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.)

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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.