The University College Dublin Students’ Union (UCDSU) condemned the comments made by UCD professor Delores Cahill on Wednesday, the 17th of March. Cahill addressed a group of anti-lockdown supporters at the Le Chéile Day gathering on St Patrick’s Day in Herbert Park.
In a tweet from their official Twitter account, the UCDSU retweeted the coverage of Cahill’s speech from Paul O’Donaghue, stating: “Using people’s fears and frustrations to peddle misinformation is shameful. UCD Students’ Union totally condemns Prof. Cahill’s comments.”
As earlier reported by The College Tribune, Cahill, who was listed as the organiser of the event on social media platforms, took to the microphone to address the crowd. “This lockdown is based on lies,” Cahill said. “Our elderly are not prisoners. Micheál Martin [and the government] have to provide evidence to put masks on our children. It is a disgrace.”
Cahill claimed, without citing any evidence, that asymptomatic people did not exist. “There is no such thing as asymptomatic carriers,” she said. She added that the Gardai who are enforcing the restrictions put in place by the government are implicit in ‘unlawful and criminal behaviour’.
Again, without stating any evidence to support her claims, Cahill suggested that the enforcement of wearing face coverings was resulting in children not being able to develop fully functioning brains. “Teachers are not to be enforcing masks on children,” Cahill said. “These children will not reach their IQ potential, because they are not getting the oxygen [that their brains need’. The reason they tell us to wear masks is that oxygen-deprived people are easy to control.”
Despite the large Garda presence, no arrests or cautions were made on the day, and the crowd eventually dispersed quietly, although a large portion of the crowd expressed their desire to march towards the RTÉ Television Centre in Donnybrook.
Stephen Kisbey-Green – Co-Editor
