Ireland’s prime minister has pledged to clamp down after 34 people were arrested following a rampage through Dublin overnight by a far-right mob.
Labelling the violence a “shame on Ireland”, Leo Varadkar said on Friday that his government would use the “full resources of the law” to punish the perpetrators and tighten hate and incitement legislation. Police have blamed the trouble on “a lunatic faction driven by far-right ideology”.
The clashes broke out in central Dublin, with vehicles torched and riot police attacked, after a five-year-old girl was seriously injured in a knife attack at a school on Thursday. A woman and two other young children were hospitalised in the same attack.
Authorities have not commented on the nationality of a man, also in hospital, who was detained in connection with the stabbings.
However, social media posts regarding the suspect’s ethnic background soon emerged, and a small group of anti-immigrant protesters arrived at the scene and clashed with police.
Later, at least 100 people took to the streets in the centre of the Irish capital, some armed with metal bars and covering their faces.
Police said more than 400 officers, including many in riot gear, were deployed to contain the unrest, which they said was “caused by a small group of thugs”.
A police cordon was also set up around the Irish parliament building, Leinster House, and officers from the Mounted Support Unit were in nearby Grafton Street.
Several police vehicles and a tram were damaged during the disorder, while a bus and car were set on fire on the city’s O’Connell Bridge.
Shop windows were smashed and stores looted as opportunists were reported to have joined the fray.