Protesters set up camp on South Mall

A hardy group of protesters are still camped on the South Mall in Cork, since they set up there last Saturday.

On Saturday, between 400 and 500 protesters marched through the city centre to protest the presence of the IMF in Irish banking affairs. They are also protesting the bank debt guarantee made by the last Irish government.

The protestors, calling themselves ‘Occupy Cork’, are part of the social media organised 'Occupy Together' protests that have spread globally since they began on Wall Street on 17, September.

They plan on staying for the foreseeable future or until the group decides to leave through a consensus-reached decision or authorities ask them to leave. The group is non-violent, non-party political and no drugs or alcohol are allowed on the campsite, which is next to the Electric bar and restaurant.

On Tuesday night between 30 and 35 people stayed in the campsite overnight, while the number was 52 on Monday night. More protestors arrived yesterday (Wednesday) from Wicklow, Dublin and Fermoy. The group contain about the same proportion of men and women, and most protesters are in their 20s. 

Liam Mullaney was one of the original steering committee that helped to organise the Occupy Cork protest. He said they had been inspired by New York, “which had given them a modus operandi, a self-organised and consensus based way of doing things, using meetings”.

The group has organised meetings each day. Yesterday, there was a manifesto meeting, a public assembly, an economic history talk, a natural health talk, a general assembly, a consensus and facility workshop and a public meeting.

Liam Mullaney said: “The response has been fantastic, from the Gardaí to the council. We’ve helped them out and they’ve helped us out. We’ve had security here doing nothing at four or five in the morning so they went onto the Grand Parade and picked up rubbish.”

The camp has a solid look to it, with a generator working intermittently, and a central tent structure that houses free, communal food, utensils, drinking water, as well as a laptop, a library and a notice board. “The whole thing can be disassembled in a day,” he said.

As to the question of how long they will stay, he says it is up to the group to decide through consensus. “But if you’re asked to leave then, you would do so peacefully,” according to the activist. At the moment, they are “waiting on advice on the legal status." 

He said they have had donations from all manner of people, who have given them money, cookers, tents, blankets, lots of food, hot water and manual labour. They have a wish list online on their Facebook page. “The response is usually within the hour," he said.

He said that members of the public have been very receptive and supportive. He told of one woman in her 60s who stopped her car in the middle of the South Mall, and in tears, told the group about her financial problems and how she felt she had no voice.

Giving people a voice and showing other groups that something can be done, is very much part of what they are trying to achieve, according to the Kinsale resident. The movement began in Ireland when a group set up camp outside the Central Bank on Dame Street, Dublin last Saturday week. In Galway, protesters have set up a camp at Eyre Square since last Saturday.

The group are organising a general protest in the city centre next Saturday. Check the Occupy Cork Facebook page or follow @OccupyCork on Twitter for further information.