The violence was allegedly provoked by anti-immigrant groups, leading to the arrest of 34 people

By Jack Pluth and Justin Malone, Staff Writer and World News Editor

Last Thursday, Dublin was struck with civil unrest in response to a knife attack that injured five people, including three children. Unrest died down in the Irish capital amid heavy police presence after 34 individuals were arrested following a string of riots.

The violence occurred just hours after three children and a school care assistant were stabbed outside of an elementary school in Dublin’s Parnell Square. A five-year-old girl remained in critical condition at a local hospital, and the children’s care assistant — a woman in her 30s who police say used her body to protect the children — was treated for serious injuries. The attacker, a man in his 50s, was also treated for critical injuries and taken into custody by police. 

Members of the public intervened at an early stage in the knife attack, including Caio Benicio, a 43-year-old Brazilian delivery driver for Deliveroo, who said that he knocked the perpetrator to the ground by striking him with his helmet. 

The Garda Síochána, the Irish police force, have not ruled out any motive for the attacks and have not commented on the nationality of the man arrested in connection with the stabbings. 

According to researchers specializing in extremist movements, unconfirmed reports that he was an Algerian migrant quickly began circulating in anti-immigrant and far-right groups. 

Rumors surrounding the man’s nationality and his unfounded links to illegal immigration began circulating, causing anti-immigrant groups to call for a demonstration to stand against crime in Dublin. A crowd of protestors who met at the scene of the attack, then began to clash with police who arrived to deter unrest. Some of the rioters carried banners reading “Irish Lives Matter” in crowds that were estimated to be around 200-300 people. 

Eleven police cars were damaged or destroyed after allegedly being set ablaze by rioters, along with three buses and a tram. 

Fireworks and flares were also allegedly thrown at police, and the windows of several hotels and hostels were smashed. Thirteen shops were also significantly damaged or subject to looting during the violence, especially those that were on the waterfront of the River Liffey. People were urged to stay away from large parts of Dublin due to the unrest, which also temporarily closed public transit throughout the city.

“I think that we’ve seen an element of radicalization. We have seen a group of people who take literally a thimble full of facts and make a bathtub of hateful assumptions and then conduct themselves in a way which is riotous and disruptive to our society,” Garda Síochána commissioner Drew Harris said.

Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee remarked that the deployment of riot police in response to the unrest was the largest in the history of the nation. The attacks were also condemned by all political parties in Ireland, including the opposition party Sinn Feín, whose president Mary Lou McDonald said there was an “unacceptable failure” to keep people safe on the night of the riots.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar also condemned the disorder in Dublin. 

“Those involved have brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland and brought shame on their families and themselves. This is not who we are. This is not who we want to be, and this is not who we will ever be,” Varadkar said. 

He also said that his government would use “full resources of the law” to punish the perpetrators and create stricter anti-hate legislation. Ministers in the Irish parliament also plan to fast-track laws that would allow officers to use body cameras.