Water cannon may be used in Dublin as officials vow to battle far-right unrest
Irish police will have use of water cannon as “an available tactic” in the event of further disturbances in Dublin following riots earlier this week.
A riot broke out in Dublin on Thursday after three children and a care assistant were injured in a knife attack outside a school.
Far-right groups took to the streets on Thursday evening after the incident – with Garda cars, buses and trams set alight, and shops looted and damaged.
Around 34 people were arrested during the scenes on the Irish capital’s main thoroughfare, O’Connell Street, and further arrests are likely as police trawl through 6,000 hours of CCTV footage.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland has loaned An Garda Siochana two water cannon following a request for mutual aid from Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
A Garda spokesperson said officers have received refresher training in operating the water cannon.
The spokesperson said: “Training has taken place to refresh previously trained operators and water cannons are now an available tactic to public order operational commanders for An Garda Siochana.
“Commissioner Harris thanks the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and all PSNI personnel involved for their offer of assistance and rapid response to his request.”
Police confirmed a small number of people were arrested for public order incidents.
On Saturday, cafes on O’Connell Street had erected signs indicating they planned to close at 7pm.
A pro-Palestine protest that had been due to take place in the area on Saturday was postponed following the rioting.
A five-year-old girl injured in the knife attack outside a school remained in a critical condition in hospital on Friday while the female care assistant, in her 30s, was in a serious condition.
The two other children, a five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl, suffered non-life threatening injuries.
The six-year-old remained in hospital on Friday but the boy was discharged.
Gardai said a man who sustained serious injuries at the scene is a person of interest in their investigation.
More than half a million euros (£434,469) has been raised for the victims of the stabbing attack, and those who intervened.
A number of GoFundMe pages have been set up, with the highest total for an effort to assist Deliveroo driver Caio Benicio who intervened in the attack to stop the man armed with a knife.
