Dozens of gardaí, including members of the Public Order Unit, were deployed to the Four Courts on Tuesday morning to ensure opponents of the Covid-19 movement restrictions did not gain access to the building.
About 40 people, some waving tricolours or holding copies of the Constitution gathered outside the courts building in support of activists Gemma O’Doherty and John Waters, who are taking a case against the State arguing the restrictions are illegal.
The group were gathered closely together and few wore face masks. Gardaí advised some to return to their homes but no arrests were made. The Operation was overseen by Assistant Commissioner for the Dublin region Pat Leahy and Superintendent Ann Markey of Store Street Garda station.
The Garda and the Court Service were eager to avoid a repeat of last week when 100 people gathered for three hours in the Round Hall of the Four Courts for about three hours while Mr Waters and Ms O’Doherty were in court.
The hearing was moved to Court 24, which is only accessible via the street entrance on Chancery Lane.
Early this morning uniformed gardaí blocked off both ends of Chancery Lane and only let those with legitimate court business pass. Around the corner on Church Street were vans carrying a number of members of the Garda’s Public Order Unit. Two large vans used for prisoner transport were also parked nearby.
The protesters gathered outside the Four Courts at about 10am where a woman told them “not to break the law or “give the guards an excuse to arrest us.”
They then followed the plaintiffs to the Garda cordon where members of the group argued with gardaí for about 10 minutes about their right to attend court.
The group then remained outside while Ms O’Doherty, Mr Waters and another woman were permitted to enter.
At one stage Garda Public Order Unit, stood near the cordon before pulling back around the corner out of sight of the protesters.
The protesters waited in front of the Four Courts for nearly a hour where some argued with gardaí and others conversed with them in a friendly manner. On several occasions, gardaí advised some of the group to return to their homes under the Health Act 1947.
When gardaí told a group of protesters they were engaged in non-essential travel, one woman argued she has business before the court. She claimed she and the others were present in an advisory capacity to Mr Waters and Ms O’Doherty and were waiting outside in case they were called in for advice. Two members of the group distributed literature to passersby.
The two plaintiffs were met with cheers and applause when they left the court.
Ms O’Doherty addressed the group where she made certain claims about Covid-19 and threatened gardaí they will be brought before a “Nuremberg ” tribunal for their role in enforcing the regulations.
Mr Waters then began criticising the media, leading to shouts of “fake news” and “traitors” towards the small group of journalists present. The protesters then dispersed without incident.
The case was adjourned until next Tuesday.
The Garda Commissioner has appointed a senior officer to inquire into the large gatherings of people outside the Four Courts both this week and last.
“We made it clear at the time that they were in breach of the regulations and they were given warnings,” Commissioner Drew Harris said of the first court appearance.
“That is not just to investigate today’s events but he events of last week as well. And obviously that is for the purpose of identifying individuals, interviewing them and then presenting a file of evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions. So that’s ongoing.
“I would say to individuals who do intend in the future to go to the Four Courts that they are in jeopardy of committing offences and being reported in terms of breaching the regulations.”
