The event, organized by international women's rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen, of Let Women Speak, was disrupted by trans rights and communist activists including members of far-left extremist groups, Antifa and Trantifa, who attempted to violently shut down the event but were met with a show of police force.
"Your town is being totally co-opted by a pernicious dishonest woman-hating cult," Keen said while speaking to the crowd of thousands, according to a video taken by Post Millennial senior editor Andy Ngo.
Women and those supporting the event took turns behind the microphone to voice their concerns surrounding the forced acceptance of far-left trans ideology at the hands of Irish lawmakers. Some speakers shared personal stories about how they have been alleged victims of sexual assault during childhood and expressed fear that wanton trans acceptance poses a risk to the safety of all women.
Other speakers mocked the idea that trans-identified men should be accepted as women and explained that their radical gender ideology activism has hurt the LGB community and other vulnerable groups. They don't want biological men to be allowed in women's restrooms, changing rooms, and prisons. In addition, they accused the trans activists of targeting vulnerable children.
One of those speakers was Annaig Birdy, a lesbian activist who co-founded the group "Not All Gays," which is an Irish LGB group that fights back against gender ideology, or the radical trans agenda.
"We're a group of lesbians, gays, and bisexuals. We believe that sexuality is different from gender identity and it shouldn't be grouped in together. We're advocating for same-sex attraction and our rights separate to the TQ+ part of the acronym," Birdy told The Post Millenial's Andy Ngo.
"These people try to silence us and they claim to speak for us but they don't. We were holding a sign that said 'Stop Violence against Women and Gays' and they took issue with that, which is in my opinion quite telling," Birdy said. "They were offended by a sign that said stop violence against women."
As the women took turns speaking, Antifa and Trantifa counterprotesters attempted to shut down the event through intimidation tactics which included loud chants, noise makers, and slurs. The group flew Communist and Trans flags as they stood in a large crowd behind the police barrier and boasted negative signage that took aim at women, including the event organizer Kellie-Jay Keen.
"Nazi scum off our streets!" they chanted as they attempted to drown out the group of women, who they had continuously referred to as "Fascists."
Ngo asked Birdy what she made of the far-left extremists calling the event attendees "fascists," to which she replied, "It's ridiculous and it makes me really angry."
"To call these very left-liberal women 'fascists'...is crazy," she said. "To try and talk over women who want to talk about their rights, I don't understand why they would call us Nazis and fascists just for speaking."
The Irish hate speech legislation would criminalize criticism of transgenderism, which would include Saturday's Let Women Speak event. The proposed law also makes it an offense to possess private material that could "incite hatred," even if that material is not published or shared.
In addition to the existing "protected characteristics" of race, color, nationality, religion, ethnicity or national origin, and sexual orientation, the Bill includes gender, gender expression, and gender identity as a protected class, according to The Irish Times.
If an Irish citizen were to be found guilty of an offense against one of these protected classes, they could receive a penalty of up to five years in prison.
