Protesters forced opposition leader Micheal Martin to abandon canvassing in a Dublin suburb on Monday ahead of parliamentary polls, reflecting lingering public anger after years of economic crisis and austerity.
Chanting "Jail! Jail! Jail!" the hecklers surrounded his car in protest at his centre-right Fianna Fail party, which led Ireland's government at the time of the country's banking collapse and 2010 bailout.
Brandishing a banner reading "Dublin Says No" and chanting "Banks Got Bailed Out, We Got Sold Out", the protesters surrounded his car in a Dublin suburb, before party aides helped him make a speedy exit.
"He's not welcome anywhere in working class communities, he sold the people of Ireland out to pay the bondholders and the banks," protester Gavin Harold said.
Long Ireland's dominant political force, Fianna Fail suffered a historic defeat in 2011, a month after Martin took over as party leader, when voters stripped them of all but a few of their seats.
Martin has campaigned on a platform of a "fairer" economic recovery and a poll released Monday showed Fianna Fail win back at least some of its old ground when the nation votes on February 26.
But in the Dublin South Central constituency where Crumlin is situated, the party is facing a tough fight against left-wing and anti-austerity candidates.
Martin conceded that the public had not forgotten Fianna Fail's record.
"People are not forgetting or forgiving anything," he told AFP.
A 55-year-old former teacher from the southwest city of Cork, Martin is deeply associated with Fianna Fail governments where he held a series of posts including health and foreign minister from 1997 to 2011.
The party has promised to roll back unpopular taxes brought in as part of austerity measures and to invest in health and social housing, accusing Prime Minister Enda Kenny of going too far to the right in promising a low-tax and pro-business Ireland.
Protesters forced opposition leader Micheal Martin to abandon canvassing in a Dublin suburb on Monday ahead of parliamentary polls, reflecting lingering public anger after years of economic crisis and austerity.
Chanting “Jail! Jail! Jail!” the hecklers surrounded his car in protest at his centre-right Fianna Fail party, which led Ireland’s government at the time of the country’s banking collapse and 2010 bailout.
Brandishing a banner reading “Dublin Says No” and chanting “Banks Got Bailed Out, We Got Sold Out”, the protesters surrounded his car in a Dublin suburb, before party aides helped him make a speedy exit.
“He’s not welcome anywhere in working class communities, he sold the people of Ireland out to pay the bondholders and the banks,” protester Gavin Harold said.
Long Ireland’s dominant political force, Fianna Fail suffered a historic defeat in 2011, a month after Martin took over as party leader, when voters stripped them of all but a few of their seats.
Martin has campaigned on a platform of a “fairer” economic recovery and a poll released Monday showed Fianna Fail win back at least some of its old ground when the nation votes on February 26.
But in the Dublin South Central constituency where Crumlin is situated, the party is facing a tough fight against left-wing and anti-austerity candidates.
Martin conceded that the public had not forgotten Fianna Fail’s record.
“People are not forgetting or forgiving anything,” he told AFP.
A 55-year-old former teacher from the southwest city of Cork, Martin is deeply associated with Fianna Fail governments where he held a series of posts including health and foreign minister from 1997 to 2011.
The party has promised to roll back unpopular taxes brought in as part of austerity measures and to invest in health and social housing, accusing Prime Minister Enda Kenny of going too far to the right in promising a low-tax and pro-business Ireland.
