Ireland Attempts to Silence Critics of Its Immigration Policies

“The Irish state will undoubtedly have one of the most extensive, if not the most totalitarian, hate speech laws in Western Europe if the bill becomes law, despite the government’s insistence that it contains a provision to ‘protect genuine freedom of expression.'”

The Irish are renowned for being amiable and welcoming, said to be among the world’s friendliest people. Consider the capital, Dublin. One of its most well-known residents, the poet W.B. Yeats, is believed once to have said, “There are no strangers here, only friends you haven’t met yet.” Locals in McNeill’s Pub become best friends after a few pints of Guinness, as glasses and bottles clink to the cries of Sláinte! If recent events are any indication, though, one is more likely to see those bottles smash into a police officer’s riot shield.

The streets of Dublin City center looked like Gaza last month. In what has been described by journalist Sarah McCammon as “the worst public disorder in decades,” a violent mob battled with the police for more than three hours. The most riot police in Irish state history were drafted in to restore order after up to 500 people reportedly took to the streets. Numerous buses were destroyed, cars—including police cars—were set on fire, and more than a dozen stores were broken into and looted. The police made 48 arrests in total.

Anyone familiar with the recent wave of violence in France, Belgium, Sweden, and Germany would have to admit that the country’s ruling class’s decision to carry out a radical experiment made the riots in Dublin inevitable. In recent years, Ireland has effectively lowered the drawbridge and opened its borders to unrestricted immigration.

The cause of the unrest is believed to have been a knife attack outside a primary school, where three children and an adult were injured, two of whom remained hospitalized. Among them are a five-year-old girl, said to be in a critical condition, and a teaching assistant who “used her body as a shield” to help protect children from the stabbing.