Protesters stage well-mannered sit-in
Campaigners at the central bank in Dublin, who were inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, are angry but decidedly polite
Wednesday 12 October 2011 16.06 BST
Protesters outside Ireland's central bank in Dublin city centre are inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
They may be filled with rage against the capitalist machine, but the demonstrators outside Ireland's central bank are a polite bunch of radicals.
The protesters are under strict instruction not to harass or even say a cross word to the bank officials filing past their camp each morning.
Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in the US in the past month, the Occupy Dame Street protesters have been camped out in front of Ireland's central bank since Saturday.
But the activists stress that their protest is entirely peaceful.
They have appointed Sean Creagh, a business studies student from Deansgrange in the south of county Dublin, as their liaison with the Garda Síochána, the Irish police force.
Dressed in a high visibility yellow jacket, Creagh explains that the plan is to help the garda keep the peace at the camp.
The organisers have banned alcohol and drugs from it and will help the police to extract anyone breaking that rule.
"I have been talking to one of the local garda inspectors in the city who is in charge of policing the protests," Creagh said. "To be fair, the garda have been good because we have kept a clear dialogue with them.
"The idea is we want a peaceful protest and we don't want to cause any direct trouble.
"We have a policy of not hassling anyone going into work and have kept the walkway into the central bank open all the time."
Creagh explained why the movement has not targeted the headquarters of one of the main Irish banks which helped cause the country's fiscal crisis through reckless lending to property speculators.
He said: "You have got to remember that inside that [central bank] building there is a full-time official from the IMF who, unelected by anyone in Ireland, is actually running our country's economic policy.
"That person is in there carrying out the IMF's diktats to the Irish people. This is why we are here. It's the symbolism of that."
There are 20 two-person tents at the camp and about 60 protesters. There is also a covered area which houses a makeshift kitchen and food station.
David Johnson is a 38-year-old IT consultant who specialises in helping fledgling technology and computer startups.
He worked for a US multinational until he left to start his own business.
Johnson now spends up to 16 hours a day at the camp.
"I would not be your traditional student militant or even overtly political – I am in fact a business owner," he said.
"But I am here because I am disgusted at the way this country has been run for the benefit of the very, very rich.
"Like everyone else around, I was inspired by the Wall Street occupation movement.
"Yes we are angry. Yes we want radical change – but it is all very polite really."
