The Shelbourne Hotel isn't the sort of establishment where one expects a fracas. So when Youth Defence came screaming into a pro-choice press conference yesterday, staff and guests looked horrified.
With pictures of blood-covered foetuses and accusations of murder, they yelled personal abuse at Prof Ivana Bacik of Alliance for Choice. Gardaí were called but, by the time they arrived, Youth Defence had gone.
"It's not often you see the guards in here," one worker confided. It had all started very differently. Pro-choice groups had gathered in an upstairs suite to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1983 abortion referendum.
There were dignified speeches about the reality of women's lives, especially the 100,000 who have travelled to England for abortions since 1983. And then came Youth Defence.
Ten young men and women ran into the press conference, shouting at the tops of their voices. "Abortion is murder! Bacik has no right - to sacrifice a life!" they chanted, glaring at Ms Bacik, who is Reid Professor of Criminal Law at Trinity College.
They stood behind the pro-choice campaigners, waving their placards. "This is what they want to legalise", read one, accompanied by a picture of a blood-stained foetus. Others said "Abortion is murder" and "Labour the pro-abortion party".
A placard was shoved into Prof Bacik's face but she pushed it away. Labour MEP Mr Proinsias de Rossa, who was in the audience, came and stood at her side, placing an arm around her. Then the pro-choice campaigners rose to their feet, singing We Shall Overcome.
Youth Defence shouted louder so the pro-choice campaigners raised their voices, too. They held up posters demanding the legalisation of abortion. The commotion could be heard all over the hotel. A porter politely asked the anti-abortionists to leave. They refused so he departed. The frantic-looking manager ran along the corridor, asking everyone in sight what was going on.
Eventually Youth Defence left and the press conference restarted. Mr de Rossa condemned the group's "bully-boy tactics" and said it wanted to deny women choice. Ms Bacik received a standing ovation. She said she wouldn't be intimidated from demanding safe, legal abortion in the Republic.