“For some people, it is stressful, very stressful. I am not afraid, but some people are, and children, of course, because they didn’t go to school yesterday,” said Tetiana Alexandra, a 74-year-old from the Donbas in Ukraine, who had come out of the Citywest centre on Thursday morning following a second successive night of violent rioting.
She has lived at the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation for the last three years, and said she felt “protected” as she spoke, pointing to about 20 gardaí who remained stationed at the entrance.
Standing beside a barricade, she said residents were told to be in the hotel by 2pm on Wednesday for their safety in advance of the second night of protests, which saw more than 20 people arrested.
A big policing operation is set to remain in place over the coming days amid fears the violent scenes of Tuesday and Wednesday may be repeated.
RM Block
Some of those at the hotel were leaving the grounds for the first time since Tuesday, many returning with full shopping bags.
Those who spoke to The Irish Times recalled watching footage in their rooms of the clashes between protesters and gardaí as the protests unfolded a short walk away.
One man from Africa said rumours began to circulate on Wednesday among those accommodated there that protesters at the gates wished to burn the hotel down.
“All of us, we were panicking,” he said. “We were checking online, you can see online how they were putting on fire the police car and stuff.”
A woman from Chernihiv in Ukraine, recalled watching videos of “massive” groups of people from her room, which she shares with her nine-year-old daughter, on Wednesday night.
[ The Citywest riot: 20 photographs capturing the night of violence in SaggartOpens in new window ]
“It’s so dangerous. I feel afraid, of course, because I have a daughter,” she said.
A collective decision was made among Ukrainian parents living at the hotel not to send their children to school on Wednesday, she said, over safety concerns.
Her daughter, who left for school on Thursday morning, is “okay because I am trying to be calm”.
Two more men, who spoke briefly on returning to the Citywest Hotel, explained they stayed elsewhere with friends on Wednesday in advance of a second night of protest.
“We are quite nervous about the people, about the protests. We can’t go outside, it’s a big problem,” one said.
The first protest on Tuesday night was in response to a foreign man (26) being charged with the alleged sexual assault of a 10-year-old Irish girl outside the Citywest campus in the early hours of Monday.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission expressed its deep concern for the wellbeing of the child allegedly assaulted.
“We also express concern about the safety and welfare of those seeking international protection in Citywest and across Ireland. Every person has the right to feel safe here, yet fear is growing within these communities as hate-driven incidents increase,” it said in a statement on Thursday.
It described violence directed at gardaí as “extremely concerning”, saying: “Were it not for their efforts over recent nights, the situation could have been far worse.”
In the nearby village centre, where barricades remained on Thursday morning, there was a deep sense of frustration among locals.
Business owners were advised to close early on Wednesday afternoon, while some roads were closed and public transport affected.
Some said the violence could distract from genuine concerns carried by locals about the hotel’s use.
[ Ninety minutes of madness: How the Citywest riot exploded and then was quelledOpens in new window ]
One woman aged in her 30s said she intended to attend what she thought would be a peaceful protest on Tuesday following the “awful” and “shocking” alleged assault.
She added that frustration has been building locally for some time due to the hotel’s use as IPAS accommodation.
“People are saying the only way to solve it is to burn it down, that’s what I’ve heard a lot of people saying,” she said.
She described the scenes on Tuesday and Wednesday night as “disgusting”, saying: “I think the throwing bottles and fires just makes it look bad on the people of Citywest and Saggart.”
“That was embarrassing. I think that’s just teenagers that want trouble,” she said.
A man aged in his 50s who has lived in Saggart his entire life said locals “don’t support violence whatsoever, but it’s too much on a village”.
“Our hotel is gone, our conference centre is gone, our gym is nearly gone,” he said. “They’ve taken so much away from us and it’s too much.”
