Hundreds of Wexford people march on capital

Over sixty members of County Wexford Sinn Féin attended the National Rally against the Household Tax in Dublin last Saturday. Led by Enniscorthy Councillor Johnny Mythen, the Sinn Féin contingent was among a large turnout of people from across County Wexford who marched on the Fine Gael Ard Fheis with a message of defiance – We’re not paying the inequitable household tax.

Ferns based fire-fighter Dominic Gaughan, known by many who have attended recent anti household tax protests in County Wexford as the man with the flag, was among those who addressed the crowd of well over five thousand. Mr Gaughan, pointing his tricolour at the National Event Centre which housed the Fine Gael Ard Fheis, said that people needed to stick together and reject government austerity.

Among those who travelled to Dublin was a large group of young Wexford republicans who produced their own colourful posters which captured the attention and mood of the crowd. One portrayed local Fine Gael TDs Paul Kehoe and Liam Twomey as Dick Dastardly and Muttley from Wacky Races, while another depicted Minister Alan Shatter as a surfer uttering ‘Get a life dudes’ after the Minister had said earlier that day that protestors against austerity should get a life.

After the march Cllr Johnny Mythen reacted angrily to Fine Gaels attempts to ignore the protest, one of the largest seen in our nation in recent years.

“Fine Gael tried to ignore us,” Cllr Mythen said, “They actually pulled down the blinds in the building to block off their view of the thousands of ordinary citizens who chanted out, out, out to Enda and his austerity policies. They pulled the blinds on us but the Irish people will pull the plug on them.”