Cork’s city councillors have urged Garda management to crack down on far-right agitators who are targeting public library staff.
The call came after it emerged the city’s main library on Grand Parade had to close for the first time in more than a century last March amid fears of a protest, and was closed again last Friday during another rally.
The use of injunctions and new bylaws is being considered as part of a wider response to increase protections for staff of the central library, but several councillors urged gardaí to take a much stronger stance against those involved in the “bullying and intimidating” protests.
“Garda management must be more consistent in the handling of these incidents,” Labour councillor John Maher said.
“It’s not good enough to escort protesters opposing Nato one day, and leave a vocal minority shout slurs, take videos of innocent workers the next day.”
He made his comments during an impassioned speech at Monday’s council meeting on a motion he tabled with Green Party councillor Colette Finn calling on the council to publicly reaffirm its ongoing support and solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and with all workers who have endured bullying and harassment from a vocal minority.
The debate came just days after hundreds of people marched through the city centre in solidarity with public library workers who have faced threats and intimidation in their workplace from protestors opposed to LGBTQ+ reading material.
Mr Maher said he wanted to quash the perception that councillors have been afraid to speak out on this issue.
“I am very proud of our city but the reality now is that many don’t feel safe. These protests are wrong, intimidating and intrusive, and are the act of a coward. We are not scared of bullies,” he said.
Ms Finn said those on the far-right must be faced down, and added: “I want gardaí to follow through on laws.”
Sinn Féin councillor Mick Nugent said the protests in the library have “gone too far” and those involved need to be “faced down and challenged”.
Independent councillor Mick Finn said senior Garda management needed to look at their policing approach, while Workers’ Party councillor Ted Tynan praised trade union Fórsa for organising the rally and said those involved in the protests were dangerous people who must be faced down.
Fianna Fáil councillor Fergal Dennehy said those involved in such protests have nothing else to do.
“And their tactics are disgusting. If you work in the library of the city council, or in a shop, you are entitled to a safe workplace, and the gardaí should come in and solve that problem,” he said.
City librarian David O’Brien told councillors in the early stages of this protest, his image appeared on a website where he was labelled “a paedophile”.
He paid tribute to library staff who he said had been supporting each other throughout the last few months but he said management had been trying to manage and respond to the protests without adding “fuel to the fire”.
“The key principle of the library service is that libraries are open to everybody without reference to gender, class or creed. The right to protest is there and whatever your record is outside the door, we have no issue with them provided they behave when they are inside,” he said.
But he said following a risk assessment in March linked to protests on the Grand Parade, he said a decision was taken to temporarily close the library for the first time in over 130 years amid fears some of those involved would rush the building. The library was temporarily closed again last Friday during the solidarity rally.
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