We’re not sorry

FOUR of the five Northside protestors jailed for contempt of court last February have vowed to continue their campaign against Irish Water in a new mini-documentary posted on YouTube.

Bernie Hughes, Derek Byrne, Damien O’Neill and Paul Moore received sentences of between 28 and 56 days when they refused to give an undertaking not to breach injunctions taken out against them by water meter contractors GMC Sierra.

The four were freed on a technicality after serving 18 days. And in new interviews with Finglas videographer Jamie Jay Car and Northsider Angie McEvoy, they explain why they were prepared to sacrifice their freedom.

Single dad-of-two Derek Byrne, from Donaghmede, started protesting against austerity and bank bailouts two years ago and says the water charges was

“the straw that broke the camel’s back

?.

“I was never political – I’ve no real interest in the whole political system in this country because I see it for what it is,

? he says in the documentary.

“I won’t back down now because I’m doing it for my kids.

“Prison is not a nice place and it’s not somewhere I’d like to go again, but if I have to go I’ll go.

?

Married security worker Damien O’Neill, from Coolock, said his time in prison hadn’t changed his mind about protesting.

“If I make up my mind, I make up my mind and that’s the way it is,

? he explained.

“I won’t bow to anybody. I wouldn’t disrespect anyone, but I wouldn’t bow to anyone either. That’s just the way I am. I’d never give in. Once I make my mind up, and once we’re right, it wouldn’t bother me.

?

Volunteer youth worker Paul Moore, from Edenmore, admitted in the YouTube documentary that he was out protesting again the week he was released from prison.

“It wasn’t the fact that locking us up stopped us, it just makes us more determined,

? he said.

Experienced community activist Bernie Hughes, from Finglas, is also unrepentant about campaigning but admits her time in prison was difficult.

“Of course it was difficult, having to give up your liberty just because you had the affront to stand up to things that are wrong in your society, in a peaceful fashion, at any stage is difficult,

? she said.

“We’ve always been peaceful. I’ve three children, a mortgage, all the things that everybody else has, so I mean it cost a lot, not only in financial terms but in emotional terms to go through that rollercoaster, for my wider family, brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews who may not agree with my stance on things but were very upset that their sister was put away in such a fashion.

?

The mini-documentary, entitled

‘No Way, We Won’t Pay!’, can be found by searching for JamieJayCar on YouTube and clicking into his video channel