'You have sent your orders to Dublin to ban this parade. Our message is clear. We tell you: get stuffed."
Government that David O'Connell, former chief of staff of the Provisional Fein's 20,000 strong demonstration to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary Irish coalition government, made up of Fine Gael and the Labour Party, fell This was the message to the British IRA, sent out from the Provisional Sinn 1972, of the Easter Rising in Dublin on Sunday.
The attempt to ban the march by the fat. Despite a black-out on Government contronca radio and television, despite a threat to arrest and imprison any speakers, organisers and stewards, despite a warning that any state employees participating would be sacked, Dublin witnessed its largest demonstration since the Bloody Sunday protests in February Indeed, one Labour member of the Dail (Parliament) David Thornlev ioin ed the demonstration as an act of pro test against the Government's increasing attacks.on basic civil liberties.
The attempt to ban the march was not just an attack on the Provisionals, but was part of the Dublin puppet reof the Dail, David Thornley (right), on ne plattorm ourside te Dublin Gru with David O'Connell, joint vice-presi dent of Sinn Fein (centre and Rory O'Brady, president of Sinn Fein, after marchers had defied the Government ban gime's ongoing campaign against Irish Republicanism. Its failure to stop the march represents its first major setback in this campaign.
This opportunity must be used to mount a vigorous campaign against any attempts to victimise those who participated in the demo. As the Movement for a Socialist Republic (Irish section of the Fourth. International) pointed out in a leaflet distributed on the march, the Government's attacks threaten the civil rights of all Irish people. A broad-based campaign will be needed to prevent any further erosion of civil liberties at thi actates or brusa impenausin