- By Conor Neeson
- BBC News NI
Image source, Brian Lawless/PA
Vehicles have been set on fire and shops looted in Dublin following a knife attack that left five people, including three children, injured.
A five-year-old girl and a woman in her 30s were seriously hurt in the attack after 13:40 local time.
It happened on Parnell Square East in the city centre outside the children’s school, Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire.
A man in his 40s who was also seriously injured is a person of interest, police said.
They added that they were not looking for any other people at this time and are following a definite line of inquiry.
The head of An Garda Síochána (Irish police), Drew Harris, blamed the subsequent disorder on a “lunatic, hooligan faction driven by a far-right ideology”, who engaged in violence as police tried to maintain the crime scene.
Irish police have said the streets are now “mainly calm” but a massive police presence remains on patrol. Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee said many arrests have been made.
Riot police were deployed after protesters gathered in the area near the scene of the attack.
The disorder centred on several streets in the city centre near the the scene of the attack earlier, including O’Connell Street.
Irish police commissioner condemns disorder
A number of vehicles were set on fire, including a car, a tram and a bus.
A shop on O’Connell Street was looted while the windows of other stores were smashed.
Trinity College, which is nearby in the city centre, said it was in lockdown with all gates to its campus closed due to the disturbances.
Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar said extra police resources had been deployed.
He added that he had been shocked by the incident and “the facts in this matter are still emerging”.
Mr Harris urged people to “act responsibly, not to listen to misinformation and rumour that is circulating on social media”.
“We know what happened, but the motive for this is entirely unclear.”
Meanwhile, the head of Ireland’s National Bus and Railworkers’ Union described those who targeted bus and trams as “thugs” and “despicable people”.
‘Standalone attack’
Dermot O’Leary told RTÉ: “We have to make a decision whether to suspend all transport in and out of Dublin City.
“The safety of all our members is our primary concern.”
In a press conference earlier, Supt Liam Geraghty said that the five-year-old girl is receiving emergency care in hospital, while another girl, aged six, and a five-year-old boy were less seriously hurt.
He added that although it is early in the investigation, gardaí (police) are confident that there is “no terror-related activity” and that it would appear to be a “standalone attack”.
The incident happened on Parnell Square East, not far from O’Connell Street, one of Dublin’s busiest streets
Irish President Michael D Higgins said that his thoughts were with the children and families affected by the incident.
“This appalling incident is a matter for the gardaí and that it would be used or abused by groups with an agenda that attacks the principle of social inclusion is reprehensible and deserves condemnation by all those who believe in the rule of law and democracy,” he added.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) said: “Our hearts are with the entire school community of Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire following the horrendous incident that has taken place today.
“We are thinking of the children, their families and the school’s staff during this unimaginably difficult time.”
A lot of anger in Dublin
by Sara Girvin, BBC Ireland correspondent, at the scene
Clashes are still very much ongoing here.
The protests started at about 17:00. We know there have been scuffles with police, and bottles thrown.
We also heard fireworks being thrown, and reports of vehicles on fire.
There are a lot of police in this area. There’s a lot of anger in this area about what happened earlier today.
An eyewitness told RTÉ how she and another bystander disarmed a man with a knife.
Siobhan Kearney described the scene as “absolutely bedlam”.
Siobhan Kearney witnessed the stabbing in Dublin’s city centre on Thursday.
“Without thinking, I just took across the road to help out,” she said.
“Two children and the woman were taken back into the school where they were coming from.”
On the man with the knife, she said that he was on the ground and there were a lot of people trying to restrain him.
“Me and an American lady formed a ring around him saying we’d wait on the garda (police).”
She said that the ambulance came first, within three or four minutes, and all the emergency services were there in five minutes.
The area has been sealed off and declared a crime scene.
In a statement, the Irish Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she was “deeply shocked by the appalling attack”.
She added that her thoughts are with those injured, especially the children, their parents and families, during “this extremely difficult period”.
A number of police officers were attacked by crowds near the crime scene
Sinn Féin leader and Dublin Central TD (member of the Irish parliament) Mary Lou McDonald said the incident had sent “shock and horror throughout the community”.
“My heart goes out to all the hurt and injured, the parents, teachers but especially the children who have been so traumatised,” she added.
Labour Party senator Marie Sherlock, who was in the area after the incident, said the children who were stabbed were queueing up to go to after-school care when they were attacked.
“While it is all very real today, I think the impact of the trauma tomorrow, next week and in the time after is really going to be very difficult.”
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Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
