Donal O’Sullivan was among more than 200 people gathered in Ballyhea, Co Cork, to mark the 100th rally in the town to highlight public anger at the decision to hold the taxpayer culpable for the bank debt.
For the past 100 weekends, people have been protesting at the bank bailout, holding a sign which reads: “Ballyhea/Charleville says No to bondholder bailout.” The march lasts just 10 minutes and generally takes place around Mass times in the parish.
The demonstrators gathered yesterday at Ballyhea church in the cold, rain and wind to march through the town. They also made their way to Charleville where a similar protest took place.
Protest organiser Diarmuid O’Flynn, who is a sports journalist with the Irish Examiner, said the march is gaining support every week. “We have people from all over the country. And hopefully . . . people will start to make the link between the austerity . . . and the bond payments that are continuing to be made.” Mr O’Flynn said that when people complain about the household charge, stealth taxes and water taxes, they should know that these are a consequence of the austerity measures being forced upon us while the Government pays billions to foreign bondholders.
The protests in Ballyhea have generated wide interest and been covered by camera crews from Australian, French, German and Korean television stations.
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