'I went to Coolock 24 hours after scenes of violence - the mood could not have been more different'
Young kids were laughing and running about while the protesters were peaceful - but clearly determined
We visited Coolock in the aftermath of this week's disturbances - and the mood could not have been more different. Young kids were laughing and running about while the protesters were peaceful, but clearly determined.
By 4pm, more than 200 people had gathered at the site of the former Crown Paints factory - now designated as a centre for international protection applicants. The Irish Mirror got to the scene just before 1pm - and there were less than a dozen people protesting outside the disused factory.
Overnight, members of the Public Order Unit mounted an operation to protect workers who had been brought in to a wall of large concrete slabs at the entrance to the site - where a JCB was set on fire on Monday.
READ MORE: Tánaiste says 'elements' at Coolock protest were 'determined on destruction and aggression'
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The wall meant that people could not access the site - or even see inside it. Numbers at the protest gradually started to increase and by 4pm there were at least 200 people there. The area was largely calm and we did not witness any aggression by anyone in the crowd, which included a large number of women and children.
The crowd was good humoured - but several of them were carrying perspex face visors. That was a precaution against them being caught up in any incident where gardai used pepper spray like last night.
The protesters, many of whom carried Irish flags, were not alone - hundreds of motorists beeped their horns as they passed the site on the busy Malahide Road. And gardai were there also - although not in the same numbers as during Monday’s trouble. A Garda EC135 helicopter hovered over the site for about 20 minutes just after 1pm.
We also observed several uniformed officers patrolling the area and a white Garda van containing several members slowly circled a commercial complex directly across the road from the site. There was also a significant number of officers in standby at Coolock Garda Station, which is only a few minutes away.
But gardai were clearly adopting a low-profile attitude to Tuesday afternoon’s protest - no members of the Public Order Unit were visible on the scene.
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