Overnight riots in Dublin that saw hundreds protest over the alleged sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl by an asylum seeker have added more fuel to a crisis that is increasingly tearing Ireland apart.
The man, a 26-year-old who has not yet been identified, is alleged to have attacked the girl near the CityWest Hotel, which houses asylum seekers, just southwest of the city.
Around a thousand enraged protesters clashed with police last night, throwing bottles and bricks, and launching fireworks at cops outside the hotel.
Many carried signs reading ‘Irish lives matter’ while chanting ‘get them out’.
Tuesday’s protest saw police arrest six in the latest instance of fury at the government over its asylum policies.
It was the latest instance of manifested anger to sweep over the country, which has become increasingly divided over the issue of immigration.
Tensions were already heightened in Dublin this week after a Ukrainian teenager was killed in an attack at a Dublin refugee centre allegedly carried out by a Somali migrant.
Vadym Davydenko, 17, died last week following what authorities described as a ‘serious incident’ at an emergency accommodation facility in Grattan Wood, Donaghmede.
Two others – a teenage boy and a woman – were also taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Gardaí confirmed that one teenage male – understood to be of Somali origin – was arrested after receiving medical treatment. Officers have said they are not seeking anyone else in connection with the case.
Even before this week’s unrest, Dublin had already become the physical heart of the debate around immigration in the country.
Images of asylum seekers setting up home in a squalid tent city along the city’s Grand Canal over the last few years have added to the sense of a growing crisis.
In June, around a dozen of the tents were slashed, with thugs stealing the belongings of homeless migrants. One volunteer who helps asylum seekers told RTE that several men ‘came around threatening that they had to leave’.
The same month thousands took to the streets in another part of Ireland against what they described as ‘mass migration’.
Some 3,000 people joined the anti-immigration rally in Cork organised by Ireland Says No – which attendees said signalled a feeling in the country that ‘enough is enough’.
Protesters, describing themselves as Irish patriots and nationalists, said they have two main grievances – ‘mass migration’ and a belief that they have been forgotten by the government.
Footage of the march showed a sea of tricolour flags raised above the crowds, with chants including ‘Ireland for the Irish’ and ‘Whose streets? Our streets!’.
At the time, the rally’s lead organiser, ultra-nationalist Dublin councillor Malachy Steenson, said that the size of the crowd would instill confidence in people who were concerned about airing their criticisms.
‘We don’t care what Brussels says,’ he told the crowd, ‘we are going to take this country and run it for the benefit of its people.’
Speaking before local elections in November, he stated his view on how he felt this could be achieved: ‘We need to close the borders and stop any more migrants coming in.’
Last month, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said there were currently about 33,000 people in what Ireland describes as ‘international protection’. According to the BBC, that figure was 7,244 in 2017.
This increase comes alongside a growing issue of migrants attempting to use Ireland as a stopover to reach the UK.
Criminal gangs reportedly charge up to €8,000 (£6,600) to smuggle migrants across the border from Ireland into Northern Ireland after advertising it as a safer route than crossing the Channel on small boats, according to officials who spoke to the Mail last year.
They then have the choice of staying in Northern Ireland or travelling to mainland Great Britain.
Hundreds of people were intercepted as part of a Home Office campaign known as Operation Comby, launched in April 2023 to tackle abuses of the Common Travel Area, which allows people to travel between Northern Ireland and the Republic without restrictions.
Meanwhile figures associated with the hard-right, including former MMA fighter Conor McGregor, are increasingly speaking out.
McGregor spoke earlier this year at the White House, claiming that the Irish government had ‘abandoned the voices’ of the Irish people, adding: ‘Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness’.
The ex-fighter, who last month dropped his bid for Irish president, said ahead of his April meeting with Donald Trump: ‘It’s about time that America is made aware of what’s going on in Ireland. What is going on in Ireland is a travesty.
‘Our government is the government of zero action with zero accountability’.
His remarks have only added fuel to the fire.
In Dublin on Tuesday night, riots resulted in five people being charged, with many in public office condemning their actions.
Police were attacked with missiles and fireworks after violence flared outside the hotel.
A female Garda member injured during the violence has since been discharged from hospital after receiving treatment for a foot injury.
A Garda vehicle was also set on fire during the unrest.
Irish premier Micheal Martin condemned the scenes of violence, stating there could be ‘no justification’ for attacks on gardai.
He said: ‘Unfortunately, the weaponising of a crime by people who wish to sow dissent in our society is not unexpected.
‘The gardai are prepared for this, but attacking gardai and property is not an answer, and won’t help to make anyone feel safe.’
He added: ‘Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. Violence is not.
‘There is no excuse for the scenes we have witnessed.’
