fionntan
4th September 2010, 13:34
Shoes and eggs thrown at Blair book signing
Saturday, 4 September 2010 11:58
Shoes and eggs were thrown at former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as he arrived to sign copies of his autobiography in Dublin.
The missiles, which were thrown by anti-war protestors, did not hit Mr Blair as he arrived at Eason on O'Connell Street.
Three people were arrested as activists clashed with gardaí over a security barrier outside the shop.
A group of over 300 people gathered outside the shop to protest at Mr Blair's role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The groups represented include the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Coalition, the 32-County Sovereignty Movement and the Workers' Party Dublin branch.
Protestors chanted: 'Hey hey, Tony hey, how many kids have you killed today?' They also shouted 'Tony Blair war criminal' and 'blood on your hands'.
Dozens of gardaí have been on duty in O'Connell Street since early this morning and sections of the main thoroughfare are cordoned off to traffic.
It is expected that Mr Blair will remain in Eason until this afternoon. All proceeds from the book, A Journey, will go to the Royal British Legion.
Radical Islamists a 'major threat'
Speaking on last night's Late Late Show, Mr Blair said he believes radical Islamists still pose a major threat and they must be dealt with.
He said that Iran was now one of the biggest state sponsors of radical Islam.
It must be prevented from developing a nuclear weapon, even if that meant taking military action, he said.
Mr Blair defended the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, despite Saddam Hussein not possessing weapons of mass destruction.
He said he understood the view of those who opposed the war, but it was 'the right thing to do'.
Peace Process
Mr Blair revealed that the Northern Ireland peace process was one of the few moments in politics he felt really proud.
The Middle East peace envoy described watching former Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness sitting together publicly for the first time.
'It was just such a strange and extraordinary sight and one of the few times in politics I felt really proud actually,' Mr Blair said.
Mr Blair described former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern as a friend and repeated the assessment of him he used in the book as cunning.
He said: 'He became a good friend. He behaved with extraordinary skill towards this thing because it was difficult.
'Both of us in this sense had the same feeling about it - that it might be difficult but it was worth trying to do and worth trying for.'
Mr Blair added: 'Sometimes you've got to be smart to get around these problems. They require creativity, they require imagination and they require an ability to get where you need to get to.
'That's cunning in the best sense.
'It was really hard. You were having conversations with people - particularly when you sat down with the Sinn Féin people and the Unionists - these were people with a bitter and entrenched hatred. So there was quite a bit of cunning.'
Mr Blair revealed he grew to like Mr Paisley and said he felt he mellowed.
'As time went on we established a kind of relationship. I think in the end he wanted to do what was right for his people, and did,' Mr Blair said.
He described Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams as tough and clever.
RTE NEWS
Saturday, 4 September 2010 11:58
Shoes and eggs were thrown at former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as he arrived to sign copies of his autobiography in Dublin.
The missiles, which were thrown by anti-war protestors, did not hit Mr Blair as he arrived at Eason on O'Connell Street.
Three people were arrested as activists clashed with gardaí over a security barrier outside the shop.
A group of over 300 people gathered outside the shop to protest at Mr Blair's role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The groups represented include the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Coalition, the 32-County Sovereignty Movement and the Workers' Party Dublin branch.
Protestors chanted: 'Hey hey, Tony hey, how many kids have you killed today?' They also shouted 'Tony Blair war criminal' and 'blood on your hands'.
Dozens of gardaí have been on duty in O'Connell Street since early this morning and sections of the main thoroughfare are cordoned off to traffic.
It is expected that Mr Blair will remain in Eason until this afternoon. All proceeds from the book, A Journey, will go to the Royal British Legion.
Radical Islamists a 'major threat'
Speaking on last night's Late Late Show, Mr Blair said he believes radical Islamists still pose a major threat and they must be dealt with.
He said that Iran was now one of the biggest state sponsors of radical Islam.
It must be prevented from developing a nuclear weapon, even if that meant taking military action, he said.
Mr Blair defended the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, despite Saddam Hussein not possessing weapons of mass destruction.
He said he understood the view of those who opposed the war, but it was 'the right thing to do'.
Peace Process
Mr Blair revealed that the Northern Ireland peace process was one of the few moments in politics he felt really proud.
The Middle East peace envoy described watching former Northern Ireland First Minister Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness sitting together publicly for the first time.
'It was just such a strange and extraordinary sight and one of the few times in politics I felt really proud actually,' Mr Blair said.
Mr Blair described former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern as a friend and repeated the assessment of him he used in the book as cunning.
He said: 'He became a good friend. He behaved with extraordinary skill towards this thing because it was difficult.
'Both of us in this sense had the same feeling about it - that it might be difficult but it was worth trying to do and worth trying for.'
Mr Blair added: 'Sometimes you've got to be smart to get around these problems. They require creativity, they require imagination and they require an ability to get where you need to get to.
'That's cunning in the best sense.
'It was really hard. You were having conversations with people - particularly when you sat down with the Sinn Féin people and the Unionists - these were people with a bitter and entrenched hatred. So there was quite a bit of cunning.'
Mr Blair revealed he grew to like Mr Paisley and said he felt he mellowed.
'As time went on we established a kind of relationship. I think in the end he wanted to do what was right for his people, and did,' Mr Blair said.
He described Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams as tough and clever.
RTE NEWS