Tonight I attended another peaceful protest at the Dail to protest against the war in Iraq and the support being supplied to the US military by our Government in defiance of both our constitution and the clear wishes of the majority of the people.

As you know I've been on other protests against the war and they have all been well managed, orderly and good humoured affairs and I expected no different tonight. In fact I was so sure of this that I brought my 11 year old daughter.

Everything went as usual until out of the blue a phalanx of about 50 riot police appeared for no apparent reason. (For my non-Irish readers: I know in other countries this isn't exactly uncommen but it's very, very rare in Ireland) They started dragging protesters away - I saw children being dragged off, teenage girls being roughed up and elderly women with their arms twisted up their backs. Even elected TDs were dragged off when they tried to intervene.

It was obviously an attempt to provoke a peaceful protest into violence. An attempt that failed despite the palpable anger in the crowd that this Fianna Fail and PD Government would stoop so low as to try and stamp on our rights as citizens to protest. As such it was shameful and unacceptable.