Citywest violence: 17 due before courts, five teenage boys arrested and released, three gardaí hospitalised

Public order gardaí with riot shields deployed for a second nightThree gardaí hospitalised after receiving injuries 17 people due before the courts in relation to public order offences Five boys aged under 18 were arrested and later released 15 e-scooters and e-bikes were seized

A further five teenagers, aged under the age of 18, were released and will be dealt with under the Youth Diversion Programme, which aims to prevent children from entering into the criminal justice system.

Three gardaí were taken to hospital during the incident, a spokesperson confirmed this morning.

One member of the police force was struck in the head with a bottle, while another sustained and arm and shoulder injuries while carrying out their duties in a second night of unrest.

Public order gardaí with riot shields were deployed for the second night after gardaí came under fire from objects thrown from a large crowd gathered.

It was another night of demonstrations at Citywest following an alleged sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl in the vicinity of the hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.

A garda vehicle was set alight during the unrest

Bricks, fireworks and other missiles were launched at gardaí again on Wednesday night. There were 24 people arrested in total, 17 of whom are due before the courts this morning.

Two other adult males arrested were released without charge, with files being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

During the course of last night’s operation 15 scooters and e-bikes were seized.

There was a very heavy garda presence at the site, with a steel ring barricade erected near the entrance to keep crowds out.

And there was a significant garda presence at the front of the complex, where metal barriers had been erected to prevent access to the driveway leading up to the Citywest complex

Uniformed gardaí were sporadically pelted with fireworks and other objects as they formed a line to block the entrance to the facility, before public order gardaí moved in front of their line with riot shields to block objects being thrown.

While large parts of the crowd dispersed throughout the night, An Garda Siochana deployed an additional public order unit behind those remaining at the protest shortly after 10pm.

Several of those caught between the two units were tackled and detained as they tried to flee.

A garda spokesperson said that: “Garda members on cordons were subject to ongoing verbal abuse and subject to missiles (bottles, masonry) being thrown and fireworks discharged at Garda lines.

“The public disorder was predominantly carried out by young adult males and teenagers. An Garda Síochána Public Order Incident Command policy was implemented.

“Garda Public Order Units were deployed in full protective equipment.

“Two members of An Garda Síochána were taken to hospital for medical attention (one struck on the head by a bottle and one with an arm/ shoulder injury).

“23 persons have been arrested, primarily for Public Order Offences.

Garda van on fire outside Citywest Hotel. Photo: Collins

“An investigation into these serious Public Disorder events, yesterday Tuesday 21st and today Wednesday 22nd, is ongoing, coordinated from an Incident room at Clondalkin Garda Station led by a Senior Investigating Officer,” the spokesperson said.

Some 300 gardaí were again stationed at the scene on Wednesday evening, including over 150 uniform members, 120 Public Order members, Mounted Unit and Dog Unit supported by members in Air Support Unit and Regional Control rooms.

“Members of An Garda Síochána have again bravely and professionally responded to thuggish violence at Citywest tonight,” Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan said yesterday evening.

“Many have been arrested and more will follow. They will be charged, named and dealt with relentlessly by our justice system,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

Shortly after 7pm, gardaí approached those who had gathered and moved them away from the footpath directly across the road from the entrance.

Access to the section of Garter Lane across from Citywest was then blocked by groups of gardaí on either side of the road.

From around 7.30pm, gardaí formed lines at either side of Garter Lane, blocking protestors on both sides of the road, as the size of the crowd grew.

Yesterday, five men were charged in relation to public order offences on Tuesday night.

Fears

Anatoliy Prymakov, spokesperson for the Ukrainian community and founder of Ukrainian Action in Ireland, said Ukrainian families living in Citywest Hotel are “terrified” following recent events.

Speaking to RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland on Thursday morning, he said they “don’t know how long this is going to last”.

“Fear and concern are the first words that come to mind because families have been told not to leave their rooms,” he said.

“Families were terrified. People don’t know how long this is going to last, people don’t know what’s going to happen next, people don’t know when it’s going to happen again.

“Because this isn’t the first time that the Ukrainian community, or the immigrant community overall in Ireland, has been targeted in recent years.

“If any of us would be in that situation, if we were forced to live in that and on top of that, you’re dealing with families who have fled war. So you’re dealing with people who have already suffered, who have come to Ireland seeking refuge and safety, and instead, they’re finding this,” he added.

The burnt-out garda van

Damage

One resident of a nearby housing estate, Saggart Lodge Court, told the Irish Independent that the people who were destroying the brickwork and meter housings outside their housing estate were in their late teens, but that one of them “was no more than 10 or 11”.

“They spotted a loose brick on one of the units and then they just started breaking them up. They were stacking the blocks up on the boards of their electric scooters and ferrying them down to the road before coming back for more,” the resident said.

“They were all wearing hoods and masks and just coming and going.”

Another man who lives nearby said he was scared by the violence.

“You can see all the damage. It’s crazy. Protest-wise, I’d say 50pc were Saggart people and the other half were just bad people. It’s absolute madness,” he said.

At the Saggart Luas stop around the corner from the Citywest campus, traffic barrier poles had been ripped from the ground and the paving blocks around them smashed up and used as missiles.

Gardaí block protesters in Saggart. Photo: PA

Local residents said there was frustration in the area about the Ipas centre, but that the violence that exploded was from people who travelled from outside the area intent on causing trouble.

“There are concerns about the density of the centre, and whether more people will be brought in if other units are provided on site. Those concerns are mainly about density and lack of facilities,” said one.

The damage following the protest

“And there are democratic ways of voicing those concerns, but what happened in relation to the violence went beyond that and doesn’t represent the majority of the local community,” they added.

On Wednesday morning, children going to school and commuters going to work had to pick their way through broken glass and rubble strewn on the paths to get to schools and bus stops while the clean-up and forensic examinations went on around them.

Structures to house the electricity meters

Kevin Shortall, principal of St Aidan’s Community School, which is located close to where the protest took place, said it was a “very worrying situation”.

“The Citywest community has lots of families with young children,” he said.

“Some children were moved out last night for safety concerns. The front gates of the school are currently locked with students having to go around the back.

“It’s a very very worrying situation. Local families are scared.”

Asked whether he would be discussing the protest with students in the school today, Mr Shortall said: “It’s difficult to know what to say and when to say it. And if you say something, do you bring more attention to the problem? We have teenagers here who know they are being targeted, it’s a very difficult conversation.

Gardaí surrounded by crowds at Citywest. Photo: Collins.

Our school is a very warm place. Thankfully it is very inclusive, there are very few issues in the school and we work very hard at that.

“I stood at the front door this morning with a very big smile on my face to make sure everyone felt warm and welcome.”

A number of students left the school early yesterday in advance of the protest following warnings.

A hammer was found at the scene

“I can’t understand how anybody thinks it’s Irish to put their nose up at anybody because of the colour of their skin,” Mr Shortall said.

“Or because they have travelled from somewhere else in the world, it’s anti-Irish. I am ashamed today of anybody who makes a child afraid to go to school.”