These are extremely violent scenes which affected the Irish capital. Clashes, attributed to the far right, broke out on Thursday, November 23, in Dublin after a knife attack which left several people injured, including three children, in the middle of the day, in which the police ruled out any terrorist motive. Several vehicles, including a police car and a bus, were set on fire and stores were looted, noted an AFP journalist.
Calm returned at the end of the evening, after events described as “gratuitous savagery” by Chief Superintendent Patrick McMenamin. No serious injuries were reported despite the “attacks” which targeted the police, added the police official, specifying that up to 400 police officers were mobilized.
The violent clashes have not been seen for “decades”, said the head of the Irish police (Garda) on Friday. “What we saw last night was an extraordinary explosion of violence (…) with scenes that we have not seen in decades,” Commissioner Drew Harris said at a press briefing, adding that the police had arrested 34 people.
A neighborhood where an immigrant population lives
“Irish Lives Matter” signs and Irish flags were brandished during these unprecedented incidents for several years, in which hundreds of people took part, noted the AFP journalist.
They broke out in a neighborhood where there is an immigrant population, and against a backdrop of rumors about the origin of the alleged attacker, who the police simply indicated was a man in his fifties. years, who was hospitalized.
The police were targeted by projectiles from a crowd which was also hostile towards “the mainstream media”. “At around 10:00 p.m. (local time and GMT), police reported that the streets of Dublin city center were now “mostly calm.” “We will not tolerate a small number using appalling facts to sow division.” Justice Minister Helen McEntee said in a statement, calling for “calm.” She also warned that attacks on the police must be “condemned” and will be dealt with “severely.”
Police secure the scene in Dublin after a police car was set on fire during clashes following a stabbing attack on November 23, 2023 in Dublin
© / afp.com/Peter MURPHY
“Rumors” and “insinuations”
A police official, Commissioner Drew Harris, spoke of a “faction of crazy hooligans driven by far-right ideology”. “The facts” which occurred at the very beginning of the afternoon, where a woman and a little girl were seriously injured “are not yet clear”, he stressed, deploring widespread “rumors” and “insinuations”. “for malicious purposes.” “Irish people are being attacked by these scum,” said one individual during the clashes, others in the crowd referring to the murder of a young teacher by a Slovak national who was recently sentenced to life in prison.
Faced with a housing crisis, the country has seen the development, under the influence of far-right figures, of an anti-immigration discourse according to which “Ireland is full”. According to the first elements of the investigation, a man attacked several people around 1:30 p.m. (local and GMT), said Liam Geraghty, head of the local police.
A suspect has been arrested, announced Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. According to the police, it concerns a man in his fifties, who was hospitalized. The police are not looking for “anyone else”, declared Liam Geraghty, stressing that the investigators ruled out any “terrorist” motive in view of the first elements of the investigation. “It appears to be an isolated attack for which we need to determine the reasons,” he said, referring to the use of a knife. The events occurred near a school, according to Irish media. The five injured people were taken to several hospitals in the Dublin area, police said.
“Isolated attack”
“We are all shocked by the events that occurred in Parnell Square,” the Irish Prime Minister said in a statement, sending “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and their families.
The injured are a woman, three young children and a man, who according to some media is the suspect. A five-year-old girl and the woman, aged around 30, are “seriously” injured, according to the police.
A five-year-old boy has been released from the hospital, police said. “Without thinking, I crossed the street to help,” Siobhan Kearney, a witness to the scene, told Irish media RTE. According to his account, the attacker was disarmed in particular with the help of a young man. “Another man took the knife and put it aside” so that it could be handed over to the police, she said.