39TH ANNIVERSARY OF ‘BLOODY SUNDAY’ : DUBLIN GPO PICKET , SATURDAY 29TH JANUARY 2011 - BRIEF REPORT AND PHOTOGRAPHS.

At 11.30am today , three RSF members met , as arranged, beneath the Pillars of the GPO in O’Connell Street , Dublin , where they were each given 300 leaflets and were allocated an area in which to distribute those leaflets. As that was being arranged , about twenty-five other RSF activists were leaving Teach Dáithí Ó Conaill in Parnell Street to make their way to the traffic isle facing the GPO and, once there, proceeded to take up position , facing the GPO , and began a picket to commemorate the events of Sunday , January 30th , 1972 : ‘Bloody Sunday’.

RSF ‘Bloody Sunday’ leaflets -
‘Occupation Breeds Resistance…’

‘After a peaceful Civil Rights march..’

Five ‘Special Branch’ operatives were ‘on hand’ for most of the two hours and fifteen minutes that the RSF members were ‘on site’ for , and they recorded the details of all present and attempted to intimidate on-lookers and tourists from approaching those on the protest , but with little success : dozens of people came over to the traffic isle to speak with the RSF members , take leaflets (of which almost one thousand were distributed) and posed between the placards and banners for photographs.

‘Ownership of Ireland…’

‘Never Forget…’

RSF President , Des Dalton , saying a few words at the ‘Bloody Sunday’ picket in Dublin , Saturday 29th January 2011.

‘Declaration of Ownership’ placard at the picket.

‘A Nation Once Again’ : one of the RSF placards on the ‘Bloody Sunday’ picket.

Full marks to Republican Sinn Féin for their work in Dublin City Centre today ; about 30 of their Dublin members and/or supporters stood their ground at the GPO today for over two hours, withstanding the icy breeze that seems to be ever-present in O’Connell Street , refusing to be ‘moved on’ by the political police and distributing almost one-thousand ‘Bloody Sunday’ leaflets - a ‘job’ well done , and appreciated by the dozens of people that came over to talk to these representatives of the Republican Movement. A full report , and more photographs , will be published in the February 2011 issue of ‘Saoirse’ , which goes to print on Wednesday , 9th of that month.
Thanks for reading,
Sharon.