Hundreds Rally in Violent Anti-lockdown Protest in Ireland

Hundreds Rally in Violent Anti-lockdown Protest in Ireland

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Dublin on Saturday for a planned demonstration that quickly turned into violent clashes between protesters and police.

Protesters tried to march into a park in the city center to protest the coronavirus lockdown measures in Ireland but were prevented from accessing the area by police.

They shouted “finish the lockdown” and handed out flyers that read: “Let Ireland live.” Among the crowd were people wearing the logo of the far-right National Party of Ireland.

The situation escalated dramatically after a man fired two pyrotechnic rockets at police at point-blank range. Videos of this attack on Dublin’s Grafton Street have been widely circulated and condemned on social media.

Subsequently, the police charged the crowd with batons and arrested 23 people.

Several policemen were injured in clashes with the protesters and one of the officers had to be hospitalized.

Some of the protesters who had arrived were “obviously bent on violence,” Police Commissioner Drew Harris told Irish broadcaster RTE.

“Fireworks are not brought to a protest for any purpose other than to engage in violent conduct,” he said.

‘Without justification’

The large gathering and the violence were condemned by Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin as “totally unacceptable”.

The protest “showed total disrespect for the people who have made great sacrifices during this pandemic,” Martin said in a statement. “There can be no justification for the march or the violence that unfolded.”

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said a special hearing was being arranged for the arrested people to be “promptly processed.”

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar also condemned the violence in a Twitter post.

Ireland is currently in the midst of its third lockdown, which the government extended for a month to April 5 on Tuesday. However, schools will gradually begin to reopen starting Monday.