Around 120-200 people turned up to protest outside the Gap store in Belfast against their use of sweatshop labour. Everyone agreed that it was the biggest event of that type that they had ever seen in Belfast. The protesters were socialists, environmentalists, anarchists, workers and students - all under the banner of “Globalise Resistance”. People brought balloons, banners, whistles, placards and drums in order to let people know that Belfast was very much a part of the International Day of action.

The Gap store is based in the busiest street in Belfast and from the start it attracted a huge amount of attention from passers-by; many of them joined in.

After a few speeches, chants, whistle blowing and drum banging it was obvious people wanted a little extra. Someone shouted “everyone inside” and while police and security tried to lock the doors they were just too late to stop about 50 protesters getting inside the store. The protesters remained inside for about twenty minutes chanting - with the protesters still outside answering the chants. It was only when people began to form a chain and perform the can can that the police and security physically forced the protesters outside.

The call then went up to go to McDonalds instead, which is approx 150 yrds from the Gap. We then had an hilarious situation where police had to race the protesters to see who could get to McDonalds first. Of course the police being fat and underworked lost the race, and a sit down protest was well underway by the time they caught up.

Again they manhandled protesters outside only for the call to go up to run in the direction of the nearby Disney store which unfortunately had already locked it’s doors.

The protest finished with a pledge from protesters to be down on the official trade union march on Saturday to begin the serious business of linking anti-capitalist action with the organised labour movement in Northern Ireland in order to help strenghten and build both.

Mayday’s protest was very significant in Belfast, not only as part of the global protests, but also because it gives lie to the notion that all politics here are either orange or green. The people on the streets on Mayday were both Catholic and Protestant but their priority was not justice for one cause or one community, instead it was about justice for the whole of humankind. I think everyone there went away with a deep feeling of pride to have played a part.