To the bully boys in Dublin

national | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Thursday March 02, 2006 12:30 by Jarlath

Ahern's hate mob headache

Even after 40 years we can still be taken by surprise. No one anticipated the scenes in Dublin on Saturday afternoon. Even the Gardai, who turned up with riot shields, were wrong-footed by the ferocity and scale of the disturbances.

Most of us expected a lacklustre imitation of an Orange parade trundling its way along O'Connell Street, followed by loyal sons piling onto buses to make their way home.

No fuss. No impact. No point.

Instead it turned out to be one of the defining moments of the Republic's democracy.