'There are grown men crying because they are two weeks away from losing their business'
David Raleigh
“Things aren’t right in this country, there are grown me here crying because they are two weeks away from losing their business.”
Truck driver Eugene O’Connor summed up the mood amongst the fuel protestors after their blockade at Foynes, Co Limerick, ended after six days, on Sunday.
“These men work hard so, something needs to change, something needs to change,” said O’Connor who slept in the cab of his truck throughout the week-long blockade.
Barricades were lifted at the entrance to the port town’s fuel terminal after protestors agreed they would rather go home to their loved ones rather than face a wall of public order gardaí.
The public order unit used force to open similar blockades at Cork and Galway and arrested a number of protestors in those counties.
The Foynes blockade remained peaceful throughout its six day operation which began last Tuesday as part of national protests against rising fuel prices.
“It’s been a long week, and while this started out as a fuel protest it turned into a movement - We have woke this country up. It’s not just about fuel prices, it’s about a cost of living for everybody in this country,” said O’Connor, who helped organise the demonstration.
O’Connor, who took up driving trucks after his career singing in a band suffered due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, acknowledged “we haven’t got what we wanted”.
However, he said he believed the protest had “woke up” people and politicians to realise that if farmers and truckers can’t afford fuel in their tanks “there is no food on the table for people”.
“Yes we are going to be called names by people who don’t support us, but this wasn’t selfish, this isn’t about us, this is about the country.”
O’Connor said he was “very disappointed” to see gardaí use force to remove protestors and open blockades in other parts of the country.
“Thankfully, we decided that we would be peaceful here in Foynes, the last thing we wanted was for it to kick-off here, so we told the Gardaí we would stand down, and I think we made our point.
“I apologise to anyone who missed appointments or anything like that, we don’t want to put anyone out, but this (protest) is what we felt we needed to do.
“There was no riot squad but if we didn’t (stand down) there would be, we were told that we had a choice, to stand down peacefully or the riot squad (public order unit) would be coming.”
Fighting back tears, Independent Ireland TD Richard O’Donoghue, who stood with the blockade over its six days, said: “It’s emotional, all the people here are tired. I couldn’t be more proud of the people I met here, they are the most genuine hardworking people.”
“They are hurt, and to say our arrogant government couldn’t see that - that to me has cut me in two,” said O’Donoghue.
O’Donoghue thanked supporters who brought toilets, tents, wet gear, food and refreshments for the protestors.
O’Donoghue said the Foynes protest group voted in favour of opening up the blockade because it did not want to gardaí to use force to disperse the protests.
“The Foynes protestors came in here peacefully and they wanted to leave peacefully,” said O’Donoghue.
“They voted unanimously that they wanted to go home to their wives, husbands, partners. They felt that they had won this battle but they wanted to tell the government that the war is not over.”
Mr O’Donoghue said he would support future blockades and protests “but only if they are peaceful”.
He thanked gardaí under the direction of Chief Superintendent Derek Smart and Superintendent Michael Fleming, who he said engaged with the protest in a calm and measured manner.
“Limerick has actually shown that a peaceful protest can make a point and shove it right across the country and make the government feel it. Government were in cabinet last night until two and three clock arguing amongst themselves.
“The argument is not over.”
Additional soft-capped uniformed gardaí that had been on stand by in nearby Rathkeale were bused into Foynes after the blockade was opened to keep a watching brief on a small number of people who remained there for about an hour afterwards.
No trouble was reported and the last of the protestors left the area later.
