Offaly Anti-War Movement

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Saturday the 8th of March was a historic day for Offaly as the town of Tullamore witnessed the first ever Anti-War Street Protest in the county.

Organised by the recently formed Offaly Anti-War Movement, OAWM, the march at its height was almost 400 strong as shoppers and Ireland-France rugby fans came out to show their support. Again the protesters came from a broad section of the local community and included many families with young children. Many colourful banners with Peace messages were on display, children carried white balloons and numerous homemade banners with slogans such as �Kilcormac says no to war� and �Ballinagar says not in our name� were on view.

Almost every town and village in the county got a mention. Starting from the GAA Centre and marching behind the banner proclaiming �We demand Peace� the protesters made their way through the town centre. The Mount Bolus Pipe band provided the marching tunes and they were joined by several freelance pipers, drummers and bodhr�n players, adding a carnival atmosphere to the proceedings.

An Activist with a megaphone led the protesters to chants of �US Military Out of Shannon� and �Offaly Says No To War.� The March culminated in Market Square where local OAWM speakers Dave Plunkett, Kieran Moran, Charlene Delaney, Cormac Lally and Ren�e Finlay thanked the large crowd and reminded everyone of the continuing work of the movement. They noted the weekly Friday Evening Candlelight Vigils in O�Connor Square from 6-6.30pm, the need for increased dialogue, Day X and International Women�s Day.

The guest Speaker Mr. Seamus Collins, a director of Aid Organisation Tr�caire, who has personal experience of living in Iraq, gave a moving speech in which he said, �It is always the ordinary poor people who die in wars. 1.5 million people have already died from the12 years of sanctions and this war we will see the deaths of countless more innocent women and children and the creation of at least a million more refugees.� He called for peaceful alternatives and concluded by saying �War is not the answer.�

The last speaker was Mr. Patrick Burke, an American citizen, with a business in Tullamore. He spoke of how American Foreign Policy has created and supported countless despots around the world for many years, how weapons of mass destruction in the middle east today are directly there due to American Foreign Policy. He said that violence begets violence and that it is every person�s duty to stand together for human dignity.

The action shifted to Foresters Hall, where local musicians entertained the protesters for the afternoon. The Offaly Anti-War Movement considers the day to have been a huge success, organised in only 4 days and despite the bad weather. People from all walks of local life showed their opposition to this war and bravely stood up for their beliefs. We would like to thank the 6,000 who signed the petition against war and everyone who gave their time and funded from their own pockets the fight for the noblest cause of all, Peace.

Special thanks to Molly Buckley and Johnny Butterfield.

Give Peace A Chance�.OAWM March 2003