Around 400 people have participated in an Unofficial Black Lives matter protest in Waterford today.
A group marched from the Clock Tower to the Courthouse in the city, as demonstrations took place across the country.
The #BlackLivesMatter marches in Waterford today! 🖤 pic.twitter.com/hRMSguRdoG
— Trishauna Archer (@TrishaunaA) June 6, 2020
A vigil organised by Waterford Against Racism was cancelled earlier in the week for public safety reasons, and today's protest was not affiliated with any group.
The largest of which took place at the American Embassy in Dublin, where reports suggest there were over a thousand protesters.
They've been sparked by the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in the US after a police officer knelt on his neck.
Gardai say organisers of the Black Lives Matter protests today could be risking the health of people taking part and the wider community.
"An Garda Siochána have advised the organisers of their responsibilities of social distancing under the guidelines" said Dublin Superintendent Thomas Murphy ahead of today's protests.
"Racism, all this, has gone on long enough, especially with the death of George Floyd and how it happened" said 17 year old Jireh Pembele, was among those at today's protest in Waterford.
"I think that racism and discrimination, everyone's tired of it, so we're here to stand and fight against it."
"Every child child has an experience (of racism), every black child can tell you a story of how they've been discriminated against, if not racially profiled against. So this is a movement that is definitely long overdue" said another demonstrator, Olivia Ekedozie.
"Ireland is not innocent, Ireland has its own issues, and it needs to be addressed."
