East Wall asylum seeker protests 'hijacked' by far-right groups, TD says
James Cox
Protests against the opening of an accommodation centre for asylum seekers in East Wall in Dublin have been "hijacked" by far-right groups, according to a TD.
The protests escalated overnight as traffic entering Dublin's Port Tunnel was blocked.
Demonstrators stopped vehicles from entering and exiting the route.
Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman met with residents last week to allay concerns over the new centre, which is currently housing around 100 people.
Social Democrats TD for Dublin Central, Gary Gannon, said the demonstrations have been hijacked.
Mr Gannon told Newstalk: "I've been inundated with calls from people saying that protest certainly doesn't represent their views or how they would approach things.
"What started out certainly last week as a larger cohort of people from the north inner-city and East Wall discussing how they weren't informed, didn't feel consulted has very quickly descended into what I would only describe now as a far-right rally."
Up to 300 protestors have blocked the Port Tunnel and adjoining East Wall road in another protest tonight over asylum seekers moving into the area. Protests are now going on over a week. #EastWall #Dublin pic.twitter.com/WqHssdyEZp
— Alison O’Reilly (@AlisonMaryORE) November 28, 2022
He added: “Just to give you an example of the type of thing that was discussed at this far-right rally in East Wall on Saturday; They went on to discuss EU flags - talking about how no flag other than the Irish flag should be flown in Ireland - including the Ukrainian flag.
“They were discussing the ‘superwoke’ from the stage, 5G was being brought in and the culture wars are being brought in, the Toy Show was being discussed from the stage.
"That’s not reflective of Irish society - despite the fact that a kid from East Wall was on the Toy Show.
“This issue definitely started off about the ESB building in East Wall but it got into something much more beyond that.”
