Up to 100,000 people gathered in the centre of Dublin on Saturday to protest at the Irish government's handling of the recession.
The BBC reports many were angry at plans to impose a pension levy on public sector workers.
Trade union organisers of the march said workers did not cause the economic crisis but they were having to pay for it.
In a statement, the government said it recognised that the measures it was taking were "difficult and in some cases painful".
It said the pension levy was "reasonable" and reflected "the reality that we are not in a position to continue to meet the public service pay bill in the circumstances of declining revenue".
Police said 100,000 people were on the streets and organisers said they expected 200,000 to protest in total.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, which organised the march, said it was campaigning for "a fairer and better way" of dealing with the crisis.
Ireland officially fell into recession in September 2008 and unemployment has risen sharply since then.
The number of people claiming the unemployment benefit rose to 326,000 in January - the highest monthly level since records began in 1967.
