Report on pro Ukraine demonstration in Dublin
25 August 2022
Ukrainian Independence Day demonstration
On August 24th Ukraine’s Day of Independence from the Soviet Union, which was at that point in an advanced state of decay and collapse, was marked in Dublin by a demonstration in support of Ukraine’s war effort.
The demonstration had, ostensibly, got the support of various self-described left groups, though on the day it was overwhelmingly Ukrainian in makeup. You could literally count the erstwhile lefties on your hand, as opposed to about 600 Ukrainians made up the bulk of the march. There were also two people from and Ireland Syria solidarity group, though who they were in solidarity with wasn’t clear. The organisers left us in no doubt about the nature of the march and its demands. It was not a march for negotiations, nor even one for a Russian withdrawal as such, though it is fair to say that all of the participants would have wanted them to go. Many of the banners referred to the Azov Battalion, demanding the release of those captured in combat by Russia. Some of the placards referred to them as heroes.
It was basically a right-wing
patriotic march of Ukrainians, notwithstanding the handful of Irish people
on it. The composition of the march indicates that there is little
support for the war, not even amongst the Irish left that claims to support
Ukrainian demands and though it was relatively big, it was small when the
current size of the Ukrainian population is taken into account.