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Taken from here. Cairo airport is crawling with troops and the east of the city likewise, guns pointing every which way.

Three deaths from sniper fire in Tahrir Square were reported last night. The army has withdrawn, for the time being, with just a few tanks blocking some of the side streets.

In the streets leading to the square, you could cut the tension with a knife. Then, coming down to Tahrir, it suddenly lifts as people converge through the side streets and checkpoints. All the checkpoints today are citizen checkpoints and I was searched by friendly girls and had my ID checked four times at different points before I made it in. The barricades at the square entrances are flimsy, with heaps of stones ready behind them.

Once you are in it's a different world: everything is shared, including food and blankets and everyone is friendly and helpful beyond imagination. Today, the square is packed with thousands of people and there's a festive atmosphere, some people recently bereaved of brothers or children just mixed in with the crowds who are singing, clapping and dancing, and showing photographs of the young men, and one young woman who have died.

The square has a raised plinth in the middle on which there is a 'tent city', so it's not possible to see it all from any one viewpoint. There are a few different points with mikes and platforms and constant meetings and prayers sessions being held. There are a good few men sprawled asleep on the ground after night watch duties.

People there today are of all ages and there are plenty of women, carrying hand written message signs and in groups, chanting and clapping. The signs that people hold up are scrutinised carefully and photos taken of them: mine included. I was drawn into sign-writing duties after a while and there is now a nice line in English translation of some of the favourite arabic slogans. Appreciation for signs is sometimes in the form of food supplies

I was welcomed and thanked for being there about a thousand times, many times 'from the heart', which a bit embarrassing, as it is themselves that have been doing it all. There are people in bandages and with very nasty wounds and broken limbs everywhere, from the assaults last Wednesday. Only one man asked why a foreigner should have any views about Mubarak. A couple of people asked me if I knew what the government was saying about foreign spies and was I worried. I asked them if they believed it and they said not at all. This is in contrast with outside the square, where there is a highly strung feeling of wariness and distrust.

It's very difficult to explain what 'no more fear' feels like, in a crowd that's been under a dictatorship for the last 30 years. I can tell you it's an awful lot better than the atmosphere we have now in Ireland.