Kevin Hayes, St Xavier's National School, Ballybeg, Co Waterford, at yesterday's march

MORE THAN 40,000 people took to the streets of Dublin yesterday to protest against budget cutbacks in education. In one of the biggest marches seen in recent years, the crowd, originally expected to be in the region of 20,000, marched through the capital chanting "No ifs. No buts. No education cuts".

Folk band The Fureys entertained the protestors from the back of a lorry for half an hour, as the crowd converged on Merrion Square, before speakers from teachers' unions, parents' groups and opposition politicians addressed the crowd. The president of the INTO, Declan Kelleher, claimed that as yesterday's Dublin march was a culmination of a series of marches held in Galway, Offaly, Cork and Donegal, that more than 110,000 people had now protested against the cuts and the government should not allow their calls to fall on deaf ears.

Full story: Page 6

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Armageddon next year: Pages 12 and 13

Teachers must learn to make sacrifices: Editorial, Page 21.