Occupy Dame Street

Occupy Dame Street
Part of the Occupy movement and anti-austerity protests in Ireland
The entrance to Occupy Dame Street's "Tent Town" on 19 December 2011
Date	From 8 October 2011 to 8 March 2012
Location	Dublin, Ireland
Caused by	Economic inequality, corporate influence over government, Populism, inter alia.
Methods	Demonstration Occupation Nonviolent protest Street protest Internet activism
Number
2,000+

Occupy Dame Street or Occupy Dublin was a peaceful protest and demonstration against economic inequality, social injustice and corporate greed taking place outside the Central Bank of Ireland plaza on Dame Street in Dublin, beside the Temple Bar area of the city. Part of the global Occupy movement, it took its name from the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York City's Wall Street financial district. Occupy Dame Street had four requests: the withdrawal of the EU/IMF from Ireland, an end to public ownership of private debt, the return to public ownership of Ireland's privatised oil and gas reserves, and the implementation of what the movement describes as "real participatory democracy". The national police force, Garda Síochána, dismantled their camp during a late-night raid on 8 March 2012, though the protesters vowed to fight on.

The movement started with an online Facebook and Twitter campaign. The occupation began on 8 October 2011, a Saturday afternoon, initially with around 60 protesters who set up camp in tents outside the Central Bank's head office on Dame Street. The tents were attached to each other and were not pegged to the concrete as that would not be permitted. A free Wi-Fi connection was established anonymously in the first days of the movement. The original group was then joined by further people during the days that followed. Around 1,000 people passed through the encampment from the afternoon of 8 October and the afternoon of 11 October. On 22 October, a demonstration in Dublin city centre organised by the group was reported to have over 2,000 in attendance, including English left-wing activist and alternative rock musician Billy Bragg.