On Wednesday, for once, Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) arrives bearing good news, albeit of a relative nature. As Donald Trump lifts his threat of civilisational erasure in Iran, at least for the duration of a tentative two-week truce, the presenter Gavin Jennings hears Roja Fazaeli, an Iranian law professor, cautiously welcome the ceasefire announcement. “There is a sense of relief,” the Galway-based academic says while admitting nervousness about what the coming days will bring.
When it comes to less existentially charged issues, however, there’s little respite from misery. The nationwide protests against fuel costs receive as much coverage as the ceasefire in Iran on Radio 1’s flagship morning show, which may suggest a skewing of priorities but also underlines both the widespread impact of the actions and the reasons behind them.
On the latter point, one timber haulier, Colm Walsh, tells RTÉ reporter Sheila Naughton that the soaring cost of fuel will put him out of business in three months: “People are at breaking point.”
If such testimony speaks of the desperation driving demonstrations across Ireland, the answers are less straightforward when it comes to the inconvenience caused by the blockades.
“It’s actually the Government that are blocking the streets,” says one agricultural contractor, who tells reporter Andrew Lowth that the protests will end when Ministers agree to meet protesters. “We’re blocking nothing,” he adds, presumably referring to metaphorical blockages as opposed to the literal ones in Dublin, from where he’s speaking.
At least one member of Government seems sympathetic to the protesters’ plight. Interviewed by Jennings, Minister of State for Agriculture Michael Healy-Rae describes those grinding roads to a halt as “the people that are keeping everything flowing in the country”. Or not, as the case may be.
Champing on the bit of Coalition solidarity, the Kerry Independent TD says “it’s obvious more has to be done” to alleviate the pressure on prices, though he pins most of his hopes on a deal between the US and Iran.
As to whether the streets should be gridlocked as a result, Healy-Rae ducks the question beyond remarking that the demonstrators “feel they have to be there”. If nothing else, it’s a masterclass in how to protect your political flank – or, to use the technical term, have your cake and eat it.
Ministerial contortions notwithstanding, there’s no mistaking the rawness of emotions swirling around the wildcat disruptions, as even a cursory listen to Liveline (RTÉ Radio 1, weekdays) makes clear. On Wednesday, John Cooke, standing in for Kieran Cuddihy, hears Liam, a silage contractor, outline how his weekly fuel bill has increased by €2,700 since the Iran war began. “I will be out of business in three months,” he says.
Liam is also at pains to stress that the rolling blockades he has been part of has allowed emergency vehicles to pass, and expresses doubt at other callers who claim to have witnessed less considerate behaviour.
Many callers are unhappy with the impact of the protests. Majella phones in to complain that innocent people are being targeted, while Brian claims the conduct of some drivers in protesting convoys has been “downright dangerous”.
Cooke deals with his charged subject matter in understated but effective manner, particular when it occasionally threatens to spill into cacophony.
Perhaps the most insightful – if discouraging – contribution comes from Áine, a student who has been on the protests. She talks of a widespread feeling that the State is failing ordinary people – be it with rising student fees, creaking health services or stalled scoliosis surgery – which has finally exploded into manifestations of discontent, thanks to the touchpaper issue of fuel hikes.
Uncoincidentally, Áine adds that she has studied in France, voicing admiration for the tradition of protest that’s part of its national landscape.
Certainly, there’s a distinct resemblance between our fuel protests and the populist gilets jaunes demonstrations that convulsed France between 2018 and 2020, right down to its frustrated participants, inchoate nature and chaotic results. Cooke doesn’t explore this theme – he’s too busy keeping the peace between opposing callers – but the parallels are there, ominous though they may be.
Nor is there much room for such airy socioeconomic discussions on The Hard Shoulder (Newstalk, weekdays). Instead, as more roads are shut down and fuel depots are blockaded on Wednesday evening, presenter Shane Coleman has a more direct question. “Are we looking at anarchy at this point?” he plaintively asks, before adding “This is really dangerous now.”
His co-host, Ciara Kelly, frames the problem in less alarming terms, recognising the grassroots nature of the movement – “this is a raggle-taggle bunch of people” – while highlighting the practical logistics of dealing with such an amorphous protest. “Who exactly do the Government talk to?” she asks, likening concessions to paying a ransom.
That said, the protest’s ground zero, on O’Connell Street in Dublin, doesn’t necessarily sound like somewhere on the verge of societal collapse. Newstalk reporter Jessica Woodlock describes the convivial atmosphere amid the blockading tractors and abandoned buses, with protesters – tellingly clad in yellow high-vis jackets – enjoying ice creams in the sun. (Crucially, however, there’s no word from disrupted commuters.)
So jolly is the ambience that James Geoghegan, a protest spokesman whom Coleman interviews, even claims that retail footfall is up on the capital’s main thoroughfare, prompting splutters of incredulity from the host.
It’s not the only point of contention. While Coleman is keen to acknowledge that “very decent people” are taking part in the blockade, he asks whether things are going too far: “What’s the endgame here?”
Geoghegan focuses on carbon taxes and price caps while also looking to the famously bitter water protests as a model for success, when “the government did what they were told”. And, in common with other protesters, and indeed certain Ministers, the spokesman underlines the demographic profile of his movement as testament to its virtue – “the self-employed people of rural Ireland who keep the country going”.
As to whether support is so extensive among the wider (and also hard-pressed) population, it would be foolhardy to say. When Fazaeli is asked on Morning Ireland whether some Iranians want the bombing to continue, as Trump claims, she wryly notes the complex make-up of her homeland’s diaspora: “Nobody should talk for a whole nation.”
It’s a pertinent observation. As the fuel crisis continues to unfold, the people haven’t yet spoken, no matter what some say.
Moment of the week
For all the domestic and international drama on The Hard Shoulder, the hosts find time to relax. “It’s been a very hectic and stressful show so far. Will we take a coffee break?” Kelly asks, introducing an item on making the perfect cup of coffee. As James McCormack of Dublin Barista School runs through differing methods and various beans, Kelly sounds uncertain whether a simple cup of joe is worth such effort, particularly given her own preference in caffeinated beverages. “I like my coffee like I like my men,” she says, chuckling. “Weak and instant.” No sweeteners there.