The Unwelcome Committee

Drove into town with Slant to see what was happening. He had been in the previous afternoon and described some of the ugly scenes, so I was wondering if we should be wearing crash helmets. HRH was due to visit Croke Park (or Croaker as the locals call it). Impossible to get the the actual stadium of course. We wandered up Dorset Street and the little demo we came across, at the barricades of one of the many streets that had been sealed off, was peaceful, relaxed even. Slant asked one of the protesters if he didn't think that the laying of a wreath in The Garden of Remembrance (a memorial to the memory of 'all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish Freedom') was an encouraging gesture. 'Ach, she would have laid a wreath for Hitler' was the reply. But at least these people were willing to talk, to shoot the breeze rather than anything, or anyone, else.