A series of riots in Dublin on 25 February 2006 was precipitated by a controversial proposed march down O'Connell Street of a unionist demonstration. The disturbances began when members of the Garda Síochána attempted to disperse a group of counter-demonstrators blocking the route of the proposed march. The situation escalated as local youths joined forces with the counter-demonstrators.
Background
Love Ulster was a controversial Unionist organisation dedicated to commemorating the Unionist victims of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. This was organised in part by Willie Frazer of Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR).
It was a partisan group established to voice outrage at killings by the Republican paramilitary organisations, but it has been criticised for not doing the same for victims of loyalist paramilitary organisations. Frazer had said of loyalist paramilitary prisoners that "They should never have been locked up in the first place", and that he had "a lot of time for Billy Wright."
An example of this alleged attitude is the previous displaying of the picture of an Ulster Volunteer Force member who was allegedly involved, among others, in the murder of 26 people in Dublin in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan Bombings, and who was himself killed by the Provisional IRA in 1976. His picture had appeared at FAIR rallies and an organiser of the Love Ulster demonstration previously told a republican newspaper that he would not guarantee that images of the murder suspect would not be displayed during the demonstration.
The Love Ulster march in Dublin was to consist of a uniformed band, several hundred activists (including some from the Orange Order) and relatives of victims, all of whom would march from Parnell Street north of the River Liffey, down O'Connell Street, past Trinity College onto Nassau Street, Dawson Street and Molesworth Street, and eventually reaching Leinster House, the seat of the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament), on Kildare Street.
The march of this group in Dublin was viewed as provocative by some Irish nationalists and many Irish republicans, particularly in the context of an Orange Order march. The Orange Order has been accused of being a sectarian organisation and is known for its anti-Catholicism. The right to march was supported by the main Irish political parties and the march was authorised by the Garda Síochána. Love Ulster had organised a similar rally in Belfast in October 2005.
The riot
Sinn Féin, an Irish republican political party, did not organise a protest, and said that the march should be allowed to go ahead, calling for republicans to ignore the march. Republican Sinn Féin, a splinter political party no longer affiliated with Sinn Féin, had an organised presence.
Their protest blocked the north eastern junction of O'Connell Street and Parnell Street. The small Republican Sinn Féin group (and some activists from the Irish Republican Socialist Party) were joined by several hundred local youths. Before the violence broke out, they chanted republican chants. Several thousand bystanders were also on the scene, but took no part in the subsequent rioting. When the marchers had formed up at the top of Parnell Square and their bands began to play in anticipation of the start of the march, gardaí attempted to disperse the protest at around 12:45. At this point, scuffles broke out between protesters and Gardaí.
After the failure of the initial garda effort to disperse the protesters, the violence escalated. The Garda Public Order Unit was deployed and stones and metal railings – to be used for renovation work on O'Connell Street – were thrown at gardaí by protesters; as were fireworks, bricks, crude petrol bombs, and other missiles. As the rioting continued, the ranks of the rioters were swelled by many local teenagers who had not taken part in the initial protest. Several barricades were constructed from building materials on the street to impede the march and the gardaí. The march was due to start at 12:30, but as the violence went on the gardaí decided against trying to escort the marchers through O'Connell Street, and at about 13:30 the assembled marchers returned to the coaches that had brought them to Dublin from Northern Ireland. The three coaches were then driven to Leinster House, where a small parade was carried out, and a letter was handed to Irish Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell. They were then escorted out of the city. One of the coaches was attacked by stone throwers on the way home.