Photo courtesy of CanalEnthusiast via Wikicommons.
Elizabeth Murray ʼ26
Staff Writer
Content warning: This article discusses xenophobia and child abuse.
Police in Dublin, Ireland, arrested 34 people on the evening of Nov. 23 after riots erupted in the city, the Associated Press reported. According to BBC News, the largest-ever number of riot-trained police in Irish history were deployed, with officers coming from all over the country to quell the unrest of an estimated 500 people participating in the riots.
The unrest occurred after a knife attack outside a school that injured three children and a teacher’s aide took place earlier that day, the Associated Press reported. One child, a 5-year-old girl, was left in critical condition.
Bystanders were able to intervene and tackle the attacker. One of them, a Brazilian delivery driver named Caio Benicio, has been hailed a hero all over Ireland. By Saturday, Nov. 25, an online fundraiser thanking him had raised €330,000, approximately $355,000, according to The New York Times.
Speaking to Irish national broadcaster RTÉ News, Benicio said, “Listen, when you see a man with a knife with a little girl in his hands … you don't even think … you just act by instinct. I think all parents would do the same."
Rioters are reported to have broken windows, looted shops and burned buses in the inner city, and police on the scene reported that far-right protestors were chanting anti-immigrant slogans, clashing with police and setting vehicles on fire, according to The Washington Post. While police did not immediately disclose the identity of the attacker, rumors about their nationality circulated online from far-right voices, The New York Times reported.
When RTÉ News asked him about the riots, Benicio said, "There are protests against immigrants, and I am [an] immigrant, and I was there, right there to protect Irish people, you know … We are here to work. Most of the people are here to work hard. And make the economy of the country go better.” He continued, “The work we do here is good for the country. It's good for themselves, you know, they just have hate.”
In a statement to the Irish Parliament in the aftermath of the knife attack and riots, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said, “I really would ask people to try and avoid connecting crime with migration. It's not right,” BBC News reported.
He went on to comment that, “Of the five or six people who intervened to stop the attack, four of those six are migrants to this country. … There are a lot of people, particularly people of color in Ireland, who are very afraid because of what happened on Thursday night.”
Irish police have begun investigating various social media accounts and posts to determine if they may have incited the violence, according to The Guardian. Some celebrities' activities on social media have come under scrutiny.
Several posts made around the time of the riot by UFC fighter Conor McGregor, whose recent tweets have led many to believe he intends to run for presidential office in Ireland, were reportedly under investigation, The Guardian reported. Elon Musk posted on X — formerly known as Twitter — in support of McGregor. “The current Irish government clearly cares more about praise from woke media than their own people,” Musk said.
In the wake of the riots, McGregor condemned the participants, telling The Guardian, “I am praying that the streets will remain calm and peaceful. We Irish are known for our beautiful hearts, and we have a proud history of not accepting racism.”
Tensions have been running high in Ireland, The Washington Post reported. The country is facing serious housing problems due to rising costs and lack of available shelter. According to NPR, there has been a rise in anti-immigration sentiment in Ireland, along with a current wave in other European countries.
This year in Dublin, there have been protests against immigration, with some signs saying “Ireland is full.” In another instance in County Clare, protesters blocked off a hotel set to hold asylum seekers, NPR reported.
Since the riots, there has been a rally in solidarity with immigrant communities in Dublin, BBC News reported. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions organized the rally, representing more than 800,000 workers. The rally took place four days after the riot and was attended by over 500 people, including a mix of union members and political leaders.