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A fuel blockade that has been erected at the entrances to the Shannon Foynes Port Company and fuel terminal at Foynes, Co Limerick, is to stand down at 1pm this afternoon, organisers said.<\/p>\n
A decision to open the blockade, which was erected six days ago, came after a vote among protestors was taken earlier.<\/p>\n
It was anticipated that a garda public order unit, which had opened blockades at Cork on Saturday and Galway on Sunday, would travel to Foynes next.<\/p>\n
The protest at Foynes had remained peaceful throughout.<\/p>\n
Speaking Sunday, Independent Ireland TD, Richard O\u2019Donoghue, who supported the blockade at Foynes, said: \u201cI’ve just had a meeting with the people that have been here for the last five and six days, here in a peaceful protest here in Foynes, and we’ve taken a vote with the hauliers, the contractors, agriculture contractors, the people that have been here, and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Protesters take part in a blockade at a fuel depot in Foynes, Co Limerick. Photo: PA<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to pull out of Foynes here peacefully, as we came in peacefully, at one o’clock,\u201d said Deputy O\u2019Donoghue.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I’d like to thank every one of the communities, the businesses, and the support that we’ve had from our homes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re on our way home, we\u2019re leaving at one o’clock. Thank you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Additional reporting by David Raleigh<\/p>\n
11am<\/p>\n
The Defence Forces have assisted garda\u00ed with clearing a makeshift barrier erected by protesters blockading Galway docks.<\/p>\n
Footage posted on social media by An Garda Siochana showed a Defence Forces heavy-lift recovery truck \u2013 nicknamed \u2018the Beast\u2019 \u2013 driving through the barrier constructed with pallets and logs.<\/p>\n
A second heavy-lift recovery truck operated by the Defence Forces was also at the scene while gardai worked to restore access to the harbour.<\/p>\n
A Garda Operation is ongoing at Galway Docks to ensure critical supplies of fuel to maintain critical emergency public services, including Ambulance and Fire Services.<\/p>\n
Garda Public Order Units have been deployed.<\/p>\n
Blockaders must comply with Garda directions. pic.twitter.com\/rntbR4DMR3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na (@GardaTraffic) April 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n 8:45am<\/p>\n Around 20 large vehicles and tractors remain on O\u2019Connell Street and the quays in Dublin following a major police operation to clear the blockade in the early hours of Sunday.<\/p>\n Steel barriers have been erected on surrounding roads to prevent further access.<\/p>\n A small group of protest participants and supporters remained at the scene at 8am.<\/p>\n A Garda presence was monitoring the cordon while street cleaners cleared debris.<\/p>\n Fuel protesters on Dublin\u2019s O\u2019Connell Street got \u201cambushed\u201d by an \u201carmy\u201d of public order gardai, according to a spokesman for the blockaders.<\/p>\n Christopher Duffy said the vehicles are clearing out of the street, but he does not think the overall protests are over.<\/p>\n Speaking about the overnight Garda operation on O\u2019Connell Street, Mr Duffy said he was \u201cupset\u201d, \u201cdisappointed\u201d and \u201cangry\u201d.<\/p>\n He said protesters had not been asked to move since the blockade was established on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody in the city of Dublin or the country could say our assembly was anything but peaceful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mr Duffy said he believes protesters were denied due process, adding: \u201cWe got absolutely ambushed here last night by what I can only describe as an army of (public order gardai).<\/p>\n \u201cThere were garda\u00ed lining the street, lads on horseback.\u201d<\/p>\n A blockade of O’Connell Street has been cleared in a late-night garda operation, ahead of an emergency Cabinet meeting to sign off on measures the Government hopes will bring all protests over fuel costs to an end.<\/p>\n The protests \u2013 which involved blockades of streets in the capital, Ireland\u2019s only oil refinery, and key depots \u2013 strangled fuel distribution across the country and prompted an escalated policing response that resulted in several arrests and public order garda\u00ed deployed in Cork, Galway and Dublin.<\/p>\n Participants \u2013 largely led by hauliers, farmers, and agricultural workers \u2013 began separate but co-ordinated action on Tuesday with slow-moving convoys and outright stoppages on major motorways, as well as blockades of critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n Some protests rolled overnight into Sunday morning, with spokesmen calling on the Government to take urgent action to reduce fuel costs, which they say are at unsustainable levels and will lead to people going out of business.<\/p>\n The Government is expected to sign off on fuel-cost measures on Sunday evening, but it remains to be seen if it will convince protesters to call off their actions before the return of schools on Monday adds to pressure on the roads.<\/p>\n An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na cleared a blockade of the Whitegate oil refinery in Co Cork around lunchtime on Saturday and vowed to implement further enhanced enforcement actions.<\/p>\n It saw physical clashes between protesters and garda\u00ed, who used pepper spray during the hour-long operation, which resecured access for fuel trucks.<\/p>\n A Garda Operation is ongoing at Whitegate Refinery to ensure critical supplies of fuel to maintain critical emergency public services, including Ambulance and Fire Services. <\/p>\n Garda Public Order Units have been deployed. <\/p>\n Blockaders must comply with Garda directions. pic.twitter.com\/qhirYj9DPC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na (@GardaTraffic) April 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Garda\u00ed were later called to a similar action at Galway harbour, where hundreds of protesters gathered in pouring rain while restricting access to a fuel depot by blocking the way with tractors.<\/p>\n Members of the Public Order Unit, wearing protective gear and batons, were at the scene for hours overnight.<\/p>\n On Sunday morning, An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na announced all blockades in Dublin had been cleared following an overnight operation on O\u2019Connell Street.<\/p>\n It said illegally parked vehicles would be removed and blockading vehicles were removed under escort.<\/p>\n Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly had vowed to step up enforcement against fuel-cost protesters, \u201cendangering the state\u201d by blocking critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n Protesters\u2019 demands for meetings with the Government were not acceded to, but relevant ministers held talks with established national representative bodies on Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n These meetings concluded with a \u201csubstantial\u201d package involving a temporary fuel transport support scheme and \u201ctemporary fuel support\u201d.<\/p>\n It is understood that the transport support scheme will see direct payments to businesses in the sectors affected by high fuel costs.<\/p>\n A senior source said the scheme will be part of a broader package on the fuel crisis.<\/p>\n The engagements included Irish Road Haulage Association president Ger Hyland, who said there were \u201cthe bones of an agreement\u201d with the Government.<\/p>\n He added he hoped the \u201csubstantial package\u201d, understood to include a direct payment scheme, would be agreed by Sunday morning.<\/p>\n The Cabinet is due to meet on Sunday afternoon to sign off on the measures.<\/p>\n The pledge of a \u201csubstantial\u201d package was not enough to dissuade protesters from their blockades without Garda intervention on Saturday.<\/p>\n Commissioner Kelly said: \u201cSome people have decided to escalate an already difficult situation by blockading critical national infrastructure such as fuel depots and refineries.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has resulted in fuel shortages that are directly impacting emergency services such as hospitals, the ambulance service and the fire service, as well as businesses and the general public.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are blockades. They are not a legitimate form of protest.\u201d<\/p>\n He said: \u201cWe gave the blockaders fair warning that we were moving to enforcement and they choose to ignore it and continue to hold the country to ransom.\u201d<\/p>\n A small number of Defence Forces personnel with heavy-lift recovery trucks have been on standby to assist gardai with moving large vehicles if needed.<\/p>\n The escalated enforcement action came after Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said around 600 of the 1,500 filling stations in the Republic of Ireland had run dry on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n Ireland<\/p>\n Man arrested over alleged damage to US military plane at Shannon Airport<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n He predicted the number \u201cwould grow quite dramatically\u201d if the blockades on Whitegate in Galway and Foynes, Co Limerick, continued.<\/p>\n Blockades have resulted in full closures of parts of the M50 ring road around Dublin, as well as other major motorways, although Gardai announced blockades on the M50 at junctions five and seven had been cleared on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n![\"Garda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776001749_858_fuel-protests-limerick-blockade-to-stand-down-ahead-of-expected-garda-response.jpg\")
Gardai and the Defence Forces at Whitegate (An Garda Siochana\/PA)<\/p>\n![\"Micheal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776001750_321_fuel-protests-limerick-blockade-to-stand-down-ahead-of-expected-garda-response.jpg\")
The Cabinet, led by Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin, will meet on Sunday (Brian Lawless\/PA)<\/p>\n![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776001750_598_fuel-protests-limerick-blockade-to-stand-down-ahead-of-expected-garda-response.jpg\")
Protesters have formed a blockade at the docks in Galway (Claudia Savage\/PA)<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776001751_792_fuel-protests-limerick-blockade-to-stand-down-ahead-of-expected-garda-response.jpg\")
The protests have brought traffic to a standstill (Brian Lawless\/PA)
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