Over 500 people gathered together in a rally to support immigration in Dublin days after city centre riots spewed following the knife attack on children on Thursday.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) managed to call on workers to gather at 1 pm outside the GPO on O’Connell Street.
The ICTU organisation has a workforce of more than 800,000 workers across the island of Ireland.
According to Owen Reidy, general secretary of the ICTU, the purpose of the event was to demonstrate to those with immigrant origins that they are welcome in Ireland.
In the rally, he shared his views on how important it is to establish Dublin as a safe space for migrant workers, especially in the hospital industry as many of them “were too afraid” to come back to work in days following the riots.
“Today is an opportunity for the citizens of Dublin to come together to show solidarity for our frontline workers, who were put in harm’s way last Thursday night. The outrageous riots and violent behaviour we have to condemn and not accept,” the ICTU General Secretary said at the rally.
The revulsion for anti-immigration in Dublin erupted just hours after three kids and a school care worker were stabbed outside a primary school on Parnell Square on Thursday night.
After school at Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire, the kids were lining up when a man brandishing a knife attacked them.
A six-year-old boy and two girls, ages five and six, were stabbed.
The woman in her 30s who worked as their care assistant attempted to shield the kids, but she was stabbed as well and suffered critical injuries.
She is still in the hospital, as is the five-year-old daughter who suffered serious injuries.
The six-year-old girl, who suffered brain injuries, was released from the hospital over the weekend, while the boy was released from the hospital on Friday.
It is believed that the accused is in his late 40s and has been an Irish citizen for almost 20 years.
Following the attack, he was also brought to the hospital.
“Lunatic, hooligan faction…”, Dublin Police on Emerging Riots
Rioters flocked to the streets, attacking gardaí (police officers), setting cars on fire, and smashing into stores to steal merchandise, a few hours after the incident.
The altercation involved over 500 people, compelling the Irish police to launch their largest-ever reaction to a public order issue.
Several policemen were injured and three buses were burned.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris criticised the rioting as a “lunatic, hooligan faction driven by a far-right ideology”.
Following the uprising, opposition leader Mary Lou McDonald of Sinn Féin questioned Mr. Harris’s statement that the violence was unforeseeable.
Ms. McDonald demanded the resignation of Justice Minister Helen McEntee and the commissioner.
The Oireachtas (Irish parliament) Justice Committee called Mr. Harris and Ms. McEntee to a meeting on Wednesday to talk about the riot, which was announced on Monday.
Ms. Entee stated that while she would be pleased to come before the committee, she would not be available on the specified day owing to prior commitments, according to an article from Irish broadcaster RTÉ.
Officials from numerous political parties, including Sinn Féinand the Labour Party alongside hundreds of union members attended the demonstration on Monday.
Mr. Reidy also thanked the emergency services, local government employees, medical personnel, and media personnel who were on duty during the incident on Thursday night.
The present hostile situation in Dublin and the necessity to assure migrant workers of a “safe space” in the country repeatedly came up in the following statements by Mr. Reidy.
