Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar Pledges To ‘Reclaim Ireland’ From ‘Criminal’ Rioters

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that he will bring the full might of the law on those responsible for violent protests in Dublin Thursday night and vowed to “reclaim Ireland” from “criminals.”

In the aftermath of a knife attack that wounded three children, one man and a woman, the city witnessed widespread scenes of disorder. It’s been reported that 13 shops were looted and damaged, while 11 Garda police cars and public transport vehicles were burned by what has been described as a “riotous mob.”

The violence, according to police, was instigated by a “hooligan” far-right faction. Anti-immigrant sentiment was driven online in the wake of Thursday’s attack declaring: “Ireland is full.”

Varadkar, addressing the media, expressed his determination to wrest Ireland back from those “cowards who hide behind masks” and the “unscrupulous” elements exploiting fears.

“To all those cowardly champions of Ireland who took to the streets of Dublin last night, let me say one thing: ask your sisters, ask your friends, ask everyone you know what they fear most on our streets,” he said. “They’re afraid of you, afraid of your anger and your rage, afraid of your violence, your hate and how you blame others for your problems.”

Garda have arrested 34 individuals who took part in the riots and an extensive clean-up operation was underway Friday morning, with Luas tram carriages being removed and debris cleared from the streets.

“This is not who we are and not who we will ever be,” Varadkhar continued.

“As a country we need to reclaim Ireland, we need to take it away from the cowards who hide behind masks and try to terrify us with violence. We need to reclaim Ireland from the criminals who seek any excuse to unleash horror on our streets.”