DUBLIN – Gardaí have initiated a criminal investigation following a significant outbreak of violence during a large protest outside the International Protection Application Service (IPAS) accommodation centre at Citywest, Co Dublin.
Approximately 2,000 individuals attended the demonstration. However, shortly after, a contingent of masked and hooded men engaged in violent acts, hurling missiles and fireworks at Gardaí, vandalizing the local Luas tram stop, and setting a Garda van on fire.
The severe disorder led to the temporary suspension of Luas and Dublin bus services to the Saggart area. A massive Garda response was deployed, involving the Public Order Unit in full riot gear, the Mounted Unit, the Dog Unit, Air Support, and a water cannon.
The crowd was dispersed after two-and-a-half hours, and calm was restored by 10 p.m. A female Garda sustained foot injuries during the confrontation.
Violent Escalation
The situation turned violent as younger men, some masked, threw traffic cones, bricks, bottles, and other projectiles at the Gardaí. Gardaí reported that bins were emptied for their contents to be used as missiles, and individuals were observed carrying tools and garden forks, causing property damage. The Garda helicopter was also targeted with lasers, and fireworks/rockets were fired at the Garda cordon across Citywest Drive.
Attempts by some groups, including men on horseback and in a sulky (horse-drawn cart), to breach the Garda lines were met with a “graduated response,” including the use of pepper spray, before the Gardaí advanced to disperse the rioters. It was noted that An Garda Síochána deployed its own water cannon—purchased after the Dublin city centre riots two years prior—though the large spray guns were ultimately not used as the crowds moved away.
Official Condemnation
Taoiseach Micheál Martin “strongly condemned” the disorder and commended the courage of the Gardaí who quickly restored order.
Tánaiste Simon Harris stated there is “no excuse for this type of violence and thuggery against the men and women who serve to protect us and victims of crime every day.”
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan described the violence as unacceptable and the “weaponising… by people who wish to sow dissent in our society.”
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly reiterated that while Gardaí always facilitate peaceful protest, he described the events at Citywest as “thuggery” by a mob “intent on violence against the Gardaí.” He assured the public that the process to identify and bring those involved in the violence to justice had begun.
During a Presidential Election debate, Independent candidate Catherine Connolly called the scenes “deeply disturbing,” while Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys described the events as “awful” and urged those involved to “go home.”
