A protest against Israeli attacks on Gaza outside Irish government buildings in Dublin this eve was attended by some 1,000 people.
After the speeches, the protesters chanted slogans in English, anti-Israel, anti-Bush. An impromptu address in Arabic echoed over the crowd, a muslim gentleman, chanted through a loud-speaker, it could have been a prayer for all I knew, an angry mood caught and spread. From the crush of foreign looking gents, the foreign sounding shouts rose.
Eyes were buzzing over a huddle of men, a crude rendition of the Israeli flag whooped up into the frigid January air - a man with a zippo studiously held a corner to its flame, an arm in the crush, squirted lighter fluid - whoop.
The emblem of Israel was gone in seconds, only tendrils of blackend ash remained.
The crush was broken by an Irish bear of a man, lank white hair and a worried air, an organiser? but it was too late, the photo op had come and gone.
The crowd was coalescing into a 150 strong group of repentant worshippers. Leading the prayer, Imam Yahya Al-Hussein, knelt down before the gates of the Irish government, and chanted out. The secular, native crowd held back in silence. The quelled crowd prayed in unison.
Afterwards the worshippers moved tamely to the rear of the solidarity procession that was moving off towards Dawson Street.
I thought about photographing the tangled ember on the tarmac of Dawson street.