'We just want change'

The protests sparked by the rise in fuel costs broadened out as the days went on last week to include the general cost of living crisis, and that sentiment was reflected on the Market Square in Mullingar on Sunday afternoon.

Several hundred people gathered around a tractor parked on the Square, which gave the event a context and linked it to the wider protests on the main roads, including the N4 Mullingar bypass.

Speakers were invited to step forward and have their say, and it was clear that more than the cost of diesel, petrol and home heating oil was on their minds.

They included people of different ages, and the final speaker was Orlaígh Proctor, a mother of four, who made the point that at the age of 41, she and her partner can’t afford to buy a home.

Her partner is Andrew Smith from Moyvore, a mechanic, and the family live in Ballymahon. Addressing the crowd, Orlaíth spoke loud and clear: “This is what it means to be Irish!” she said to a chorus of cheers. “We are peaceful and want to be heard.” Referring to the protests, she continued: “Those men have been out in the cold and the wet, in the dismal weather we’ve had this last week, and none of them have gone home to their families, none of them have gone home to their children. They are here. We are here to stand with them, because each and every one of us is affected.

“I’m 41 years of age and I still can’t manage to buy a home for my four kids, because there’s crisis after recession, after bust, after pandemic, and this country’s doing nothing. We are such amazing, true Irish people and don’t you ever forget it. Up the Irish!”

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Orlaígh expanded her point briefly: “This government haven’t looked after the people – they were re-elected to do that, and they haven’t done it. I’m in that generation who haven’t caught a break, and we just want change,” she said.