Limerick man recounts confrontation at military-style parade in Dublin

A LIMERICK man has spoken about his decision to protest at the parade by Saoradh though the streets of Dublin on Easter Saturday, days after the shooting dead of journalist Lyra McKee by dissident republicans. 

Seamus Ryan, a columnist for the Limerick Leader’s free sister paper The Leader, was in Dublin to attend a number of plays on the day of the protest. 

Around 200 members and supporters of Saoradh, a self-styled ‘revolutionary party’ marched down O’Connell Street in military uniforms, wearing berets and sunglasses.

“I just happened to be there outside the GPO when this group of numpties cosplaying as soldiers decided to walk up and down O'Connell Street without an apology on their minds,” said Seamus. 

Less than two days after the murder of #LyraMcKee and these jumped-up little terrorists and terrorism apologists of Saoradh are marching through the city of Dublin as though they had support beyond some shower of gobshites propping up a bar.

Not in my name, you little shits. pic.twitter.com/oHzXxpOAii

— Seamus Ryan (@meanderingtripe) April 20, 2019

Seamus, who has been living in Limerick city centre for 26 years, decided to take a stand against the parade.

“As there was nothing stopping me from walking into the parade, I did that. I walked at a normal pace through the gang of formation of men in their military fatigues, telling them in fairly strong terms what I thought of them.

“I said something along the lines of ‘two days after the murder of Lyra McKee in Derry you f*ckers aren't welcome here, get off the streets of my capital city, f*ck off, go f*ck yourselves’,” Seamus added.

Seamus claims that he was then accosted by members of the parade 

“There was a group of chunkily-built heavies who apparently were in charge of the group. One of them stopped me and rather aggressively told me that I was ‘ruining their protest’.

As he stopped me, I decided to ask him whether he thought it was appropriate to march through Dublin dressed as soldiers two days after a murder in Derry by people associated with the same group that was marching,” Seamus explained.

“I basically got told to f*ck off in a rather physically-threatening way.

"A few of the other heavies decided to walk by me, banging off my shoulder as they went. I stood my ground,” he added.

Seamus says that people must take a stand against parades such as the one on Saturday.

“We cannot return to the era when local communities in Ireland and Northern Ireland were cowering in their beds at the thought of fools with guns running around. Their way - the way of the gun, the way of violence, the way of intimidation - wasn't ever acceptable and definitely isn't acceptable in 2019,” said Seamus.

The Leader contacted Saoradh for a reply, but has received no response.