Occupy Dame Street (ODS) or Occupy Dublin was a
peaceful protest
Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, const ...
[ and demonstration against ]economic inequality
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of ...
, social injustice
Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals f ...
and corporate greed
Criticism of capitalism ranges from expressing disagreement with the principles of capitalism in its entirety to expressing disagreement with particular outcomes of capitalism.
Criticism of capitalism comes from various political and philoso ...
taking place outside the Central Bank of Ireland plaza on Dame Street
Dame Street (; ) is a large thoroughfare in Dublin, Ireland.
History
The street takes its name from a dam built across the River Poddle to provide water power for milling. First appears in records under this name around 1610 but in the 14th ...
in Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, beside the Temple Bar area of the city. Part of the global Occupy movement
The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and econo ...
, it took its name from the Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest movement against economic inequality and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district, in September 2011. It gave rise to t ...
demonstration in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
's Wall Street financial district. Occupy Dame Street had four requests: the withdrawal of the EU/ IMF from Ireland, an end to public ownership of private debt, the return to public ownership of Ireland's privatised oil and gas reserves, and the implementation of what the movement describes as "real participatory democracy".[ The national police force, Garda Síochána, dismantled their camp during a late-night raid on 8 March 2012. The protesters vowed to fight on.][ Some were never heard of again, while others found other channels of protest. The most detailed account and analysis of events was written by Helena Sheehan.
]
Timeline
2011
The movement started with a series of assemblies at the Seomra Spraoi social centre. Then, after an online Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
and Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
campaign, the occupation began on 8 October 2011, a Saturday afternoon, initially with around 60 protesters who set up camp in tents outside the Central Bank's head office on Dame Street
Dame Street (; ) is a large thoroughfare in Dublin, Ireland.
History
The street takes its name from a dam built across the River Poddle to provide water power for milling. First appears in records under this name around 1610 but in the 14th ...
.[ The tents were attached to each other and were not pegged to the concrete as that would not be permitted.][ A free ]Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...
connection was established anonymously in the first days of the movement.[ The original group was then joined by further people during the days that followed.][ Around 1,000 people passed through the encampment from the afternoon of 8 October and the afternoon of 11 October.] On 22 October, a demonstration in Dublin city centre organised by the group was reported to have over 2,000 in attendance, including English left-wing activist and alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
musician Billy Bragg.
On 12 November 2011, organisers of the movement marched from the Garden of Remembrance at Parnell Square
Parnell Square () is a Georgian square sited at the northern end of O'Connell Street in the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the city's D01 postal district.
Formerly named ''Rutland Square'', it was renamed after Charles Stewart Parnell (1 ...
to their "Tent Town" outside the Central Bank. In mid-November 2011, the Central Bank of Ireland announced it would seek a court order to put an end to the protest taking place outside its headquarters.
The group gained the support of Irish musicians Christy Moore
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...
, Damien Dempsey
Damien Dempsey (born 9 June 1975) is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional Irish folk contemporary lyrics that deliver social and political commentaries on Irish society. Damien sings in his native, working class accent in the Eng ...
and Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top te ...
, who all played separately at the group's "Tent Town" on 8, 23 and 24 December respectively.
2012
The group began their 'Occupy Nama' strategy, whereby group members non-violently occupy NAMA owned buildings for a brief period of time, usually until the intervention of Garda Síochána
Authorities requested the protesters to postpone the camp for the Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...
Parade. Parade Grand Marshal Johnny Giles
Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...
also suggested the protest move for the parade.
Until March 2012, Occupy Dame Street continued to engage in organised meetings, events and actions. Occupy Dame Street's camp was dismantled by Gardaí in the early hours of 8 March during which time some 15 protesters affiliated with the group were present. Protesters announced a demonstration at the Central Bank for later that day and vowed that the destruction of their camp does not mean their quest for justice is over. on the evening of 8 March over 70 people took part in a spontaneous march from Dame Street to a nearby Garda station on Pearse Street
Pearse Street () (formerly Great Brunswick Street) is a major street in Dublin. It runs from College Street in the west to MacMahon Bridge in the east, and is one of the city's longest streets. It has several different types of residential and c ...
in protest of the removal of the camp.
Features
Aubrey Robinson, the son of former President of Ireland
The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces.
The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitu ...
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
, is among the people to have participated.[ The movement held assemblies at 18:00 three days per week. Occupy movement hand signals were encouraged instead of loud cheers.][
]
Responses
In 2011, local Garda Síochána described the movement as "peaceful" and "well behaved".[ In March 2012, they dismantled the Occupy Dame Street camp.][
]Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was ...
received one complaint, but a spokeswoman said: "As it is private property, Dublin City Council has no authority to move these people". This is because the encampment is clear of the public footpath.
Some local businesspeople had complained about the camp saying it affected their businesses.
In December 2011, TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Luke 'Ming' Flanagan praised the efforts of the group in interviews to RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926.
The total budget for th ...
.
On 9 October 2011, the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
Embassy in Dublin warned its citizens to avoid the area where the protest movement is occurring.[
]
See also
* Anti-austerity protests in Ireland
The anti-austerity movement in Ireland saw major demonstrations from 2008 (the year of the Irish economic downturn) to 2015.
The protests began during October 2008 after the Fianna Fáil–Green Party coalition of the 30th Dáil oversaw the im ...
* List of Occupy movement protest locations
* Post-2008 Irish banking crisis
The post-2008 Irish banking crisis was the situation whereby, due to the Great Recession, a number of Irish financial institutions faced almost imminent collapse due to insolvency. In response, the Irish government instigated a €64 billion ban ...
* Post-2008 Irish economic downturn
The post-2008 Irish economic downturn in the Republic of Ireland, coincided with a series of banking scandals, followed the 1990s and 2000s Celtic Tiger period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment, a subsequent p ...
References
External links
Official website
Occupy Dublin
on Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
{{Occupy movement
Post-2008 Irish economic downturn
2011 in the Republic of Ireland
2012 in the Republic of Ireland
Anti-austerity protests in the European Union
History of Dublin (city)
Dame Street
Dame Street (; ) is a large thoroughfare in Dublin, Ireland.
History
The street takes its name from a dam built across the River Poddle to provide water power for milling. First appears in records under this name around 1610 but in the 14th ...
Protests in the Republic of Ireland