A planned 500-person asylum centre in the north Dublin working-class suburb of Coolock was in flames on Thursday evening following an arson attack in the latest escalation of Ireland’s growing immigration crisis.
The future centre had been subject to a months-long picket by angry citizens. On Monday, riot police arrested fifteen people following the reported throwing of petrol bombs at authorities.
A video of Thursday night’s apparent arsonist has surfaced already on social media, showing a masked man scaling special protective walls placed around the would-be asylum centre. Leading politicians moved quickly to condemn the attack and blame “far-right” agitators.
Crowds of locals also gathered around the burning former paint factory, chanting “get them out,” a phrase increasingly associated with the Republic’s new wave of anti-immigration protests. Passing cars also honked their horns in support.
Previous months had seen recurring protests by disgruntled locals, including young men on horseback attempting to block roads, with video footage showing local youths attacking police cars and riot squads.
Also on Thursday night, an abandoned hotel that was rumoured to be preparing to take refugees in the county of Limerick was set alight.
Immigration has become one of the biggest issues in Irish politics.
In November, a mass stabbing by an Algerian migrant outside a school in inner Dublin resulted in an intense night of rioting. Migration then became the leading issue in June’s European and local elections, resulting in symbolic gains for populists at the municipal level.The acceptance of over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees amid an endemic housing shortage and the protests of the past 18 months have revolutionised the conversation around migration in Ireland. One leading mainstream pundit, Fintan O’Toole, now claims that it is only a matter of months before populists make lasting electoral inroads.
