Working class groups marched in Dublin on November 27, in solidarity with Dubliners traumatized by far-right riots and the gruesome knife attack on November 23. In the march called for by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), people from all sectors of society participated including trade unionists, activists from progressive political parties, youth, student, anti-racist, Antifa, and refugee rights groups, among others.
Participants highlighted that the Irish society stands against all attempts to divide working people and also sent solidarity to the victims. In calling for the protest, the ICTU stated: “The scenes of violence in our capital were displayed right throughout the world and has done significant damage. We condemn the far right and racist-infused mindless and wanton violence and must say that this does not represent us as workers or as a country.”
“Ireland welcomes and will always welcome migrant workers. We salute them,” a speaker said during the protest.
On the afternoon of November 23, three school children and their care assistant were injured in a knife attack outside an Irish language-medium primary school in Parnell Square in Dublin. The assailant is a naturalized Irish citizen in his 50s who has resided in the country over the last two decades. He was quickly overpowered and disarmed by three men including a Deliveroo driver of Brazilian origin, and was taken into custody by police.
Following the incident, a flurry of rumors alleging the death of a child in a knife attack by an illegal migrant were widely circulated among anti-refugee, far-right social media circles with the hashtags #IrelandIsFull, #MakeYourFeelingsKnown, etc, and called out for protesting the knife attack.
By evening, a mob with over 100 men, many of whom were masked and armed, assembled in the city center and attacked the police. The rioters went on a rampage for hours vandalizing and looting shops. They also torched police vehicles, buses, and trams, terrorized city dwellers, and assaulted police and people, especially of immigrant backgrounds. According to reports, around 60 security personnel were attacked and three of them were seriously injured. As of November 25, around 48 people were arrested in connection with riots and police officials have accused the riots of being perpetrated by hooligans who are driven by far-right ideology.
Following Monday’s protest, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions declared that the mobilization was a “huge show of worker solidarity”. They added: “We also want to send a message that the xenophobic and racist nature of some of the violence last week does not represent us, we have to reject that. Whether you were born in this city or whether you were born anywhere in the world if you live and work here you are part of our community.”
Leftist political parties such as Sinn Fein and the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) condemned the knife attack and riots perpetrated by the far-right, and expressed solidarity with the victims of the violence, including the police officers assaulted by the rioters.
Meanwhile, several groups have made calls for the resignation of the Minister of Justice and the Garda Commissioner over their failure to protect the people of the city from rioters and contain the violence. They have also slammed the incapability of the government to curb the spike in hate-mongering and xenophobic crimes perpetrated by far-right groups that culminated in November 23 Dublin riots.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said “The people of Dublin have the right to be safe on their streets, in their homes, and in their communities.” She has also expressed sympathy with Gardaí but given the catastrophic operational failures, she stated that she has no confidence in the Justice Minister and the Garda Commissioner.
Progressive groups part of the platform ‘Dublin Communities Against Racism’ have been organizing protests and agitating against the rise in far-right attacks against refugees in the country. The anti-racism platform has repeatedly stated that the pro-rich policies of the Fine Gael – Fianna Fail – Greens coalition government in Ireland are putting more and more people in distress during this time marked with an acute cost of living crisis and a soaring housing crisis. While the austerity policies followed by the neoliberal leadership of the Irish Republic are among the main reasons for these crises, various far-right forces have used this opportunity to attack refugees and immigrant communities, blaming them for the current conditions.
On November 25, the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland noted “We have seen this violence before. We saw it when a hotel earmarked to house asylum seekers was torched in Donegal. We saw it again in Rooskey when attempts to burn down another hotel for the same reason. More recently, we saw it when tents and belongings of homeless asylum seekers were burned outside the International Protection Office in Dublin. Last night’s events are a mere escalation of this. When perpetrators of such violence, who are an acute minority, get away with it without consequences, they become emboldened.”
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) stated that people’s frustrations with decades of neglect are being misdirected against migrant workers and asylum seekers. Neither migrant workers nor asylum seekers caused the deepening crisis. Responsibility for these serious social crises which impact the lives of millions of workers lies with capitalism and with successive governments, and all the establishment political parties in the Dáil reduced to a talking shop by EU controls.”
The CPI has urged the youth to turn their anger at those who are responsible, “not our brother and sister migrant workers”. “This violence can only strengthen the hands of the establishment and the state, ensuring more control over our lives and our communities. It will only strengthen the power and the grip of petty criminals and criminal gangs. These anti-people forces already have a grip over our communities. Don’t allow yourself to be misled by those who wish to steer your anger against migrants, against other workers,” added the party.
