LONDON: Violent protests erupted in central Dublin, Ireland, after a man stabbed three children and a school care assistant in a knife attack on Thursday.

Though the incident was widely reported across the British media, few outlets gave details about what sparked the violence.

Susan Daly, Managing Editor of Journal Media, who also runs a fact-checking unit, told Dawn, “There was genuine anger and horror at the stabbing incident. But we very quickly started to see online narratives and terms associated with racist narratives — some particular bad actors appeared who have organised dissent in other areas as soon as there was an indication there was a foreign national involved. We now know he’s a citizen.” She was referring to the indication the attacker was Algerian.

An Irish journalist and broadcaster, Una Mullally, at a digital programme, said: “We don’t know the reasons behind the attack. But what happened after, some of it was coloured by racism and xenophobia, because people speculated about the nationality of the perpetrator. There has been a context in Ireland and Dublin with regards to racism. This has been bubbling under the surface for some years now, we are seeing when crimes are committed and people speculate where that person is from, you get a racist response which is opportunistic and has little to do with the victims.”

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said about 500 people were involved in the riot, with police confirming 34 arrests. He said they “brought shame” on Ireland and promised new laws within weeks to bring those involved to justice.

In violence described by Irish police chief Drew Harris as done by a “lunatic, hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology”, rioters in the aftermath of the school stabbing destroyed 11 police vehicles. At least 13 shops were badly damaged and even more were looted as rioters clashed with police. There were also reports that three buses and a tram were destroyed, with several police officers injured during violence.

The BBC reported there were false claims that the attacker was a foreigner, saying there were indications that he is an Irish citizen living in the country for 20 years.

Euronews in its headline on the incident said ‘friction over immigration has been exploited by organised racist groups to whip up mob violence’.

Mr Harris at a presser on Friday morning defended the police response despite a build-up of anti-immigrant tensions on social media. He pointed to large numbers that looted shops. “It has to be said that the crowds of those at first protesting, filled with hate directed towards members of Garda Síochána (the police), were then supplemented with those who were only intent upon crime, disorder and the looting of premises.”

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2023