2010 student protest in Dublin

2010 student protests in Dublin
Part of Anti-austerity protests in Ireland
Mounted members of An Garda Siochana confront student protesters outside the Ministry of Fiance building
Date3 November 2010
Location
Dublin, Ireland

The 2010 student protest in Dublin was a demonstration that took place in the centre of the city on 4th November 2010 in opposition to a proposed increase in university registration fees, further cuts to the student maintenance grant and increasing graduate unemployment and emigration levels caused by the 28th Government of Ireland.[1]

Poster by the Union of Students in Ireland advertising the march

Organized by the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and students unions nationwide, it saw between 25,000 and 40,000 protesters on the streets of central Dublin during what The Irish Times described as "the largest student protest for a generation".[2] The protestors came from all over Ireland – students from most third-level colleges featured, as did some protestors from Queen's University Belfast[3][4] – with many travelling to the city by coach.[2] It took more than an hour and a half for all the protestors to walk from Parnell Square to Government Buildings in Merrion Street, a short distance.[2][5]

Some protestors and gardaí engaged in clashes following the protest, with an unidentified number of people being wounded and three gardaí sustaining minor injuries; two arrests were made.[6] The two men who were arrested were in their twenties and charged with criminal damage and a breach of the peace respectively.[6] The Department of Finance was occupied by protestors for a time, and 36 complaints of police brutality were made of which just over half were admitted;[7] these led to a further march by students seven days later with the intention to "end garda brutality".[8]

Presseurop wondered the day after thousands of students marched on the streets of Dublin: "Has Ireland awoken?" and said the protest had "Giv[en] the lie to general opinion that the economically stricken nation has taken swingeing austerity measures with passive resignation".[9] Similar events occurred across Europe with the 2010 student protest in London happening one week later.[10]

  1. ^ "Over 25,000 Students Expected at USI Protest March". Union of Students in Ireland. 3 November 2010. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Flynn, Seán (4 November 2010). "25,000 protest against fees increase". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Archived from the original on 11 November 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference QUB students join Dublin fees protest was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Pearl, Aine (11 November 2010). "Irish Student Protest". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Thousands of students expected to protest". TV3 News. TV3. 3 November 2010. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Gardaí, students clash in Dublin". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 3 November 2010. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  7. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Up to 500 students protest over Garda behaviour was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Has Ireland awoken?". Presseurop. 4 November 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Sound familiar? Student protest in London turns nasty". thejournal.ie. 10 November 2010. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.