We have been taking our information autonomy for a while now around here, using the limited means and technologies at our disposal.

In that spirit - here is a (free) guide to what is missing from all centralised and commercialised media in Ireland at present , a clear exposition of the issues that concern those who are preparing to celebrate EuroMayday and to protest the Dublin EU Summit. Don’t get MAD with those thousand foreign journalists and their Irish compatriots when you see these urgent and legitimate concerns glossed over and ignored by the mainstream – get EVEN. Don’t Hate the Media – Become the Media.

Guide to Issues is Here