Climate change activists blocked traffic on O’Connell Bridge in Dublin city centre staging a “die in” protest for several minutes on Saturday afternoon.

Several dozen Extinction Rebellion protesters laid down in the middle of the road on the bridge, holding up traffic shortly after 1pm on Saturday.

A small Garda presence attended the demonstration and blocked the road off from traffic for the duration of the brief protest.

The protest was “to remember those on the front line of climate change who are suffering the most,” the group said.

Extinction Rebellion Ireland (XRI) has held several protests in a week of action, which saw activists arrested after chaining themselves to the gates of Leinster House on Thursday night.

The group are the Irish arm of a global Extinction Rebellion movement. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill The five XRI activists were later released without charge from Pearse Street Garda Station.

On Saturday the group marched from College Green to O’Connell Bridge pushing three kayaks on wheels, to protest the dangers of rising sea levels due to climate change.

For the duration of the week of action the environmentalist group has set up a camp in Merrion Square.

On Friday a crowd of around 150 protesters marched from the XRI camp in Merrion Square to the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment on Adelaide Road. The protestors pasted excerpts from scientific papers about the impact of burning methane gas to the exterior wall of the department, and obstructed the main entrances to the building.