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> home - action - news - reclaim the streets Reclaim the Streets: Dublin report from [email protected] Dublin, 27th May 2000 Whayhey, Ireland's very first reclaim the streets...The bouncey castle didn't arrive, the samba band didn't show, and the sun didn't shine. Did that bother the several hundred people who came to take back the streets of Dublin? No fucking way. By three o'clock Dublin traffic was brought to a standstill as hundreds streamed onto the bottom of O'Connell Bridge. Banging drums, dancing and singing in the pissing rain, we held the road for an hour before the pigs managed to shove us off. Then we paraded through the town, blocking the traffic for another hour or so before the rain got too much. It had all started with a lot of confusion that morning because two different locations were given for the rts (more of that later). Only a handful had turned up at 12noon - the original kick off time - most of them being from Belfast! 
By two o'clock though, hundreds had gathered at the bottom of O'Connell St, eagerly waiting for the right time to block the road. We knew by then that the bouncey castle defineately wasn't happening. (The rental place told us that a bouncey castle factory had burned down the night before with the loss of 80 bouncey castles!) Ah well it didn't matter once we sorted out a banger car equipped with sound system. As we rolled the car down to block the bridge, we could hear the drums and cheers of hundreds streaming onto the road. "Reclaim the Streets" banners blowing wildly, they danced onto the street, whooping, hollering, blowing bubbles to the surprised, immobile cars on O'Connell Bridge. What a beautiful sight in our fair city! Starting next Tuesday, the 30th May, there'll be regular public meetings on the last Tuesday of every month in The Cobblestone pub, North King St., Smithfield. There'll be a showing of "The Battle of Seattle" video and an opportunity to talk about further actions - free of any hierarchical bullshit. Photos etc at the website: http://www.eco-action.org/rts/ This report from the [email protected] |
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