news.....news.....news.....news.....news.....

Saturated Road-Stoppers Undeflated By Show-Stopper

Ireland survives bouncy castle disaster to stage first RTS action

15th June 2000 / Squall Download 5, July-Aug 2000, pg. 5.

Ireland's very first Reclaim the Streets demonstration took place in Dublin at the end of May despite a last minute hitch with the bouncy castle.

Traffic was brought to a standstill as hundreds of activists streamed onto the bottom of O'Connell Bridge holding the bridge for an hour before being shoved off by the Gardai (Irish police).

Despite driving rain, activists then marched through the city blocking traffic for another hour before the persistent torrential rain brought matters to a close.

The action almost went wrong from the start when two different locations for the meet up were circulated in a mix up reminiscent of the Easter rising of 1916. Then as activists gathered on O Connell Street, news arrived that the bouncy castle hired for the day wasn't going to show up. The factory which makes them had burned down the night before with the loss of 80 bouncy castles. Finally however, an old banger car equipped with a sound system arrived to bring heart to the drenched activists and the action got under way.

Irish RTS now intended to meet on the last Tuesday of every month in the Cobblestone pub, North King St., Smithfield.