Gardaí have arrested 19 people during clashes with anti-immigration protesters at a site earmarked for asylum seekers in Coolock, north Dublin.
The clashes follow an incident on Monday morning during which a number of fires broke out at a makeshift camp established by protesters objecting to a disused warehouse being used to house migrants.
Speaking outside the court, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said it “has been a difficult policing day for us in terms of dealing with serious public disorder, what we saw today was really unacceptable”.
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He said more people will be charged overnight and gardaí are seeking a number of people. He said CCTV footage would be analysed in a bid to identify suspects. Mr Harris said some gardaí were wearing body cams, which will be “very useful” in terms of evidence gathering.
He said there were no reports of serious injuries to any gardaí but two Garda vehicles were badly damaged.
He said the Garda responded well in dealing with “a very volatile and difficult situation over almost 12 hours” and Coolock Garda station remains operational.
A Garda car was set alight on Monday evening and two Dublin Bus vehicles were surrounded as protesters moved from the original site towards Coolock Garda station. A second Garda operation was put in place at the Garda station before the protesters were dispersed by members of the public order unit.
The Malahide Road at Coolock has been reopened and the Crown Paints site has been secured.
Just after 6pm, hundreds more people joined an already large crowd of mostly males in their teens and 20s, who had gathered at the site near the old Crown Paints warehouse on the Malahide Road from lunchtime. About 200 gardaí had been deployed to Coolock throughout the day, including about 30 members of the Garda public order unit with riot shields.
Some 30 Garda vehicles were lining the road, which was closed between its junction with Oscar Traynor Road and the Darndale roundabout, a distance of about 1km, after the fires broke out.
Over the course of several hours, gardaí came under sustained attack from protesters hurling rocks and other missiles as they dispersed the crowd using pepper spray.
At around 6pm, hundreds of people arrived at the site in Coolock, including a number of far right agitators from outside the county. The crowd became so big and unruly at the cordon between the Malahide Road and Greencastle Road that a small group of protesters broke off and walked to Coolock Garda Station, where they began jumping on Garda cars.
Two Dublin buses were surrounded by the crowd, but gardaí managed to disperse the group across a larger area. By evening, they had cordoned off an entire section of the industrial area – which includes the Odeon cinema, Power City and Burger King.
A protest camp, which is on private grounds outside the warehouse, was established several months ago to block workers from renovating the property. It is understood there were efforts on Monday morning to dismantle the camp, leading to clashes between protesters and gardaí.
The fire at the site destroyed a mechanical digger, which was being used to prepare the site for development, before spreading to other areas. The cause of the fire, which was brought under control by members of Dublin Fire Brigade, is being investigated.
At least one person, believed to be a security guard on the site, was injured.
Video from the scene shows a man in a tracksuit hitting another man wearing a high vis jacket with an object. In another video, paramedics can be seen taking someone to an ambulance on a stretcher.
Videos posted on social media show protesters hurling abuse at gardaí and a small group of men that protesters claimed were asylum seekers outside the camp. Other videos show a large number of emergency vehicles at the scene and barriers blocking the road.
Dublin Fire Brigade said construction machinery and pallets had been set alight and that it deployed three fire engines from three different stations, as well as a turntable ladder, to the site.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said: “The scenes we have witnessed in Coolock today are reprehensible.
“The Minister for Justice has briefed me throughout the day and the law will be implemented.
“No person has a right to burn cars, damage property, or attack members of An Garda Siochana and emergency services.
“These actions are criminal and are designed to sow fear and division. We should not accept them being legitimised in any way by describing them as ‘protest’.
“I want to thank An Garda Siochana, who have come under attack today. They have shown extraordinary professionalism.
“A security guard was attacked for simply doing his job. He and his family are in my thoughts and I hope he makes a speedy recovery.”
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she was “appalled” by the violence in Coolock.
“This is thuggish criminal behaviour and has no place in our society.
“The Garda Commissioner has kept me updated throughout the day and he has assured me that everything will be done to bring those responsible to justice,” she said.
“Arson and assaults are reprehensible and serious crimes. They will be fully investigated and those involved will be held to account for their actions.
“This is not protest. What we have seen today does not represent the decent communities of Coolock and surrounding areas. Gardaí will continue to manage the situation and support the community.”
A spokesman for the Department of Integration said workers had attempted to access the site on Monday morning to begin refurbishing it for use as accommodation for people seeking international protection. This process is expected to take several weeks. No asylum seekers were due to be moved onto the site on Monday.
“Protests at the entrance to this site have delayed work beginning on this site for several months,” the spokesman said. “The department condemns all acts of criminality and intimidation of providers and their employees.”
The department previously said it is considering using the site to accommodate about 550 people, including “families, couples, single adult males and single adult females” in modular units.
The spokesman said the department’s Community Engagement Team has engaged with local representatives over the site in Coolock.
“Efforts are ongoing in all areas of the country to source and bring onstream accommodation for people seeking international protection.
“This includes, as part of the new Government Comprehensive Accommodation Strategy, a focus on larger sites on State-owned land with prefabricated and modular units, conversion of commercial buildings, and targeted purchasing of turnkey properties,” he said.
A number of people at the scene said gardaí had entered the encampment at about 3am and removed tents and cleared barricades. It was after this action that the digger was set on fire, a number of women who had gathered on the road said.
A woman who is resident in a family hub around the corner from the site said she believed her “kids would not be safe” if male asylum seekers were housed at the site.
At the camp, man with a megaphone, who identified himself only as “Colm” addressed the crowd and said the plans to use the site for asylum accommodation was part of a plot to “breed out” Irish people. He led chants of “traitors” but asked that people stop throwing cans and other items at gardaí.
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