AFTER angry scenes at an Irish Freedom Party (IFP) rally in the city centre last month, the organisers, who are planning a return visit, have hit back at comments made by the Limerick Socialist Party.
A crowd of up to 100, made up of mainly young people with Pride flags, gathered to challenge the IFP rally days before Christmas.
The rally at Bedford Row was dispersed by Gardaí after an IFP supporter attempted to tear a Pride flag out of a counter-protester’s hand while shouting homophobic slurs and death threats.
One anti-fascist activist named Steph, who attended the rally, claimed the Irish Freedom Party were “attempting to camouflage their intentions to impose restrictions based on their racist, homophobic, sexist, and transphobic ideas”.
This week Chairman of the IFP, Michael Leahy, spoke to the Limerick Post on the matter.
“On the day in question there were some 40 to 60 counter demonstrators mainly centred around LGBT issues. This was rather strange as our gathering had nothing at all to do with LGBT issues. It was clear from the outset that the purpose of the counter demonstration was to prevent our party from having a platform and to prevent us from getting our message to the people,” Mr Leahy claimed.
He went on to say that those who attended the counter-demonstration are clearly afraid of alternative views being heard and have no interest in constructive debate.
“We offer an alternative vision to the message of fear and intolerance which is promoted by big Pharma, by big business and by the strong leftist ideology which dominates our government. We are determined that Irish people should be aware that there is an alternative political vision, and we have in recent months organised a number of successful public meetings in major towns and cities.
“The counter demonstrators were also intent on provoking a reaction including by dancing lewdly directly in front of our speakers, making sexually explicit gestures towards our supporters and referring to our supporters as ‘scum’ and ‘Nazis’.”
Mr Leahy also claimed that many of the counter-demonstrators were pushing against IFP supporters and one of their members placed the flag of the LGBT movement on the Richard Harris statue.
“One of the people in our audience was a friend of the Harris family and took exception to this defacement of public property and attempted to remove it. At this stage, two scuffles broke out and the guards intervened.”
The IFP Chairman believes that in this instance the meeting could have proceeded and order could have been maintained.
“It is most regrettable that a group intent on silencing a legitimate political party should be allowed to succeed in preventing a public meeting by engaging in disorder. This sends a very bad message out to those who want to silence legitimate political expression.”
He added that the IFP is already planning another Limerick rally for 2022.
