The September 2010 Leinster House incident occurred on 29 September 2010 at 7:15 am when 41-year-old Joe McNamara rammed his cement lorry into the guarded gates of the Dáil at Leinster House in protest of the estimated €29.3 billion Anglo Irish Bank bailout.[1][2] Joe McNamara, a property developer who previously identified himself as the "Anglo Avenger", then proceeded to climb atop the vehicle to continue his protest against Anglo Irish Bank.[2] McNamara was subsequently detained overnight under under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at the Pearse Street Garda station due to “damage that was done to the front gates of Leinster House.”[2][3] On 1 October 2010 at 10:30 am he made his appearance in court.[4] The lorry, which McNamara had rendered immobile by cutting the brakes and electrical cables, was removed by a specialist tow truck before 10 am on 29 September 2010.[2] McNamara was remanded on bail until 25 November on the condition that he does not come to the attention of the gardaí.[2][5] No one was injured and the gates suffered only "minor paintwork damage."[2] McNamara, who has said that he is indebted €3.5m, stated that “I don't do this for publicity: I do this to get it out of my system because I'm furious about Anglo."[3]
Fergus O'Dowd stated that: "At least one garda or more had to jump out of the way of this truck. If it had been later in the morning staff could have been killed." [3]
Several slogans were written in red across the barrel of the cement truck, including “Toxic Bank Anglo”, “All Politicians Should Be Sacked”, "‘€500k for golf", and “€1,000,000 on golf".[2][3][6] The licence plate was replaced with the word "Bankrupt".[2] The cement truck had previously been used in an April 2010 demonstration outside the Anglo Irish Bank on Forster Street in Galway, where the truck was abandoned.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Cement mixer rams Irish parliament in bank protest". Associated Press. Wednesday, September 29, 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i "Criminal damage charge for Achill 'Anglo Avenger'". Mayo Advertiser. October 1, 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- ^ a b c d "'Mortar attack' as Dail opens for business". Herald.ie. Wednesday September 29, 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "Man (41) for court over truck incident". The Irish Times. Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 19:57. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "BBC News - Dublin parliament 'toxic truck' accused in court". BBC Online. 30 September 2010 Last updated at 07:28 ET. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ McNulty, Anton (Tuesday, 05 October 2010 10:47). "Achill Anglo avenger faces criminal damage". Mayo News. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
Category:2010 in the Republic of Ireland Category:Late 2000s global financial crisis Category:Transport in Ireland