The riots that broke out across Dublin city centre on Thursday evening appear to have begun as a heated demonstration at the scene of a tragic incident that took place earlier in the day, Irish police have said.
Three young children and an adult woman and man were all injured in a knife attack outside the Irish-medium primary school Gaelscoil Cholaiste Mhuire on Parnell Square East at approximately 1.30pm on Thursday lunchtime, an incident that immediately made headlines.
Two girls hurt in the attack are currently receiving treatment for serious injuries while a five-year-old boy has already been discharged from hospital. Both adults remain in care and are being treated for serious wounds.
Eyewitness Siobhan Kearney told the broadcaster RTE: “I looked across the road and I see the man and the stabbing motion with a load of children so I flew across the road.
“The man was after stabbing two children as far as I could make out, and we got the children up to the left with the women that were there, and the teachers I presume.
“People were trying to attack the man so me and an American lady, we formed a ring around the man, and then about three minutes later the ambulance came for the children and then another ambulance and fire officers came for the man on the ground.”
Caio Benicio, a Brazil-born Deliveroo driver, said that he leapt from his moped and knocked the knifeman to the ground with his helmet as part of the public effort to stop him.
A police source told The Irish Daily Mail: “We have to say fair play to those people who stepped in. They gave that man a good hiding to make sure he wasn't going to get up and hurt more people, but I can tell you now that they saved lives.”
Police have since said they believe the incident itself was a “standalone” attack and is not terror-related. A man in his 50s has been arrested and named a “person of interest” in the investigation and the scene remains cordoned off as of Friday morning.
In the immediate aftermath of the stabbings, a spontaneous demonstration formed at the edge of the police cordon over the course of Thursday afternoon and escalated as the evening progressed.
A crowd of between 100 and 200 people, some of whom wore scarves and hoodies to cover their faces, confronted gardai verbally before violent clashes erupted with riot police. The mob’s number would ultimately grow to around 500, according to later estimates.
Tricolours and an “Irish lives matter” sign were held by some who were present.
Fireworks and flares were soon thrown at police and, just before 7pm, a Garda car was seen alight near the scene.
Two more police cars sustained fire damage during the episode and another eight were extensively vandalised by the rioters, some of whose actions was captured on mobile phone footage that was swiftly spread across social media.
People were seen picking up furniture from nearby shops and smashing it to the ground, some of whom appeared to be minors.
Several small pushes were made by riot police down O’Connell Street and away from the scene, which appeared to temporarily scatter those gathered, only for them to reform and confront police again.
Some onlookers sheltered in a hotel lobby until the garda effort had moved down towards O’Connell Bridge, where a car and a bus were also set alight.
An empty Luas tram that had been left at a stop nearby had its windows smashed and was set on fire. Dublin Fire Brigade tackled the flames that had engulfed the Luas, as well as nearby buses, once they reached the scene.
Rioters were also seen on nearby Henry Street, a major shopping thoroughfare, looting a Footlocker shoe store.
People threw bottles at gardai on the famous street, while others carried metal bars and smashed shop windows.
Smoke from bus and car fires filled the air while a Garda helicopter monitored the situation overhead.
As of Friday morning, 32 people have been charged over Thursday night’s violence, which required 400 police officers and a further 250 public order officers to contain, according to the authorities.
The affair has been condemned by the Irish justice minister Helen McEntee and the Garda commissioner Drew Harris.
Ms McEntee pledged that the scenes of disorder “will not be tolerated” and said: “A thuggish and manipulative element must not be allowed use an appalling tragedy to wreak havoc.”
Mr Harris described the clashes with police officers and the criminal damage as “disgraceful” and blamed a “complete lunatic faction driven by far-right ideology” for Thursday’s chaos.
He also urged the public to “act responsibly and not to listen to the misinformation and rumour that is circulating on social media”.
Also condemning the participants was Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who said on Friday: “Those involved brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland and brought shame on their families and themselves. These criminals did not do what they did because they love Ireland.
“They did not do what they did because they wanted to protect Irish people. They did not do it out of any sense of patriotism, however warped. They did so because they’re filled with hate, they love violence, they love chaos and they love causing pain to others.”
Local residents have meanwhile been advised to work from home on Friday as the investigation into the disorder and a major cleanup operation continues.
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