An interrogation of the character of protest in Ireland since the bailout

This article identifies and examines the features of protest events in Ireland in the aftermath of the EU-IMF bailout in order to understand why the patterns of protest in Ireland have not mirrored those in the other EU countries that received bail outs. To identify characteristics of Irish protest I used contemporary newspaper articles to compile a database recording objective features of protest events that took place in Ireland between 22 November 2010 and 1 February 2013. Participants from three protest campaigns were then asked to respond to a questionnaire aimed at establishing their motivations for participating in protest. The results of the research show that the largest protest events recorded during the period were in response to the bailout and that the bailout was the most frequently protested issue, challenging the characterization of the Irish as a passive nation dutifully taking its medicine.