GENERATION REBELLION
Hundreds protest over climate crisis Mock funeral kicks off week of rallies
CLIMATE protesters who shut down parts of Dublin and had a “funeral” for the Earth have insisted their actions are a last resort.
Hundreds of environmental activists rallied across the capital yesterday as part of the wider Extinction Rebellion group’s week of action.
The protests aimed to highlight our “climate emergency” and similar events are set to take place in major cities around the world for the next six days.
The group’s “Rebel Camp” will be set up in Merrion Square Park, where some members plan to camp for the week.
The rally began at Heuston Station, where a mock funeral – complete with chief mourners and pall bearers – carried a coffin adorned with a globe though the city, followed by hundreds of people, as traffic built up and beeped along Ormond Quay.
Organiser Paul Mccormackcooney said: “We’re deeply sorry for the disruption, we don’t want to be doing this, we don’t want to camp out in the rain and cold, but we have tried everything else, this is the last resort.
DISRUPTION
“For the next week we undertake more disruption around the city, shut down business-asusual and engage that way.” Arriving at the heart of the Irish parliament in Leinster House, a marching band played as they laid down the coffin and erected a large skeleton puppet, which was carried through Kildare Street.
They handed in a letter, signed by over 200 academics. It read: “The Government is complicit in failing to acknowledge infinite economic growth on a planet with finite resources is not possible. “It willingly has implemented policies that allow greenhouse gas emissions to rise and biodiversity to collapse.” Protesters, young and old, held signs that read: “Rebel for life”, “The oceans are rising but so is Carlow” and “Time is running out”. Trinity College’s Megan O’driscoll added: “If we don’t do this there’s nothing left to fight for – this is the defining political issue of our generation.”