Several hundred protesters from environmental group Extinction Rebellion are marching through Dublin City centre calling for action on climate change.

The activists are preparing to set up camp in Merrion Square Park and plan various events for the week ahead.

Similar events are taking place in capital cities around the world. Up to 135 people had been arrested in London already by 12.30pm.

In Dublin, a mock funeral was held outside the gates of the Dail where organiser Corey Rothwell read out a “eulogy” for planet Earth.

“Farewell Eden, farewell futures that will never be, farewell ice,” he said.

“Farewell Starbucks, Tesco and online shopping.

“Farewell fossil fuels, farewell capitalism,” he added.

He said the activists were “trying to be an alarm bell, a canary in the coal mine” to warn the Government about the need to take action to combat climate change.

Another organiser, Lorna Tierney from Co Kildare, said she was planning to join fellow activists and camp out in Merrion Square Park tonight.

Extinction Rebellion protests are taking place in cities around the world and already there have been a number of arrests.

Ms Tierney said she didn’t expect to see something similar happen in Dublin this week.

“The guards are not the enemy. We don’t plan to be causing too much trouble,” she said.

The protests begin as restaurant owners said they fear ‘no-shows’ if customers are deterred from visiting Dublin’s city centre by the climate change protests.

Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the Restaurants’ Association of Ireland, said people will try to avoid the city centre if they think there is going to be gridlock.

“I think it has to be managed properly,” he told Independent.ie.

“Every cancellation that we have in our restaurants, that’s lost revenue to an industry that is struggling at the moment.”

He said his members were “concerned” but he hoped the public would use public transport or other means to make their way into the city centre.

He said that the margins in the industry are “very tight”. Restaurants have seen a drop in the number of UK visitors and are already feeling the effects of Brexit.

Mr Cummins said this was a quiet time before the Christmas period, “so all of this doesn’t help our business model”.

Annette Jorgensen, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion Ireland, said people from all over the country were set to attend today’s events.

“We don’t want to target any particular individual business owner. We are on their side. We feel that the Government has left us with no other choice.

“We feel we have tried absolutely everything, we have signed petition after petition, and emailed and phoned politicians. We had demonstrations, and they are still leading us down the road to absolute disaster, a disaster that will be so much worse than any disruption that we are able to cause in a week in Dublin.”

She said the economy would “completely collapse” if climate chaos happens “and that is what we are trying to avoid by doing this”.

“The main people we are trying to communicate with here is the Government. We want them to acknowledge how serious the situation is. And that means they have to look at the science and take it on board.”

A campsite will be set up at a nearby location, with a kitchen and a canteen.

“It’s a family friendly atmosphere,” Ms Jorgensen said.

The week will end next Sunday with an inter-faith vigil for victims of climate change around the world, she said, adding each day has a different theme.

A Garda spokesperson said gardaí have “a role in ensuring that peaceful protests can take place, and also in preventing injury and protecting life. Our objective with any such operation is to ensure the safety of the public.

“We respect people’s right to peaceful protest and will facilitate same.”

Meanwhile, more than 160 Irish academics had signed a letter of support for Extinction Rebellion yesterday.

London

Two protesters mounted a Land Rover and trailer at Trafalgar Square roundabout, one wearing a gas mask and trench coat and the other with an XR flag and a sign reading “stop ecoside”.

Police surrounded the vehicle but have not moved the protesters.

Extinction Rebellion protesters also performed yoga on Westminster bridge.

James Bickerton said: “Protesters on Westminster Bridge have lit an incense candle and got mats out for yoga. It’s all gone very rainbow rhythms.”

Protesters are lying under a trailer parked in the middle of the road at Trafalgar Square.

Others stacked a pile of items including a kitchen sink, pans, and camp chairs beside them on the pavement.

The Metropolitan Police said that as of 12.30pm today, they had made 135 arrests.

Addtional reporting by PA

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