A creche worker who stepped in to prevent a knifeman from attacking children is among those seriously injured following an incident in Dublin on Thursday that saw the city burn as ‘far-right’ rioters took to the streets in anger.
The woman, thought to be in her 30s, was seriously injured after she ran to the aid of a five-year-old girl attacked by a man in his 50s. Sources told Irish national press that her actions may have saved two other children aged five and six from serious harm.
Following the attack outside Gaelscoil Colaiste Mhuire in Parnell Square East, unsubstantiated reports began spreading on social media that the suspect was a foreign national. Anti-immigration protesters then flooded the Irish capital.
No statement has been made on the suspect’s nationality – but gardai say they are satisfied the incident is not terror-related. The Irish Independent reports that he is an Irish citizen who, while not born in the country, had lived there for a number of years. Detectives are said to be following a line of inquiry that he may have suffered a ‘psychotic episode’ prior to the attack.
The incident happened shortly after 1 pm in the city center. A source told the paper the five-year-old girl was stabbed in the neck – but that the creche worker’s actions may have stopped the other children from suffering more grievous injuries.
They said: ‘She defended those children with all her strength – all that she was doing was trying to protect those little kids and people in what was is a very built-up area in the city center saw what was happening when they passed the school.’
The attacker was reportedly disarmed after being struck in the face with a motorcycle helmet; officers then detained him. Police chiefs say ‘far-right’ thugs are responsible for the civil unrest that followed; prolific social media accounts associated with the far-right have made as-yet-unsubstantiated claims that the attacker is an ‘immigrant’.
Michael D. Higgins, the president of Ireland, has hit out at rioters, accusing them of weaponizing the attacks in a ‘reprehensible’ manner.
He said: ‘All of our thoughts are with each of the children and their families affected by today’s horrific attack outside Gaelscoil Colaiste Mhuire in Dublin city center.
‘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 Gardai deserve all of our support in dealing with this incident. ‘This appalling incident is a matter for the Gardai 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.’
Ireland’s justice minister Helen McEntee described the riots in Dublin as ‘not something we have ever experienced’, saying that the rioters were in the city to ‘create division’.
She added: ‘They do not care about these children who are in hospital. Our focus and our priority should be on making sure that these children are safe, that they make a full recovery.’
Videos circulating on X show people set several police vehicles, a double-decker bus, and a tram alight and have begun to loot stores, breaking in and stealing armfuls of items.
