Religious orders protest at Lansdowne Road against the proposed rugby tour of South Africa.
Priests, brothers, nuns and other protesters carrying banners gather at the Irish Rugby Football Union offices calling for the Ireland tour to South Africa to be cancelled. The protestors intend to hold a continuous vigil, Jesuit clerical student Chris Harrison says,
To express our solidarity and to show that we are prepared to give a Christian witness to let the IRFU know that they do not go to South Africa with the goodwill of many many of the Irish people and that we wish to condemn them... if they proceed with the tour
He warns that the tour may harm the good work already done by the Church in South Africa. He says it is never too late for the Irish Rugby Football Union to cancel the trip. He appeals to the players,
To think about what they are doing and to think about what's at stake for those oppressed peoples in South Africa.
He also suggests that the government could intervene and withdraw the passports of players intending to travel to South Africa.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 8 April 1981.
