Three gardaí injured, one man arrested following further unrest in Coolock

Three gardaí have been injured following another day of unrest in Coolock, North Dublin, one of whom required hospitalisation having sustained facial injuries.

A policing operation had been put in place in the Malahide Road area on Friday ahead of a planned protest over a plan to accommodate international protection applicants at the site of the former Crown Paints factory.

Gardaí said the protest, which around 1,000 attended, passed off peacefully. However, a public order incident occurred along the Malahide Road a short time later, and both uniformed gardaí and members of the Public Order Unit were deployed.

A fire broke out at the site during this time, which was subsequently contained by Dublin Fire Brigade.

During the unrest, Gardaí said officers were subjected to abuse and had objects, including rocks and bricks, thrown at them.

As the situation escalated, gardaí used force, involving the use of incapacitant spray and ASP batons.

A man aged in his 20s was arrested during the incident, and was taken to a Garda station in connection with alleged public order offences.

He has since been released without charge.

Three garda members were injured in the overall unrest, including a garda who was taken to hospital to receive treatment for facial injuries.

In a statement, gardaí said: "All three Gardaí who received injuries are recovering and a full array of welfare supports has been made available to them.

"This is a private matter for all three Gardaí who received injuries in the course of their duties last night and An Garda Síochána has no further comment."

The Malahide Road was closed for a period, but has since fully reopened.

A statement from Gardaí added: "An Garda Síochána is aware of a significant degree of disinformation and inaccuracy in circulation regarding events at this location – it is advised to independently verify any of this information shared online via social media and/or through messaging apps."

Investigations into the matter, and related incidents, remain ongoing, the statement concluded.

This story was corrected for a typo at 10am on Saturday, July 20th, 2024.