Library workers who faced intimidation, harassment and abuse during a coordinated campaign targeting public libraries have had their response recognised with a nomination for the Emilio Gabaglio Award, a major international trade union prize recognising outstanding solidarity-based action across Europe. 

The award was launched at a conference in Belgrade in 2025. It takes its name from Emilio Gabaglio, a founding figure and former general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), born to working class Italian roots in 1937. He dedicated his life to building a Europe based on solidarity. 

Fórsa’s nomination was submitted by the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) and highlights Fórsa's campaign in defence of library staff following a wave of far-right organised protests targeting LGBTQ+ books and programmes in public libraries across Ireland.  

Speaking about the decision to nominate the campaign, EPSU Officer Pablo Sánchez Centellas said: "This campaign is a model for those of us working at European level, as it combines different elements of the best practices we are trying to promote for trade union renewal and to increase trade union density." 

"It empowers municipal employees, it makes a clear link with the model of inclusive and progressive society we want to build, with taking to the streets and building power in the workplace, as well as alliances between workers and broader society. For the EPSU the fight against the far right and authoritarian politics is part of the fight back for a different future." 

“They were screaming, shouting, hurling abuse at our members” 

Across 2024 and 2025, libraries in several counties became the focus of protests importing far-right tactics from the States. Workers reported abuse, unauthorised filming, live-streaming, threatening phone calls and sustained online harassment. In some cases, libraries were forced to close temporarily due to safety concerns, and one incident escalated into physical assault.  

Recalling the genesis of the campaign, national secretary Richy Carrothers described how Cork City Library became the focal point of the early protests and what workers faced on the frontline.  

“Cork was at the epicentre of this. Far-right agitators entered Cork City Library demanding the removal of LGBTQ+ books. There was a coordinated campaign targeting the trans community and, by extension, the wider LGBTQ+ community. They were screaming, shouting, hurling abuse at our members, and live-streaming these incidents on social media for clickbait.” 

He said the impact on staff was immediate and deeply unsettling. 

“It wasn't just a Cork phenomenon, but Fórsa took the matter very seriously. At the time, we were the only ones speaking out. Employers and many people within the political system essentially went into hiding, and it was left to us to stand up and speak on behalf of library workers across the country.” 

“The library is the hub of the community” 

For library workers, the response was not just about defending their own safety, but about protecting the role of libraries in public life. Cliadhna Dinneen, a member of the Cork Local Government branch said the strength of feeling among staff and communities quickly became clear. 

“The library is the hub of the community. We were fortunate to have some strong library representatives here in Cork who raised the issue very early on. Working alongside our union officials, we decided to organise a counter-rally in support of library workers.” 

What followed, she said, was a powerful show of solidarity. 

“We received fantastic support from Fórsa members across the country, but just as importantly, many other groups came out on the day to stand with library workers, who do an awful lot for their communities.” 

“It was a great show of solidarity. Our library workers appreciated it enormously, and I think library workers across the country did too, because this didn't just happen in Cork - it started in Cork.” 

“A pervasive undercurrent of anxiety and unease” 

The experiences described by workers have since been reflected in independent research. 

In 2024, a University College Dublin report, Resisting Hate and Navigating Agitation, funded by the Irish Research Council (now Research Ireland) and commissioned by Fórsa and LGBT Ireland, documented the impact of coordinated agitation on library staff. 

It found workers were operating in what researchers described as a “pervasive undercurrent of anxiety and unease”, driven by repeated disruption, online abuse and the expectation of further incidents. 

The report found staff were routinely required to implement additional security measures, manage organised harassment and respond to individuals using social media and pseudo-legal tactics to intimidate them. 

Workers described books being removed from shelves, pages torn from materials, confrontations being filmed and broadcast online, and in some cases, staff being labelled as paedophiles or groomers. 

The report recommended stronger security procedures, improved incident reporting and closer cooperation with An Garda Síochána and local authorities. 

“We will not allow hate, division or discrimination” 

For many library workers, however, the experience also strengthened their sense of purpose. 

Speaking at a hastily organised rally in late November 2024 just days after horrendous racist rioting in Dublin, Fórsa member and librarian Edel Scally said the campaign brought together workers and communities determined to resist division. 

“As a librarian, our message is simple: hands off our libraries. We stand for the LGBTQ+ community, for the migrant community, and for those who feel ostracised from society, because that's what libraries do. It's that simple.” 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa.