Fuel campaigners planning 'one of the biggest protests ever in Donegal' later today

“One of the biggest protests in Donegal” is set to take place this evening.

A stop-protest starting at Manorcunningham Roundabout at 5pm and going onto the dual carriageway towards Dry Arch in Letterkenny is being planned and organisers have insisted they do not intend to block roads and the protest is a peaceful one. 

A go-slow protest took place on the 20km stretch from Bridgend to Manorcunningham on Thursday in solidarity with fuel protesters in Dublin and was organised by Joey Lyle from Lyle Agri in Moville and assisted by Mark Hegarty, a Burt native residing in Bridgend.

Since then, there have been similar protests in the Twin Towns and this morning between Ballyshannon and Donegal Town. 

“We're in the process of organising hopefully, one of the biggest protests ever to be in Donegal,” Mark said. “We don't want people blocking people and stuff. There are rules and regulations.

“We want to keep everybody on site. We want to keep everybody together. We'll try and make this as eventful and good as we can without anybody getting disrupted.

READ NEXT: Diversions in place to facilitate five-day east Donegal road works

“This is what this protest is going to be about, it's not about blocking anybody or causing a hindrance to everybody. There's a pile of smaller protests happening all around the whole county as we can't make it to Dublin.”

The ongoing fuel protests in Ireland are a response to rapidly rising fuel prices and broader cost-of-living pressures. The demonstrations around the county and specifically in the wider Dublin area, have been led by a grassroots movement of hauliers, farmers, and transport-dependent workers. 

Prices have spiked significantly due to global energy shocks, specifically linked to the 2026 US-Israeli war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Diesel has reached approximately €2.17 per litre, while petrol is around €1.93–€1.95 per litre.

Protesters frequently cite that Irish taxes - including excise, VAT, and carbon tax - account for roughly 52% to 59% of the pump price and claim the Irish government is not doing enough to protect the people from the high costs. Hauliers and farmers say current prices make their businesses unsustainable, leading to potential financial ruin for many in the transport and agricultural sectors.

The Irish Defence Forces being called in to support An Garda Síochána contributed to the reason for locally-arranged protests.

“We want to unite all these together now, the whole lot as one to get as many people all packed in for social media, for drone pictures, for the news, for whoever is going to be there to send a message to Dublin to say Donegal is not gone off their map - it might be gone off the government's map but it's not gone for us,” Mark added.

“We want to send the message that we're here and we're loud and clear and we're behind this protest. Everyone in Donegal is affected by this. The government's going to try to divide everybody down the centre. They're going to try these dirty tactics now to divide everybody down the centre.

“The only divide I want now is the Irish people against the Irish government. Keep calm heads, try not to do silly things. Let's try and make this as peaceful as possible. The boys in Dublin are doing to do it peacefully. Let's show them that we can do it as well.  

“We're going to try and get the guards involved here. I want everybody to respect the guards, everybody to respect, most importantly, ambulances and people trying to get to hospitals. It could be one of our own family members, who could take a turn at any time to get there. Anybody who's even organising protests, try and bear that in mind. Try not to block businesses, because businesses are affected by this as well.

“If you start blocking people's businesses or blocking a hospital or blocking anything, you're going to lose the respect of the people. Let's join all the protests together. And we're going to go to Letterkenny. We're not going to block Letterkenny, so people there, so don't be panicking. 

“We're going to start on the dual carriageway at Manor Roundabout. That's going to be the main spot. We're going to take the two lanes and the grass and the centre. Tractors and all can get into the centre of the grass. We're going to leave the hard shoulder as big as we possibly can - bigger than it actually is. And those two lanes on each side of the dual carriageway are to be left open at all times. 

“I don't want to see anybody blocking those two hard shoulders - the one going into Letterkenny and the one coming out has to be kept open because at any time there could be an ambulance, or a guard of the car, or a doctor, or somebody needing to get to a hospital. We want them to have a free run straight into Letterkenny.

“When you come, we'll try and get traffic marshals and the guards to all the tractors, try and get up on the grass wherever you can.  There are plenty of big businessmen in Donegal. You need to get out. Get your men out. Get your tractors out. Get your lorries out. Get your whatever has a set of wheels on it that can drive. Taxis. Buses. People in cars. Take your families. 

“This one is going to be big. I'm hoping that this dual carriageway in Letterkenny is going to be lined the whole way. We're going to try and have as many people there, marshalling, trying to keep things moving. No blockades. We want all the protests to come together as one big one, from the whole of Donegal.

“Just take control of the thing yourselves. We'll do our best. Everybody try and be responsible for themselves. If you see somebody doing something stupid and blocking something, just have a word with them. This is not what this is about. This is a peaceful protest. This is about getting everybody together and trying to unite everybody. It’s about being peaceful and not blocking anybody."

Mark added that the invite is an open one and called on Donegal’s TDs and county councillors to weigh in with their support.

“We're going to call out every TD in this county and there's plenty in this county to be there,” he added. “It's going to be in Donegal, so you've no excuse not to be there. Every county councillor in Donegal should be there. Everyone is invited. It's up to you if you want to come or not.”