Firefighters have been forced to tackle a blaze at the site of a former paint factory earmarked for accommodation for immigrants for the fourth time in as many days.
Gardaí from Coolock, just outside Dublin, have also warned that there is a risk of ‘serious harm to human life’ after petrol bombs were found outside the former Crown Paints factory.
The force said following the discovery of the petrol bombs: ‘Seven glass and plastic bottles of various sizes containing flammable liquid were discovered, alongside a number of empty glass bottles and rags.
‘Plastic bottles containing a mixture of paint and oil as well as packets of water balloons were also recovered. All of the incendiary devices and material seized has been sent for further technical examination and analysis.’
The force spokesperson added the devices ‘risk serious harm to human life as well as criminal damage to property, as has been witnessed in recent events.’
Gardaí are ‘collating and harvesting CCTV and social media images’ from the protests.
They are asking anybody with information about the incendiary devices to contact them.
The site was earmarked for accommodation for up to 500 people seeking international protection, but it has been targeted by anti-immigration protests, amid rising protectionist sentiment in Ireland.
Just yesterday, riot police were deployed during clashes with protestors, who threw petrol bombs and destroyed an on-site excavator following a major operation to clear a camp set up by rioters.
On Saturday, two units from Dublin’s Fire Brigade were called to extinguish another fire, following the arrest of one person and the injury of three gardaí in a clash on Friday.
Of the three gardaí who were injured, one was taken to hospital for treatment for facial injuries.
The man, in his 20s, was released without charge following his arrest.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called Monday’s violence ‘reprehensible’ and ‘criminal’.
The latest violence comes amid rising far-right sentiment as the government struggles to respond to a surge in asylum-seeker arrivals and a wider housing shortage.
Last November, central Dublin was engulfed by riots after far-right social media accounts incited protests following a knife attack on schoolchildren by an Irish citizen from an immigrant background.
Arson attacks have also increased on buildings around Ireland planned for accommodating asylum seekers, with several dozen fires at such properties since 2023.