Taoiseach says gardaí must judge risk of escalation after protest targets Cork City Library

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has expressed his solidarity with Cork’s library staff and has warned that history has shown that the burning of books can sometimes lead to the burning of people.

Mr Varadkar made his remarks yesterday during a visit to the Apple campus in Hollyhill.

It comes following last Saturday’s far-right rally on the Grand Parade, which resulted in Cork’s Central Library being closed for only the second time — apart from the pandemic — in 130 years.

Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney, who was also visiting Apple yesterday, said he believed that all of Cork’s politicians were “disgusted” by what had happened in the city on Saturday.

“I just want to express my solidarity and support for our librarians,” Mr Varadkar said.

“Libraries are repositories of knowledge, they’re repositories of wisdom, they’re where people go to learn things,” said the Taoiseach.

“I think it’s a very disturbing element that we’re seeing, I think spill over from abroad into Ireland, the idea that certain books shouldn’t be read or certain books [should] be banned.

“It’s not long after you start burning books, that sometimes people start burning other people.

“We shouldn’t forget our history in that regard.”

Mr Varadkar said he had spoken with Housing and Local Government Minister Darragh O’Brien and Justice Minister McEntee about Saturday’s incident.

“One thing the gardaí do have to judge when it comes to any instance like this is the risk of escalation,” he said.

The Taoiseach said there were people “on the extreme right, and on the extreme left”, who wanted to be arrested, so as to accuse gardaí of engaging in brutality.

“That’s why I think the gardaí have to make the right judgment call as to how they deal with each particular incident, and I’m confident they’re making the right decision,” he said.

Meanwhile, Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney said he believed Cork’s politicians were “disgusted” by what happened last weekend.

“You know, the library in Cork city centre, it’s a really important part of the infrastructure of the city, for children, for adults, for people looking for a bit of peace and quiet to go in and read a book, or to take a book out,” Mr Coveney said.

“The idea that the libraries are deliberately being targeted by people who have political agendas, often who are looking to cause trouble, and are looking to shut down appropriate education facilities, looking to get certain books banned, and intimidating staff, all of that is completely unacceptable.”

Mr Coveney said he did not think it was a coincidence that Saturday’s far-right rally occurred on the first day of Cork Pride.

“Many of us here are hugely supportive of Cork Pride and Pride month in other parts of the country as well,” said the Cork South-Central Fine Gael TD.

“We really do need to ensure that a small minority of people who are deliberately looking to make headlines and disrupt and intimidate people’s lives, don’t succeed in doing that.”