A Report on our electroshock protest in
Cork, Ireland.
First of all it was a beautiful sunny
day. We held our protest outside The Peace Park in the
centre of the city where we have had quite a number of
anti-shock protests in the past. The iron railings of the
park facilitate our two big Ban Shock signs. In addition
we had lots of other signs with the usual messages and
another huge Stop Shock banner which had arrived from
Deborah in Oregon earlier in the year. Our prevailing colour
scheme was red and white, the MindFreedom Ireland colours
and also the county colours of Cork, known throughout
Ireland as The Rebel County.
We had about 20 activists on
site, some who had traveled from Dublin and Waterford and
there was a great engagement with passers by between shared
conversations and leaflet handouts. The most common
response was ‘Do they still do that?’ Four people
- Colette Ni Dhuinneacha, Mary Power, Kevin Foley and Mary Maddock – gave personal
testimonies of their shock experience. Also in The Peace
Park was an LGBT group demonstrating for a Yes vote in our
upcoming Referendum on same sex marriage and on the
suggestion of Derry Mescal, we united our two banners in a symbolic
gesture of solidarity and support for human rights for both
groups. Music was provided by Kevin on his guitar which,
along with further music from the LGBT group, added greatly
to a vibrant atmosphere. The day was a wonderful
experience for all involved, especially for those for whom
it was their first time to actively campaign. In keeping
with David Oak’s advice to be ‘our own media’ we
took pictures which are already posted and also filmed the
event which we hope to have up very soon. In addition we
achieved coverage in two local papers, including an
Evening Echo centre-page 1000 word article by yours truly
entitled ‘Shock ‘therapy’ – Yes they still do
that’.
We concluded the day with coffee and scones in
the nearby Quay Co-Op vegetarian restaurant, all invigorated
by feeling part of an historic international event!
Jim Maddock
