{"id":389706,"date":"2026-04-09T11:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/389706\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T11:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T11:02:08","slug":"defence-forces-to-be-deployed-gardai-say-protestors-blocking-fuel-depots-risk-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/389706\/","title":{"rendered":"Defence Forces to be deployed; garda\u00ed say protestors blocking fuel depots risk arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Defence Forces called in to remove heavy vehicles blocking fuel depots;
\n Garda\u00ed are urging protesters to end ‘blockades’ of fuel depots or ‘face the full rigours of the law’<\/a>;
\n The Taoiseach has said fuel price protests have gone ‘beyond the pale’<\/a> and risk damaging the economy;
\n Forecourts around the country could run out of petrol and diesel<\/a> as early as Thursday due to fuel depot blockades;
\n Overnight protests at the Whitegate Irving Oil Refinery<\/a> in east Cork continue;\u00a0
\n Protesters blockading Macroom bypass, where the Taoiseach is due, vowed to remain for ‘as long as it takes’.<\/p>\n

Defence Forces latest<\/p>\n

Justice minister Jim O\u2019Callaghan said this morning that the Defence Forces have been asked to assist the garda\u00ed to move protestors blocking oil refineries and terminals<\/a>. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It comes as protesters continue to block roads around Dublin and motorways around the country in opposition to the rising price of fuel.<\/p>\n

Mr O\u2019Callaghan said that the blocking of infrastructure will not be allowed<\/a> and that people should not \u201ccomplain\u201d if their vehicles are damaged.<\/p>\n

A Defence Forces spokesperson confirmed that the army has now been formally requested to help garda\u00ed.<\/p>\n

They said: “The Defence Forces can confirm assistance has been requested from An Garda Sioch\u00e1na in the form of heavy vehicle recovery.<\/p>\n

“As this operation is ongoing, we will not provide further comment until it is concluded.”<\/p>\n

‘It is against the law’<\/p>\n

\n 10.45am: Protesters blocking fuel depots and other critical infrastructure are breaking the law, and garda\u00ed will begin enforcement if people do not disperse, the Deputy Garda Commissioner has said.<\/p>\n

\"DeputyDeputy Commissioner, Operations Shawna Coxon and Garda Press Officer Liam Liam Geraghty speaking to the media regarding ongoing fuel protests around Dublin and the rest of the country, at Garda HQ, Dublin. Photo:Sam Boal\/Collins Photos<\/p>\n

Shawna Coxon, the Deputy Commissioner for Operations, said the protests had evolved into blockades, citing efforts to prevent access to the Whitegate oil refinery and depots in Galway and Foynes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear that some people have significantly escalated an already difficult situation by targeting critical infrastructure such as fuel depots and refineries. These are no longer protests. They are blockades,\u201d Ms Coxon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese blockades are putting at risk supplies of food, fuel, clean water and animal feed. These are critical for the nation and its people. This is not tolerable, and it is against the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protesters blocking Macroom bypass<\/p>\n

\n 10.10am:\n <\/p>\n

\u00a0Protesters blockading the bypass in Macroom, where the Taoiseach is due to this morning, have vowed to remain there for \u201cas long as it takes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ahead of his arrival messages were sent on Whatsapp last night urging that his exit from the town be blocked.<\/p>\n

More than 100 people were gathered on the road just after 9am, with more than 60 trucks, tractors, lorries and cars blocking the road from the city side, with traffic diverted through the town.<\/p>\n

They heard repeated calls from organisers to remain peaceful throughout the protest, and claims that \u201cGovernment bots\u201d would try to stir up violence.<\/p>\n

An ambulance was let through earlier in the morning, and a garda car was parked at the city side of the bypass.<\/p>\n

One organiser instructed the crowd \u2013 mostly men wearing orange or yellow hi-vis bibs – that they have to maintain the high ground, adding that \u201cwhoever breaks the peace first loses this\u201d.<\/p>\n

He claimed that the Government is \u201cready to fall\u201d and it wouldn\u2019t take much to topple it.<\/p>\n

\u201cLads, I would plead with ye to remain peaceful, we are peaceful people, we are working people and we\u2019re protesting peacefully, and the public is on our side, as long as we remain peaceful we have the upper hand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here for the long haul and we will stay here as long as it takes, we have people ready to take our place if any of us have to leave, there is no problem with numbers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whitegate refinery in Cork<\/p>\n

\n 10am: An overnight protest at the Irving Oil Refinery in east Cork<\/a> continues this morning, as participants say if they are moved on from the site, “we’ll only be back again”.<\/p>\n

\"HauliersHauliers outside Whitegate Oil Refinery, Picture: Noel Sweeney<\/p>\n

Up to a dozen trucks and tractors have gathered at the facility in Whitegate, having begun the blockade at the refinery gates at 6pm on Wednesday evening as part of the ongoing nationwide fuel protest.<\/p>\n

Access to the Port of Cork facilities at Ringaskiddy is currently restricted due to the ongoing national protest, a statement from the port said this morning.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Irish Examiner at Whitegate, Cobh-based truck driver Jason Barry said protesters \u201chave to make a stand and have to be seen\u201d.<\/p>\n

Defence Forces<\/p>\n

\n 9am: A spokesperson for Mr O\u2019Callaghan had said the Defence Forces would be deployed to move people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has confirmed that it is well established in law that the Defence Forces may assist An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na in aid to the civil power, when requested and when required,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn each occasion that the support of the Defence Forces is required, An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na issues a form C70 to the Defence Forces to request their assistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe blocking of critical national infrastructure will not be permitted to continue and the assistance of the Defence Forces has been requested.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Large vehicles blocking critical infrastructure will be removed.<\/p>\n

\u201cOwners of those vehicles should remove them immediately this morning and should not complain later about any damage caused to those vehicles during removal.<\/p>\n

\u201cDenying people access to fuel and clean water is an unacceptable interference in the most basic of human right\u201d.<\/p>\n

Foreign affairs and defence minister Helen McEntee said that that the Defence Forces “are always available to consider any requests for assistance from An Garda Siochana.<\/p>\n

“Ensuring that critical supplies for our country and its people are able to flow across our country is absolutely essential.<\/p>\n

“I remain in close contact with government colleagues and the Chief of Staff.”<\/p>\n

Government sources said on Thursday morning that the blockading of fuel depots had changed the situation.<\/p>\n

Request not yet received by Defence Forces<\/p>\n

However, sources within the Defence Forces said the announcement came as a surprise to them.<\/p>\n

A source told the Irish Examiner: “The idea that the army has been called in is news to the army.<\/p>\n

“The first they knew about it was when they were contacted by a journalist and asked about a statement from government that this was the case.<\/p>\n

“I can tell you that as of 8.30am, this request has not been received.”<\/p>\n

As the request was reported to have been made by garda\u00ed, the Irish Examiner has asked garda\u00ed for a comment and clarification.<\/p>\n

‘Beyond the pale’<\/p>\n

The Taoiseach has said fuel price protests have gone \u201cbeyond the pale\u201d<\/a> and risk damaging the economy.<\/p>\n

Miche\u00e1l Martin said it is \u201cunacceptable that people would be denied access to clean water\u201d as he expressed concerns about the impact of people trying to get around Dublin.<\/p>\n

Speaking on RT\u00c9 Radio 1, Mr Martin questioned who the protesters were, as he again said the Government will not engage with these groups.<\/p>\n

Fire chiefs call for cooperation<\/p>\n

Fire chiefs have urged fuel protestors in Dublin to make sure they don’t block access to the city by emergency services.<\/p>\n

The call follows incidents in which blockages delayed the passage of some emergency vehicles.<\/p>\n

In an appeal to the fuel protestors in a comment on their Facebook page, fire chiefs said: “Dublin Fire Brigade are appealing to all involved in the fuel protests in Dublin City Centre to ensure the free passage of all emergency vehicles, both on blue lights heading to an emergency and also returning to base to serve their operational area.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarlier this morning Dublin Fire Brigade experienced significant delays in their response to emergencies, particularly mobilising from Townsend Street HQ.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlternative mobilisation routes are being employed, with the use of empty Luas lines etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation has eased somewhat, due to the excellent cooperation with An Garda Siochana, liaising with protesters and clearing routes for our vehicles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to work with the other emergency services to ensure operational readiness and emergency access, and we ask all involved to be extra vigilant and compliant when they hear emergency sirens approaching.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cDo not wait until the emergency vehicles reach the blockades, please allow the other blocked traffic through in advance, so the route is clear for our vehicles to approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blockades and protests<\/p>\n

Fuel terminals have been blocked in Galway and Foynes, while the Whitegate Oil Refinery has also been barricaded.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s protests will be held across Ireland, including in Cork, Dublin, Waterford, Wexford, Sligo, Donegal, Clare, Limerick and Portlaoise..<\/p>\n

In Dublin, they include a blockade in place around a key city centre pinch point at College Green.<\/p>\n

Protest organisers said the blockade at Cork\u2019s Whitegate refinery is to stay in place, with extra vehicles due to have arrived overnight to help enforce it.<\/p>\n

A convoy which gathered at the Shannonpark roundabout has moved to join the blockade of the Port of Cork. A number of areas around Ringaskiddy are understood to be currently blocked while other towns in Cork are due to be affected. These include Midleton, Watergrasshill, Ballincollig, Mallow, Macroom, Clonakilty, Ballyhooly and \u201csurrounding county routes”.<\/p>\n

Protest plans also include sections of the M8 in Thurles and the M7 at Limerick, which has been closed down in both directions around Junction 28.<\/p>\n

Protesters were due to leave in \u201crolling\u201d convoys to Dublin from locations including the Kinnegad Plaza, the M7 Junction 14 at Monasterevin, the Navan Retail Park, an area of the M1 at Castlebellingham and the south side of the N11 into Dublin from Wicklow.<\/p>\n

Other convoys were also due to take part in a \u201chigh-visibility rolling protest\u201d over the Shannon crossing.<\/p>\n

The main Portumna-Banagher Bridge point – which carries the R356 across the River Shannon between Offaly and Galway – was due to see a \u201csoft-impact, high-visibility traffic movement\u201d from early this morning.<\/p>\n

Petition<\/p>\n

More than 1,456 people have signed a \u201cPeople of Ireland Fuel Protest\u201d petition for the government to recognise the legitimacy of fuel protest representatives.<\/p>\n

Organisers of the Change.org petition, which was published last night said: \u201cWe respectfully ask you sign this petition to show support to those protesting for fuel costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government has said they will only speak to representatives. Help us make those protesting yours.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The petition organisers claimed: \u201cBusinesses may feel it first but you will feel the costs of living increase very soon. They are standing up for us all to call on the government to help us in this crisis.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The petition calls on \u201cthe government of Ireland, relevant Ministers, and elected representatives\u201d to recognise People Of Ireland Against Fuel Prices spokesperson Sonny Boyd to be recognized as a representative.<\/p>\n

As well as the truck driver, they also want Co Meath farming contractor Christopher Duffy to be recognized as well as a representative.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin condemned the fuel protests as an “act of national sabotage” and Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien also condemned it.<\/p>\n

Minister O\u2019Brien said that as well as listening to and understanding \u201cthe real challenges people are facing\u201d, he also said he would \u201ccontinue to engage with representative groups from affected sectors, such as the IRHA\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Defence Forces called in to remove heavy vehicles blocking fuel depots; Garda\u00ed are urging protesters to end ‘blockades’…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[943,13308,63615,7782,61,11829,60,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-389706","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-cost-of-living","9":"tag-defence-forces","10":"tag-fuel-prices","11":"tag-gardai","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-iran","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}