Dublin riots: Violent clashes with gardaí and vehicles set alight after children injured in knife attack

Friday’s live updates on the Dublin riots: Gardaí say 34 people arrested after riotous mob causes huge destruction

Summary of main incidents on Thursday

• There have been violent clashes between large groups of people and gardaí in Dublin this evening, with vehicles set on fire and shops looted.
• All Luas and some bus services have been suspended. There are reports of protesters firing flares and fireworks at gardaí and at least one Garda vehicle was set on fire on Parnell Street, while a bus and a car were set on fire at the O’Connell Bridge end of O’Connell Street.
• The significant public disorder erupted following a stabbing earlier in which left five people hospitalised, including the perpetrator, on Thursday.
• Garda Commissioner Drew Harris blamed the unrest on a “lunatic, hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology” while Minister for Justice Helen McEntee appealed for calm and said a “thuggish and manipulative element” was using the earlier incident to “wreak havoc”. She condemned the attacks on gardaí.
• A five-year-old girl is receiving emergency treatment at Temple Street hospital after the stabbing incident.
• A boy, also aged five, and a girl (6) sustained less serious injuries and were brought to CHI Crumlin for treatment. The boy has since been discharged.
• A woman in her 30s was being treated for serious injuries at the Mater hospital. The Irish Times understands she was an employee of the school or afterschool care facility the children were attending.
• Gardaí are trying to determine whether there is any relationship between the chief suspect and anyone outside the school or at the scene. The chief suspect is understood to be a naturalized Irish citizen, who has lived here for 20 years
• Passers-by intervened on the street shortly after the stabbing attack and subdued the suspect, took a knife from him and threw it across the street into a grassy area close to the Garden of Remembrance.
• Gardaí consider the main suspect, a man in his late 40s or 50s who has also been taken for treatment for serious injuries, to be the chief suspect in the case. They are not looking for anyone else.
• The Garda Commissioner said all possible motivations are being considered.
• A number of passers-by intervened on the street shortly after the attack began and subdued the suspect, took a knife from him and threw the knife across the street into a grassy area close to the Garden of Remembrance. The incident took place outside Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square East as children were coming out of the school, which caters to primary-age children.
• News wrap: Violence erupts in Dublin city after stabbing attack targeting young children
• Read Kitty Holland’s report on how the chaos unfolded on Parnell Square.
• In pictures: There were incredible scenes on the streets of Dublin this evening.

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Good morning, for Friday’s news and updates please go to for our latest live story.

That concludes our live coverage for tonight but we will be back early this morning with further updates, news and analysis in what is sure to be a busy day coming to terms with the tumultuous events of last night. Until then.

More than 400 Irish police officers were involved in the height of the response to a riot in Dublin.

In a video statement on social media, Garda Chief Superintendent Patrick McMenamin said some members of the police force had been attacked and assaulted.

However, he said no serious injuries had been reported by gardai or members of the public. Gardai remain on patrol in the city centre.

Mr McMenamin said: “Dublin city centre is now calm and returning to normal.”

The chief superintendent said the thoughts of the police service are with the victims of the assault in Parnell Square earlier in the day.

Speaking about the riot, he said: “The violence had nothing whatsoever to do with a serious assault which occurred this afternoon on Parnell Square, it was gratuitous thuggery.”

- PA

Gardai in Dublin said the city has calmed and is returning to normal but over 400 members continue to patrol. An unspecified number of arrests were made.

An on public transport, Dublin Bus has advised its customers there will be no services for the remainder of tonight and throughout the night.

“We are working to ensure the safe return of buses and employees to each of our depots to prepare for services tomorrow,” it said in a statement late on Thursday.

“Dublin Bus will be taking advice from An Garda Síochána about the situation in the city centre before operating services.”

Customers are advised to check www.dublinbus.ie and @dublinbusnews from 05.00hrs for service updates.

And here is a snippet from what the New York Times is reporting to its global audience tonight:

...violent scenes broke out in the city after a group of rioters attacked police vehicles and set fires. Videos from the scene showed stores being looted, police cars and public buses aflame, and people clashing with police officers.

In the wake of the attack, far-right figures spread rumors online about the nationality of the attacker, and the news service AFP said that one protester told them that “Irish people are being attacked by these scum.”

At the Three Arena, where Anne-Marie had been playing to blissfully unaware fans, the venue has said it will remain open to facilitate collections, given that the Luas is not, cannot, run to provide the normal post-concert services.

A little earlier tonight the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) said, unsurprisingly, it was seriously concerned for the safety of gardai working in “such violent, stressful and dangerous conditions”.

“The scenes we are witnessing across social media are horrific and we are liaising with colleagues on the ground as these devastating events unfold,” said its general secretary Antoinette Cunningham.

On the ground, uniformed gardai and members of the Public Order Unit formed unbroken lines but continued to face threats, violence and missiles.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, presumably working late into the night, has said she wants to see people in prison following what has occurred in the capital.

The gardai are responding with force, they are arresting people and people will be sent to prison, she has said in a very strong response.

“What we are seeing unfold here is a small faction of people who do not represent me, who do not represent the vast majority of people, who have used this horrific act to sew division,” she told Virgin Media One.

“They have used this act to come into our city centre and to carry out absolute criminal offences.”

The Minister said Garda Commissioner Drew Harris is on the ground directing the operation which is continuing.

The same station was replaying images of frontline gardai being attacked. Ms McEntee said the offence for doing so was up to 12 years in prison.

“I want to see people in prison here because these are acts of thuggery,” she said.

Striking a note that many will surely agree with in the days ahead, she said tonight’s actions were not about immigration, but simply opportunistic acts of disorder.

Sadly, the Rotunda Hospital, where many Dubliners were born, is advising patients against travelling there unless absolutely necessary.

This chimes with the Garda advice to avoid the north inner city if possible. The hospital remains open for those who need it, however.

Further to the point about order returning, gardaí have tweeted that the city centre is “mainly calm”, showing CCTV imagery of largely empty streets.

Our reporters say much the same - most of the crowds have dispersed.

President Michael D Higgins has issued a statement on the attack and the subsequent events.

“All of our thoughts are with each of the children and their families affected by today’s horrific attack outside Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire in Dublin city centre,” he said.

“We are particularly thinking of the five-year-old girl and the member of staff caring for her who are both in serious condition in hospital. All of our prayers are with each of them for a full recovery.

“The Gardaí deserve all of our support in dealing with this 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.”

Speaking to RTE’s Primetime tonight Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said described the stabbing incident as “devastating”.

She added that “what we are witnessing this evening is a small group of people who do not represent me or the vast majority of people in this country who are using this appaling act to wreak havoc and to sow division . . . They’re thugs, they’re criminals, that is exactly how they will be treated.”

She said the gardai were responding with “full force, they are using every means available to them, every force available to them to bring these people to justice”.

She said there have been “many arrests, there will continue to be arrests”.

Asked if she failed to prepare sufficiently, she said: “This is not a large faction of our society. This is a relatively small group of people whose sole focus is to wreak havoc . . . This is not about immigration, this is not about the young children who are in hospital this evening, these are criminals these are thugs. This is not about people feeling safe or being safe, these are criminals and thugs.”

She promised they would face “the full force of the law”.

“These people will be arrested and put in prison and that’s where they should be,” Ms McEntee said.

Asked if the gardai had failed to prepare for the outbreak of violence, Ms McEntee said there was a “strong garda presence on the ground from early on in the day, that presence has built up, the Armed Response Unit has been on the ground for some time now”.

Asked about her recent comments about the streets of Dublin being safe, Ms McEntee said: “This is not about the streets being safe, this is a mob of people who are criminals and thugs . . . This is not about general safety.”

Garda sources said last night’s scenes were unprecedented in the modern era in Dublin, far eclipsing the violence and criminal damage witnessed during the ‘Love Ulster’ riots of 2006.

The same sources said while the unrest began with a small group of anti-immigration protestors, it quickly became widespread recreational rioting, with large numbers of teenagers among the crowds involved, Conor Lally reports.

Things are dying down in Dublin with crowds thinning out and public order gardaí being replaced with uniformed officers, Conor Gallagher reports.

The Irish Times also understands that gardai are trying to determine whether there is any relationship between the chief suspect and anyone outside the school or at the scene.

The chief suspect is understood to be a naturalized Irish citizen, who has lived here for 20 years, Conor Lally reports.

One of the passers-by who intervened to stop the attack is understood to have been a Brazilian Deliveroo driver.

When the dust settles, the children and parents of Coláiste Mhuire will have to come to terms with the terrifying attack that took place outside their school today.

“It shatters that sense of, ‘it could never happen here’”: Carl O’Brien writes on the psychological support they will need.

Social Affairs Correspondent Kitty Holland was reporting on the Stardust inquests taking place near the scene of the knife attack earlier today - and found out about it from one of the survivors of the 1981 fire.

“Shortly after 1.40pm on Thursday, journalists covering the Stardust inquests were filing lunchtime copy in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda hospital, where inquests have been under way since April. Deirdre Dames, a survivor of the 1981 fire rushed in, alerting us that someone was ‘after stabbing kids out there’.”

Read her full account here.

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Bus ablaze on Dublin's O'Connell Street Public order unit and gardai confront protesters on Dublin's O’Connell street in the aftermath of the Parnell square stabbing attack. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times

Earlier Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who is currently hosting a dinner for the British Irish Council at Dublin Castle, said that “nation is shocked” about the stabbing incident, adding that he was “lost for words.”

He said that he understood there were some “public order issues in Parnell Square this evening” and added that the “gardai have provided extra resources into the area”.

“What I say to people is that this is a time to think about the children who have been affected here, their families, the wider school community, to make sure we put into place the supports that are needed – that’ll be done in the morning particularly for the school. It’s time to think of them.

“We don’t know exactly what happened here or why and we don’t know what the motivation was and I think we all need to reserve judgment for now. Be assured that the gardai have the situation under control and whoever was responsible for this attack will be brought to justice.”

There are rumours circulating that the Defence Forces have been deployed to the streets. These aren’t true:

Facing south on O’Connell Street:

Some startling imagery emerging from the scene.

The smell of smoke is distinctive in Dublin for at least a mile away from the epicentre of the clashes on O’Connell Street, though the streets remain filled, with many would-be commuters trying to seek alternative routes home.

Reporter Mark Hilliard says:

On every junction facing O’Connell Street strong lines of gardaí, some with helmets and shields, stood blocking entry and shouting at any approachers to “get back” as efforts continued to effectively seal off the capital’s main thoroughfare. Projectiles were thrown, and random threats, but were met with no physical response.

The entire width of Abbey Street beside Supermacs was covered in flames, seemingly the burning remnants of a vehicle.

Glass bottles began to rain down on gardai on Abbey Street, many of them plundered form a nearby Gala shop. Public order officers responded by driving the crowd back.

Per Ellen O’Riordan:

I would definitely describe the atmosphere as intimidating and febrile. It’s gangs of young people, mainly men, wearing face masks and balaclavas.

The areas around lower O’Connell Street were thick with black smoke from the Dublin Bus and other vehicles that were on fire. Loud bangs went off from fireworks and possible combustion in vehicles that were ablaze.

School psychologists will be on the ground at Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square to support staff and students trying to come to terms with Thursday’s stabbing incident which left five people – including a five-year-old girl – hospitalised, reports Carl O’Brien.

Minister for Education Norma Foley said staff from the National Education Psychological Service (Neps) are offering every support in dealing with what she described as an “unparalleled situation”.

“I think it’s almost incomprehensible to us that these young people could be going about their business in a normal everyday setting, be picked up from school, being taken to after school or be collected to go home and then this awful tragedy should occur,” she said.

Read the full story here.

The travel disruption, perhaps unsurprisingly, has worsened. No buses are now serving O’Connell Street or Parnell Square, according to a Dublin Bus statement just before 7pm, and there are some reports of inbound buses stopping well before that, even from the southside.

There are no Luases between Stephen’s Green and Dominick on the Green Line or between Smithfield and The Point on the Red Line.

In a statement, Helen McEntee said: “The horrific attack today in Dublin city centre was an appalling crime that has shocked us all.

“An Garda Siochana are following a definite line of inquiry and are not looking for anyone else regarding this crime. The perpetrator will be brought to justice.

“However, the scenes we are witnessing this evening in our city centre cannot and will not be tolerated.

“A thuggish and manipulative element must not be allowed use an appalling tragedy to wreak havoc.

“I have spoken to local TDs from all sides of the Dail and we are of the same view.

“We will not tolerate a small number using an appalling incident to spread division.

“I would appeal for calm in the city centre as An Garda Siochana carry out their work – attacks on members of An Garda Siochana must be utterly condemned and will be dealt with severely.

“I am meeting the Garda Commissioner this evening to discuss the policing plan in the city tonight.

“Most importantly, we must remember the real tragedy of today and allow the investigations take their course.”

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said a “complete lunatic faction driven by far-right ideology” is behind disorder in Dublin this evening.

He said a number of Garda vehicles have been damaged.

“I think there’s disgraceful scenes in terms of a major investigation, the maintenance of a scene and the gathering of evidence,” he told media during a press conference at Mountjoy Garda Station.

“We have a complete lunatic hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology, and also then this disruptive tendency engaged in serious violence.

“We are drafting in resources to deal with that and that will be dealt with properly. I’ve given full direction to our resources here in respect of making arrests and bringing offenders to justice.

“It’s our responsibility to make sure that we police the streets, and part of that is we ask people to act responsibly and not to listen to the misinformation and rumour that is circulating on social media.

“The facts are being established, but the facts are still not clear on a lot of the rumour and the innuendo is being spread for malevolent purposes.”

Dramatic images are emerging from O’Connell Street, where things have turned ugly. Reporter Ellen O’Riordan was on the scene:

“A bus and a car are ablaze at the end of O’Connell Street as traffic has been brought to a standstill. Large crowds have gathered at the foot of the O’Connell monument, with some fireworks set off.”

Here are some photographs she has sent in:

A number of Garda vehicles have been damaged as a group of people clashed with gardaí on Thursday evening, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has told reporters.

Mr Harris could not give specifics on arrests and injuries, he said. He described the group as a “lunatic hooligan” element.

He said that “all lines of inquiry” remain open and refused to speculate in relation to a terror motive.

On Thursday afternoon a small number of people shout anti-immigration slogans at gardaí securing the crime scene, Conor Lally reports. As darkness fell, numbers grew and there were clashes between the protestors and some of the gardaí.

Members of the Public Order Unit were deployed and at least one member of the force was injured after being assault.

Irish Times video journalist Enda O’Dowd sends a report from the media briefing held by Gda Supt Liam Geraghty at Mountjoy Garda Station, updating on the state of the investigation.

Some more significant updates via Security and Crime Editor Conor Lally:

• The child who was seriously injured is aged 5 years and is currently undergoing emergency medical treatment at Temple Street Hospital.
• Gardaí have ruled out any possible terrorist motive.
• A boy, also aged five, and a girl aged six years, sustained less serious injuries and were brought to CHI, Crumlin, for treatment. The boy has since been discharged.
• A man in his 50s who was taken from the scene for treatment for serious injuries is the chief suspect in the case and gardaí are not looking for anyone else in relation to their investigation into the incident.
• A woman in her 30s was being treated for serious injuries at the Mater hospital. The Irish Times understands she was an employee of the school or afterschool care facility the children were attending.
• A number of passers-by intervened on the street shortly after the attack began and subdued the suspect, took a knife from him and threw the knife across the street into a grassy area close to the Garden of Remembrance.

More details emerge

There is a new statement from the Garda, which says that “preliminary indications are that a male attacked a number of people on Parnell Square East”.

It confirmed that five casualties have been taken to hospital in Dublin, including three young children, an adult female and an adult male.

“One girl aged five has sustained serious injuries and is currently receiving emergency medical treatment in CHI Temple Street,” it said.

“A boy aged five and a girl aged six years, who received less serious injuries, were brought to CHI Crumlin for treatment. The boy has since been discharged from CHI Crumlin.”

The children’s parents are receiving Garda support, it said.

The woman, in her 30s, is being treated for serious injuries at the Mater Hospital, while the man, in his 50s, is also being treated, though the statement only identified that he was at “a hospital in the Dublin region”.

An incident room has been established at Mountjoy Garda station and a senior investigating officer has been appointed.

“An Garda Síochána is following a definite line of inquiry. The male in his 50s is a person of interest in this investigation. An Garda Síochána is not looking for any other person at this time,” it went on.

An Garda Síochána continues to have an open mind at this early stage of the investigation.”

Speaking in Waterford on Thursday afternoon the chairman of the Policing Authority Bob Collins said families had been “plunged into to a very difficult set of circumstances” by the incident in Dublin, Olivia Kelly reports.

“I am hugely conscious of the fact that we are having this meeting in circumstances where the lives and realities of a number of families have been very severely upturned and profoundly affected by events that have taken place in Dublin and I would not want there for a moment to be any sense that there is a lack of sensitivity to those circumstances.”

Mr Collins was speaking after Garda Commissioner Drew Harris had to withdraw from the authority’s meeting to return to Dublin.

“We recognise that operational policing always continues in the face of awful circumstances, and events that have taken place in Dublin reveal to us the fact that danger can lurk even in the most innocent circumstances and it is in those moments that members of the Garda Síochána and other responders are called upon to act professionally and to respond in the way that they always do.”

At a media briefing on Thursday evening, Garda Superintendent Liam Geraghty appealed for any information about the Parnell Square attack from members of the public.

Investigating gardaí are looking for any mobile phone footage of the attack that people may have taken, or its aftermath, and asked people to contact Mountjoy Garda station at 01-6668600, the Garda Confidential Phone Line at 1800 666111 or any Garda station if they had any further information.

It’s worth noting that the area where the incident took place is a bustling part of Dublin city centre, abutting O’Connell Street and Parnell Street. There are shops, restaurants, organisational headquarters and even theatres there, along with the school and the Rotunda hospital. For this evening, things have ground to a halt, however.

In addition to temporary travel disruption, Peter Pan at the Gate Theatre, the entrance to which is at Parnell Square East, has been cancelled this evening.

‘Absolute cowardice and depravity’

More political reaction continues to drop in, Tim O’Brien reports.

Social Democrats Gary Gannon, another TD for the area, said “there are no words to describe the devastation we are feeling following the horrific knife attack”.

“An attack on children is an act of absolute cowardice and depravity. All of my thoughts are with the innocent victims of this brutal assault, their families and those who love them,” he said.

Labour justice spokesman Aodhán Ó Ríordáin expressed his solidarity with “all those impacted by the reported attack at Parnell Square today”.

“It appears that staff and schoolchildren have been affected and will potentially be profoundly traumatised by what has happened,” he said.

Mr Ó Ríordáin called on the Department of Education and the HSE to ensure that appropriate trauma supports and other interventions are made available to the school community.

“This is a deeply traumatic and shocking incident. Our thoughts are with everyone caught up in this event and the school community that has been impacted,” he said.

Fianna Fáil Senator Mary Fitzpatrick said she was “deeply saddened and horrified by the serious incident which took place on Parnell Square this afternoon”.

“My thoughts are with the victims and their families during this distressing time,” she added.

The Minister for Education has confirmed that support is being provided by the National Educational Psychological Service, a group of psychologists who advise schools on how to deal with incidents, including crises.

“I wish to express my deepest sympathies to the three children and the woman who were viciously attacked in Dublin,” she said.

“Our hearts and minds go out to all who were injured today and to all of their families, as well as all the staff who care for them in the school and in their creche.”

A striking image from the aftermath of the incident here via Irish Times photographer Alan Betson:

Here’s Dublin Lord Mayor Daithí de Róiste:

“On behalf of all the citizens of Dublin, I want to express my complete shock and sadness at the attack in Parnell Square today.

“To think that evil like this could happen, particularly to innocent children, is just devastating.

“The thoughts of our city are with the families involved this evening and, like everyone else, I am praying that these children and the adult involved will make a full recovery.

“I want to thank the brave members of the public who assisted at the scene, the emergency services who responded within minutes and the hospital staff who are caring for those attacked.”

‘They were only just after finishing school’

Siobhan Kearney, an eyewitness, told Kitty Holland she had been having a cigarette outside the Rotunda hospital when the incident happened:

“I spotted a guy with a stabbing motion across the road and people screaming, so I look across the road and there was fellas there and they pulled the guy off the children. There was a good few kids. They were only just after finishing school. I’d say they were between the ages of four, five and six. No older.”

She said a number of people started attacking the alleged perpetrator, kicking him on the ground. “A few people were attacking and me and an American girl formed a ring around the culprit and so the Garda could deal with him in due course.” She said emergency services arrived within minutes – an ambulance attended to the girl first, with a second ambulance and fire appliances on the scene after. She said a woman was also injured, who was also taken to hospital.

Asked if she had seen how seriously injured the girl was she said she had not. “I just seen the blood.”

She said a man on a moped had taken the knife, which she described as “about ten inches long, a big knife” from the alleged attacker and thrown it across the road to a grass verge by the Rotunda hospital. She had pointed this out to gardaí who had removed it from the scene.

Olivia Kelly reports that Garda Commissioner Drew Harris just before 4pm left a meeting of the Policing Authority in Waterford city to return to Dublin to deal with the incident.

Some more information on Coláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square from Education Editor Carl O’Brien:

The incident took place outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square East as children were coming out of the school, which caters to primary-age children.

Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire is a mixed primary school with an enrolment of about 170 pupils.

Staff at the all-Irish school, located at No 4 Parnell Square, declined to comment on Thursday afternoon.

Earlier this year the school celebrated work getting underway on a long-awaited new school building at an event attended by Minister for Education Norma Foley and Minster for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe.

The school started out as an all-Irish secondary school in the 1930s and, later, included a private all-Irish primary school which prepared boys aged 7-12 for entry to second level.

While the preparatory school closed in the 1980s as demand for private primary education dwindled, parents successfully lobbied for a free all-Irish primary school to replace it.

This led to the establishment of Gaelscoil Chólaiste Mhuire n 1988. It became co-educational in the mid-1990s.

It relocated from its home at 23-27 Parnell Square in 2000 and has been awaiting a new permanent school building for two decades, until work finally got underway this year.

Tim O’Brien has gathered some political reaction:

Members of the Government have expressed shock and offered sympathy to those affected by the stabbings in Dublin this afternoon.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: “We are all shocked by the incident which has taken place in Parnell Square. A number of people have been injured, some of them children. Our thoughts and our prayers go out to them and their families.

He said the facts around the incident were still emerging. “The emergency services responded very quickly and were on site within minutes. I thank them for that. Gardaí have detained a suspect and are following a definite line of inquiry,” Mr Varadkar said.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he was “deeply shocked” by the incident “which has left several people injured, including a woman and a number of children”.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those injured, their families, friends and the emergency services who responded so quickly at the scene,” he said.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she had been briefed on the “appalling attack on three innocent children and a woman in Dublin today” by the Garda Commissioner

“All our thoughts are with those injured, especially with the children, their parents and families, during this extremely difficult period,” she said.

“It is my understanding that gardaí are following a definite line of inquiry and are not looking for any other person at this time. This attack has shocked us all, and I have no doubt that the person responsible will be brought to justice” she said.

“My thoughts now are with the innocent children and the woman who have been attacked, their families, and those who are caring for them at this time”, she added.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said she is horrified at the incident and her thoughts and prayers are with the families and with the staff in Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire.

She said: “There is shock throughout the community.

“I have just spoken to the Principal of Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire and relayed my support to the school community.

“I want to send my solidarity to the families of those attacked. As a parent, I can only imagine what they are going through right now.

“The community in the north inner-city stands with them.

“I want to commend the Gardaí for the speed of their response.”

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe, in whose Dáil constituency the stabbings took place, said: “I am aware of an extremely serious incident that has taken place at Parnell Square in my constituency of Dublin Central.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this very serious incident, and their families. Anyone with information is being asked to contact Store Street police station,” he said.

Some travel disruption has resulted from Parnell Square East being treated as a crime scene by gardaí.

Southbound Dublin Bus routes are diverted via Denmark Street, Gardiner Street, Cathal Brugha Street, O’Connell Street and back on to the normal route, with northbound buses operating as usual.

Bus Éireann routes 103, 109, 109Z, 111 and NX are diverted inbound via Gardiner Street until further notice.

And here’s the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar:

“We are all shocked by the incident which has taken place in Parnell Square. A number of people have been injured, some of them children. Our thoughts and our prayers go out to them and their families.

“I have been in contact with the Minister for Justice who is keeping me updated. The facts in this matter are still emerging. The emergency services responded very quickly and were on site within minutes. I thank them for that. Gardaí have detained a suspect and are following a definite line of inquiry.”

Local politicians have begun to respond to the news of the incident, including Paschal Donohoe, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

“I am aware of an extremely serious incident that has taken place at Parnell Square in my constituency of Dublin Central,” he said.

“My thought and prayers are with the victims of this very serious incident, and their families. Anyone with information is being asked to contact Store Street police station.”

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, has issued a statement on the incident:

“I am deeply shocked by the appalling attack on three innocent children and a woman in Dublin today.

“All our thoughts are with those injured, especially with the children, their parents and families, during this extremely difficult period.

“I have been briefed by the Garda Commissioner and will remain in close contact with him and senior Gardaí.

“It is my understanding that Gardaí are following a definite line of inquiry and are not looking for any other person at this time.

“This attack has shocked us all, and I have no doubt that the person responsible will be brought to justice.

“However, my thoughts now are with the innocent children and the woman who have been attacked, their families, and those who are caring for them at this time.”

Social Affairs Correspondent Kitty Holland attended the scene after hearing reports of an incident on Parnell Square while covering the Stardust Inquests at the Pillar Room at the Rotunda across the road.

She shared this photograph:

Garda Headquarters said the “serious public order incident” occurred just after 1.30pm and that five injured people had been taken to hospitals in the Dublin region.

“The casualties include an adult male, an adult female and three three young children,” it said. “One child, a girl, has sustained serious injuries, the other two children are being treated for less serious injuries.

“An Garda Síochána is in contact with parents of all three injured children. The adult female is being treated for serious injuries and the adult male for less serious injuries.”

It added the scene remained sealed off and the Garda was following a definite line of inquiry.