And so we rumble on to malignant fate. The Christian fundamentalists and the oilers are in the saddle. The posse’s afoot. The die is cast. The cards are dealt. To war, to war, the dogs are loose and there’s sulphur in the air.

We marched for peace, we surely did. What a wondrous and magnificent turnout around the world! I took my place amongst the 100,000 in Dublin, as did, I have no doubt, many hotpress readers.

It was an extraordinary occasion. Two old ladies asked to walk with a group of my friends, asking ‘do you mind if two grannies join you? We’ve never been on a demonstration before’. One then took out a small anti-war placard made for her by her grandson...It was that kind of occasion. Mostly silent, always peaceful, clearly purposeful, the marchers quite clearly came from all strands of Irish society.