Dublin: On Thursday, some protesters engaged in running battles with police, burning cars and looting shops in Dublin following the knife-stabbing of 3 children outside their school.
Groups of cops clad in riot gear walked around the streets in the Irish capital while others were taunted by people who sang at them and fired crackers. Flames from a burning car and bus hovered above near O’Connell Bridge across River Liffey, while the mobs raided a big shopping area along one of the main streets in the city.
This uproar – this was the worst unrest which occurred in Dublin for five years, since a five-year- old girl was seriously injured with a knife in Parnell square, east of the North Central Dublin area.
Two other children and two adults — a woman and the suspected perpetrator of the attack — were taken to hospital after the incident around 1: 30 pm (1330 GMT).
Unrest was fuelled by rumours in social media about the assailant, whom police said only that he was an adult over 50 years old.
Police chief Drew Harris denounced a “lunatics’ faction of the far right” and warned over information.Among these protesters were signs reading “Irish Lives Matter” while others waved Irish flags in a neighbourhood through the immigrant community, toward someone’s house.
“Out!” Ireland, Dublin. According to AFP, one of the protesters stated, “These scums are attacking Irish people.”
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Ireland suffers from a chronic shortage of residential units, according to estimates by its government that it lacks almost a million dwellings for ordinary people.
Dissatisfaction of such magnitude has contributed to a backlash toward asylum seekers. It also feeds in anti-immigration sentiment on social media and at rallies. Some extreme right figures have even claimed that “Ireland is filling up”.
As the situation was brought under control by early evening, Police Chief Superintendent Patrick McMenamin remarked that there were no major casualties.He termed it as “gratuitous thuggery.”
Dublin’s Backlash:
The riots took place in the city centre involving the attacks against policemen. She vowed that “these cannot and will not be tolerated” as she stated that she is going to address them.” She also called for calm by stating: “A thuggish and manipulative element should not be left to abuse an appaling tragedy.”
Eyewitness reports, together with media sources indicated that it was probably another unrelated terrorist act involving a person armed with a knife stabbing injured victims outside a secondary school on Thursday.
The witnesses said that a man had been disarmed. According to the Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, one of the suspects was arrested. Superintendent Liam Geraghty later claimed in the media that “a five-year old young girl had suffered serious injuries’ ‘ and was being given urgent medical attention. He added that only three minor cases were observed—a five years old boy, a six years old girl.
While at this time the doctor could only speak of the woman’s condition as critical and having been transferred to the hospital, the man who was said to be over fifty years old remained “a person of interest” by the police. According to Sioban Kearney, “the scene was absolutely bedlam” when it first began and she witnessed this from across the street. “I didn’t even think about it, I just went across the street to pitch in,” she said to Irish national broadcaster RTE.
A young boy armed with a knife got another youngster, and disarmed the third one.
Some people joined Kearney who tied down the suspect while others went to take injured ones inside the school. ‘Horrified’ ,He stated that it was unbelievable.
He said in a statement that, “the emergency services responded and reached very soon within minutes and he thanked them for this.” A suspect has been arrested by Gardai (Ireland’s national police and their investigators).
EU president Ursula von der Leyen described it as a “horrific and shocking” brutal attack”. Irish labour party’s local lawmakers Aodhan O Riordain called the incident “disturbing”.
To quote him on X; “Hope injuries are not serious, but will (be) extremely traumatising nonetheless for all those involved”. The leader of the Sinn Féin opposition party, Mary Lou McDonald, also expressed her “horror” over what had occurred.
