Dublin Riots: Anti-Immigrant Violence Erupts After Knife Attack
Facts
- Ireland's capital erupted into riots, violence, and looting Thursday night after a knife attack at a school earlier in the day left a woman and three young children in hospital with their injuries. Two of the victims, a 5-year-old girl and a 30-year-old woman, were in a serious condition, police officials said; the suspect, in police custody, was also hospitalized in serious condition.1
- Drew Harris, the police commissioner for Gardaí, Ireland's national police, said that people 'filled with hate' began descending on the crime scene at 5:30 p.m. local time, disrupting the police investigation. 'From there on, the violence escalated,' Harris said.2
- In the ensuing riots, police said 400 uniformed Gardaí officers were deployed in Dublin city center, including 250 'public order' police. After order was restored around 9 p.m., police said that a total of 13 properties were attacked or damaged, including a number of stores that were looted. Police also said a number of officers were injured, one of them seriously; a total of 34 people were arrested.3
- Harris blamed the riots on 'a complete lunatic hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology,' and reports suggested that they began after anti-immigrant groups claimed the perpetrator of the knife attack was a foreigner, triggering the backlash. Police have yet to publicly name the individual and he has not been identified.4
- During the violence, rioters set fire to the entrance of the Holiday Inn Express hotel — a building the Irish government has reportedly used to house illegal immigrants and asylum seekers in the city. Videos on social media also suggested that Dublin City Dorms, another site that reportedly houses asylum seekers, was also attacked.5
- In a press conference intended for a British-Irish Council meeting at Dublin Castle on Friday, the Irish leader, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, said 'two terrible attacks' had taken place on Thursday. 'The first was an attack on innocent children, the second an attack on our society and the rule of law. Each attack brought shame to our society and disgrace to those involved and incredible pain to those caught up in the violence.'6
- He added: 'I want to say to a nation that is unsettled and afraid, this is not who we are, this is not where we want to be, and this is not who we will ever be. Those involved brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland, and brought shame on their families and themselves.'6
Sources: 1CBS, 2Newstalk, 3Garda, 4Express, 5Times Now and 6ITV News.
Narratives
- Left narrative, as provided by Yahoo News. According to a recent study into online disinformation trends in Ireland, researchers said far-right elements in the country have not only grown but play a crucial role in the disinformation space. These groups often spread hateful and misleading content about a number of groups including migrants and refugees. Now this disinformation is having real-world consequences as these riots demonstrate. Ireland needs to crack down on this far-right hate.
- Right narrative, as provided by Business Post. This violence is a tragedy, and at the same time Ireland needs to have a real conversation about immigration. While tensions are already surfacing, new plans laid out by the EU last week will mean that Ireland will take in more asylum seekers than nearly every other European country. That's because so many multinational firms are based in Ireland, meaning it has the second-largest Gross Domestic Product — a key factor in how many asylum seekers it has to take in. This trend of more and more immigration is unsustainable.
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by RTE. Both the knife attack and the riots that shook Dublin on Thursday were despicable acts of violence and do not represent the nation of Ireland or its people. Those who engaged in them brought shame on their country, their families, and themselves. Police are investigating both events to the fullest extent of their powers and those who participated will be held to account.