So screamed the headline in this paper atop an Agence France Presse report of a major riot in Dublin on October 23.  That riot and the stabbing outside a school in the North inner city that preceded it made similar headline news worldwide.  And rightly so given the nature of the events that subsequently unfolded.

Three young children were subjected to a vicious knife attack outside their school with one girl now left fighting for her life in hospital.  A social worker who threw herself in front of the attacker to protect the children was also seriously injured.  The attacker is now in an induced coma in Hospital and has yet to be questioned.

As the police cordoned off the attack area, they were confronted by a small crowd who attempted to disrupt the process and who shouted abuse (some racist) at the police.  Following the attack, rumours became rife online that the perpetrator was a foreign national and that the children had died.  Some social media commentators stoked up anti-immigrant sentiment and urged protests in the city to make ‘your feelings known’.   

Via social media, they requested specific groups to ‘bally up and tool up’ (bring balaclavas and hammers) and come to the city centre.  An estimated crowd of 500 eventually descended on the centre and for approximately 4-5 hours extensive rioting occurred with a very large police force deployed.  Considerable looting accompanied the riot with final damage estimated at ‘tens of millions of euros’.  

That a major and deeply disturbing event occurred is not in any doubt whatsoever – attempts to play it down in any way are fundamentally dishonest.  Most especially, the stabbing incident is cause for grave concern in and of itself, regardless of the nationality, background, or health of the assailant. 

However, at the end of ‘Dublin being ablaze’, the reality was somewhat different at one level – one tram and two buses burned out, 11 police vehicles seriously damaged, 13 shops looted to varying degrees, 34 people arrested for rioting and many police officers reportedly injured, three seriously. 

I draw attention to all of this not simply because Dublin is my hometown but because these events raise a number of important questions and patterns and not for the first time.  Much of the reporting was sensationalist (some extremely and deliberately so) thereby making it very difficult to know or understand what was actually happening.

As evidenced by so much social media commentary (and as illustrated by many comments in this paper), there was an avalanche of half-truths, untruths, speculation masquerading as ‘fact’, anti-immigrant bigotry and straightforward conscious lying. 

Given the ‘certainty’ with which some Maltese commentators spoke, one would imagine they were on the streets of Dublin forensically dissecting every twist and turn.

Instead, the source of much of these ‘certainties’ was, as ever, fifth, sixth and seventh-hand social media hype, much of it toxic.  As a result, what happened in Dublin is now characterised in much popular mythology through the words of Boris Johnson  (that leading exponent of the ‘truth means nothing to me’ brigade) as ‘race riots’. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Understanding what actually happened and in what context is hugely important in shaping our response. 

First off, the riots need to be accurately described for what they were - ‘far-right’ instigated and organised riots liberally peppered throughout by opportunist criminality.  Recognising this is vital to public safety and public well-being. 

Yes, Ireland like many other countries needs an honest discussion and debate on migration (and not simply immigration) but fascist tropes and tactics have nothing to contribute to this.

Describing the riots as an inevitable and predictable response to immigration is utterly dishonest and socially dangerous especially as it places others in the ‘firing line’ – bystanders, police, immigrants, those of a different colour or visible religion or culture.  It is not about ‘defending people’ but rather directly attacking them.

Stoking up anti-immigrant prejudice is a well-established tactic of the far-right across much of Europe including Ireland.  In the latter case, we have watched the latest round of such tactics play out over the past few years around issues such as vaccinations, housing, crimes, and asylum seeking. 

Immigrants just happen to be the latest target in that strategy – in the past it has included trade unionists, striking workers, socialists and communists, gays, Jews, and many in the women’s movement. 

Like so many other countries in Europe (including Malta), Ireland has its cohort of hardcore fascists who seize every opportunity to promote a form of ultranationalism devoid of history, substance, or value.   The fact that they so often claim to speak for ‘real’ Irish (or Maltese) just adds an element of farce.

The Dublin riots highlight the fact that, as in so many other places, the far right has a renewed and reinvigorated presence.  It is increasingly organised and led by a determined xenophobic cabal which takes inspiration and tactics from other locations and contexts and now, it seems, offers inspiration to them in turn.

As many commentators in the Times of Malta asserted, it is indeed time to ‘wake up’ but wake up to what exactly?