Gardaí are investigating an attack on a property in central Dublin housing international protection applicants, where an effort was made to set a number of fires.
Missiles were thrown at windows of the property, which were broken, with fireworks also launched.
Gardaí believe foreign nationals living at the property were the target of the attacks and are fearful the incident was influenced by the riots outside the International Protection Accommodation Services (Ipas) centre in Citywest, Dublin, over two nights this week.
Members of the force are set to retain a large presence, including with the Public Order Unit, at Citywest this weekend while patrols across the city will seek to rapidly respond to any outbreaks of violence at other locations.
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The latest attack, which was carried out by a group of about five children and young men, occurred off Basin Lane, Dublin 8, at about 7pm on Thursday.
The teenagers repeatedly shouted “get them out” as they tried to set fires in the area, including at the front door of the property.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly urged young males not to become involved in anti-immigration violence this week, warning that a conviction related to violent disorder could seriously impact their opportunities in life.
He said after the Dublin city centre riots in 2023, most of those who were eventually jailed were young males who had been influenced by others.
However, Garda sources said while video footage had emerged of the Dublin 8 incident on Thursday night and showed a large number of people on the street, it later transpired most of those were residents who had come out to investigate when gardaí arrived.
The same sources said the attack was perpetrated by a small number of young males, wearing masks and hoods, most of whom appeared to be children.
They took large wheelie bins from a nearby flats complex and spilt the contents, consisting of bags of refuse, on to the street. One wheelie bin was emptied outside the door of the Ipas property and an unsuccessful effort was made to set it alight.
Further up the street, about 100m from the property, the contents of several wheelie bins were set on fire. However, by the time gardaí arrived, no significant fire had taken hold and the flames were quickly extinguished.
A large volume of refuse remained on the street after the incident, necessitating a clean-up operation, while windows at the property were broken. A number of residents were in the property during the attack.
Garda Headquarters confirmed an incident had taken place and that members of the force went to the scene in a number of marked vehicles after receiving reports about the disturbance.
“Gardaí responded to a public order incident where a number of wheelie bins were damaged by fire and windows were broken in the Dublin 8 area at approximately 7.05pm last night,” the Garda said in reply to queries.
Some of those involved were still on the scene when gardaí arrived, though there was no confirmation of any arrests. However, given the age of most involved, they may be dealt with under the Garda’s youth diversion process, if identified.
