Before you protest, ask: ‘Who has started this conga line?’

An alleged sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl recently triggered shock and anger across social media.

The flashpoint centred on the Citywest hotel, in Saggart, Co Dublin, which was recently purchased by the State to be used to accommodate Ukrainian migrants and asylum seekers.

Within 24 hours of the initial reports, outrage had escalated into unrest and violent clashes with gardaí outside the complex, disorder that the officer leading the policing operation said was “orchestrated and pre-planned online”.

A protest group led by local Saggart residents and activists posted a call for a “peaceful protest and rally” to be held at 7pm that evening, saying it would show support for the alleged victim of the reported assault and raise local safety concerns.

Later that evening, an inflammatory post on X called for Citywest “to be stormed, and every last migrant deported”. There was a further protest the following evening.

The protests turned nasty and four gardaí were injured, including one member who was struck in the face by an object. They received hospital treatment but were later discharged.

The gardaí were bombarded by missiles, including glass bottles, bricks, and broken pavements, as well as fireworks.

A few days after that, there was a post on Facebook showing a photograph of Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan with two gardaí who had received bravery awards for past actions. The caption said, ‘Gardai who faced down terrorists among those honoured for bravery’.

Many comments underneath blathered on about how that was ‘misinformation’, claiming that there were no terrorists outside the Citywest asylum accommodation centre, but plenty of parents who were very angry because they believed the country was inviting unvetted refugees, which resulted in more crime.

These awards were nothing to do with the CityWest riots, and the commenters on social media wrongly assumed they were.

My first reaction when I saw that was to reply, and then I thought, what’s the point? The commentators on that thread are just doing their version of the conga.

Back in the 1980s, we used to holiday in Spain on package deals, like many people did at the time. They followed a similar pattern. We’d be met in the airport by the company rep’, loaded onto a bus, and dropped off at our complex.

The days were generally spent lounging around the pool because we only had a limited amount of time in the country and you didn’t want to miss any of the lovely sunshine.

Entertainers were usually on hand to make sure the residents didn’t get bored and wander off to spend their pesetas elsewhere.

There were games organised in the pool and music played all day. 5pm signalled the arrival of happy hour and everyone headed for the poolside bar.

Later in the evening, when enough drink had been consumed, the fun and games continued with the obligatory conga.

It was loosely described as a dance, but it wasn’t a dance really. It was more of a staggering line of tipsy people going nowhere in particular, accompanied by loud music.

The leader would walk around the complex gathering alcohol-fuelled volunteers as they went, and all you had to do was hold onto the waist of the person in front of you and follow them.

The song that accompanied it in our time was ‘Follow the leader, leader, leader...’ repeated ad nauseum, and there was never a plan.

It was just a matter of heading off in whatever direction the leader led us and keeping up the dance until he or she decided they had had enough.

The demonstrations outside Citywest brought that back to me.

No doubt many of those who attended the protest did so in the belief it would be peaceful. Much of the violence appears to have been carried out by young troublemakers.

One source described many of them as “recreational rioters” with little interest in politics other than responding to inflammatory social media posts and calls for action.

The Irish Examiner reported that fringe dissident republican groups were openly supporting and taking part in protests outside the Citywest Hotel, with Garda security services keeping a close eye on their involvement.

Security sources described the republican groups as “opportunists”, looking to exploit wider tensions to boost their visibility, but with the effect of creating an intimidating environment and further fuelling anti-immigrant and far-right sentiment.

This mindless violence makes no sense.

How does throwing bricks, stones, and other offensive missiles help to advance the cause of the protesters?

It only succeeds in tying up garda resources that could be used more effectively elsewhere, and possibly rendering some of them unfit for duty through injury.

The cost of repairing damage to property, including burned out garda vehicles, comes out of the public purse, which means our taxes are coughing up for that.

These days, it can be difficult for people to know where the truth lies. Misinformation is all around and it’s up to us all to ensure we get our news from credible sources. Developing an opinion based on a headline on social media won’t cut it.

Housing, illegal immigration, and the rising cost of living are serious concerns for all of us. They need to be tackled and dealt with, and the citizenry is right to put pressure on the government of the day to come up with solutions.

That’s what democracy is all about.

We don’t do it by using violence, destroying property, and attacking our national police force.

Everyone has the right to a lawful protest, but there will always be a certain element who may try to create chaos at these events to further their own agenda.

So, before you become part of the next protest, make sure you know who is at the head of the conga.

Make sure you know where you’re headed and what the agenda is. Don’t follow blindly.