Twenty Four

national | miscellaneous | news report

Tuesday February 04, 2003 18:01

by Niall O Brolchain - Galway Environmental Alliance

niallob at esatclear dot ie

On Saturday 1st February, I spent 24 hours in Eyre Square as part of a vigil to ‘Save the Trees’. This is what happened. (Times are approximate.)

On Saturday 1st February, I spent 24 hours in Eyre Square as part of a vigil to ‘Save the Trees’. This is what happened. (Times are approximate.)

00:00 – The vigil candle was lit by a young girl.
01:00 – We gathered at the bottom end of the square, lit nightlights in jam jars and put up a few placards.
02:00 – A good-sized crowd had gathered, made up of musicians, environmentalists and passers by.
03:00 – Lots of Friday evening revellers came to see what was going on. People were generally well behaved with one or two minor exceptions.
04:00 – By now most of the crowd had dispersed and the musicians had gone but the second shift of vigil participants arrived laden with hot drinks and food.
05:00 – Light drizzle and the cold did nothing to dampen our spirits as blackbirds arrived to charm us with their singing.
06:00 – For the first time ever, I visited the new public toilets in Eyre Square, an interesting experience.
07:00 – The early morning vigil crew arrived as a roadsweeper and delivery vans went by.
08:00 – The dawn arrived and I went for a complementary breakfast in an Eyre Square establishment.
09:00 – We set up our ‘tree embassy’ at the top of the square and started collecting signatures.
10:00 – Apparently Osama Bin Laden is now living in Galway as he signed the petition. It was decided to cross out his name.
11:00 – A queue was beginning to form at the embassy.
12:00 – A temporary stage and an area for arts and crafts had by now been constructed.
13:00 – Lots of people were milling around and I decided to grab a bite to eat.
14:00 – A march led by twelve drummers and ‘Colours’ street theatre company left the square and travelled down shop street. Tom Gilmore from GBFM arrived for an interview. He asked if I was disappointed with the crowd. It took a minute for me to realise he was unaware of the march.
15:00 – ‘Colours’ performed a great little piece called ‘ The Councillors and the Trees’. Children and adults watched, while some of them made dream catchers and St. Brigits crosses.
16:00 – Speeches were made. Poems were recited.
17:00 – Two bands performing teenage angst music got up on stage. The teenagers loved it the rest of us hated it.
18:00 – A combination of music?, rain and teatime saw most of the earlier crowd disperse. The teenagers left once the music was over.
19:00 – I had a bite to eat with an old friend who had come back to Galway especially for the event.
20:00 – The PA system had gone but the drummers were back and kept our spirits up, as the rain got heavier.
21:00 – My mind was beginning to play tricks on me, as I had now been awake for about 39 hours.
22:00 – The weather in Eyre Square was dull and dreary but our candles still burned.
23:00 – We spent most of our time tidying up rubbish and trying to keep the cold at bay. Every minute seemed like an hour.
24:00 – To the beat of two drums and the singing of many, midnight came and we blew out the vigil candle.

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Comments (3 of 3)

24hours on the go!

by iosaf

Tue Feb 04, 2003 22:05

awake for 39 hours at 21h00.
wow Niall, there are many suspects who have been kept awake that long to extract confessions.
And those confessions rarely read as well as this report.
good on you all!
gra for gailleamh!

Fuck The Trees!

by Woody Woodpecker

Wed Feb 05, 2003 14:16

Its what Niall does. Thats why so many of them are diseased. Any sticky stuff in knot holes may not be resin, so careful now!

can i put a pic of Osama?

by .

Thu Jul 10, 2003 19:49

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Comments (3 of 3)