Over 27,000 people attended last Saturday’s anti-Mercosur protest in Athlone, according to the event’s organisers Independent Ireland. And the message came back to us that we need to move forward on this with action and not words,” Mullooly added. The MEP addressed the next vote on the Mercosur at the European Parliament, which he said is a route to defeating the trade deal. “We will have another vote of no confidence in the von der Leyen Commission next week in Strasbourg. To continue the momentum from last weekend’s protest, Mullooly said farmers should canvases their local TDs and Senators at constituency offices on opposition to the deal.

Source: Irish Independent January 15, 2026 12:40 UTC