This weekend’s planned anti-racism protest in Galway City has been fully called off after local activists decided to call off the event today.
Yesterday, Galway Anti-Racism Network pulled out of the rally which was scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Eyre Square.
The organisation says it will hold a rally when it is safe for its activists to protest – and an online protest will take place at 2pm this Saturday instead.
In a statement yesterday, GARN said: “Due to concerns about health risks regarding the COVID-19 crisis and taking into consideration the lack of social distancing space available to residents in Direct Provision centres, GARN have decided to postpone our Black Lives Matter protest until safety restrictions are lifted.
“We ask everyone to join us in an online protest on Saturday as well as signing an online book of condolences to victims of systemic racism and police brutality.”
Demonstrations have taken place in cities across the world throughout the past week following the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd in the United States.
Footage showed a number of police officers kneeling on George Floyd’s neck and back as he lost consciousness and died, sparking widespread anger across America and around the world.
