Bank holiday saw third anti-asylum-seeker protest in five days

A crowd of between 200-300 marched through Mullingar yesterday afternoon (Monday), protesting at the plans to use Columb Barracks as an accommodation centre for refugees.

The crowd assembled at Columb Barracks, but opted to march to the Market Square in order to keep access to the barracks free for members of a sporting organisation that trains there.

Organisers appealed to those taking part in the march not to wear masks but to show their faces, and to ensure the protest was conducted in a peaceful fashion..

A local woman, Siobhán, received much support for her speech, in which she said government needs to stop accepting “illegal asylum seekers”, and stating that there are important questions needing answers:

“How many asylum seekers is ‘too many’ asylum seekers?” she asked. “When are we going to stop?”

Siobhán, who declined to share her second name, expressed fears of “a migrant village” in Mullingar.

Siobhán also stated before the assembly that the government is planning laws to make it illegal to protest “in certain areas” and to stop freedom of speech.

“So it's very important that we make sure we keep this momentum going and we stay on the streets and we defend what's ours: it is not racist to want to protect your own race and defend your own nation,” she stated.

“We are not obliged to have open borders. We are not obliged to take any more people in to this country. We need to close the borders now!”