Dublin Protests Over Asylum Hotel Continue

23 people were arrested following an hours-long standoff between Irish police and protesters targeting an asylum hotel. The demonstrations became violent after protesters directly threw fireworks, stones and other debris on a third consecutive night of disorder in Dublin.

Amid the chaos, two members of the Irish police service, an Garda Síochána, were rushed to the hospital after they sustained injuries during the Wednesday clashes. One garda was struck on the head by a bottle while the other sustained a shoulder injury, The Guardian reported.

Hundreds of protesters gathered near the entrance of a hotel housing asylum seekers in an area west of the capital. This was the third night of the demonstration at the Citywest hotel after an alleged sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl in its vicinity in the early hours of Monday morning.

26 y/o man was charged with assault

On Tuesday, the 26-year-old man, who cannot be named due to rules that apply to all sexual assault cases in the Republic of Ireland, appeared in court and was charged over the alleged incident.

Multiple arrests were made amid the serious disorder on Tuesday night, and the police pledged a “robust response” if violence continued. Meanwhile, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said “many have been arrested” on Wednesday and “more will follow”.

He maintained that gardaí had responded professionally to “thuggish violence” in the area and those arrested would be “charged, named and dealt with relentlessly” by the criminal justice system. Between 7 pm and 8 pm (local time) on Wednesday, hundreds of protesters engaged in a standoff with about 40 uniformed officers.

They were later replaced with the public order unit, whose members carried plastic shields and additional body protection after officers in the original cordon were struck with debris, stones and fireworks. Some of the protesters still continued to throw flares, glass bottles and wooden planks at the authorities.

The garda commissioner, Justin Kelly, who visited the scene in the aftermath of the violence, told reporters on Wednesday that he was “determined” that further people would be “brought before the courts to face justice,"

The Guardian reported. He noted that the disorder was not a peaceful protest and added: “This was violence with the intent to damage the Citywest building and intimidate those within.”

Meanwhile, the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, condemned the scenes of violence and said there could be “no justification” for attacks on gardaí. Throughout the clashes, the protesters were displaying Irish flags, chanting anti-immigration slogans and throwing missiles.

With inputs from agencies.