A fourth fire in a long string of consecutive fires was swiftly doused at a designated location for international protection applicants (IPAs) in Coolock, located in Dublin’s northern area. Initiating shortly before 20:00 on Sunday, the inferno was repressed within the hour. Despite this, emergency response vehicles and two fire engines remained at the old Crown Paints factory on Malahide Road in Coolock even after 21:00. A squad of gardaí was stationed at the site as firefighting personnel were performing their duties.
The fire broke out on a comparatively less frenzied day at the site, which had previously been a hotbed of severe altercations involving the public and gardaí last week. Monday witnessed the peak of the clashes, resulting in 30 arrests, with additional disruptions reported on Tuesday and Friday nights.
Elsewhere, in Dundalk, Co Louth, numerous arrests followed anti-settler protests and a subsequent counter-demonstration on Sunday. Garda Síochana’s Public Order Unit formed a physical barrier separating the clashing factions. While the protests proceeded unviolently, arrests were made post event due to public disruption.
Regarding Coolock, to date, a total of 32 individuals have been apprehended by the authorities, with 22 accused already presented in court, facing charges varying between public order infringements and neglecting to adhere to Garda instructions to disperse. The Public Order Unit, equipped with riot shields and pepper sprays, was activated on Tuesday to disperse those assembled, which included protestors against the allocation of the site for IPAs and multiple onlookers.
Despite numerous episodes of violent disruptions and suspected arson attacks last week that necessitated the occasional closure of Malahide Road, a major artery in Northern Dublin, the thoroughfare was left uncongested on Sunday night. Emergency services were on hand responding to another outbreak of fire. The repeated fire incidents, understood not to have inflicted widespread damage on the facility, nonetheless, have brought embarrassment to the Irish Government and the Garda. Additionally, the cumulative harm from the fires hinders the forthcoming refurbishment plans to repurpose the erstwhile factory into a housing facility for around 500 IPAs.
In a bid to prevent construction work on the old paint factory, located on private land, protesters established a camp in March. A Garda clearance operation targeting the camp was initiated just before 4am on the preceding Monday. The operation aimed to allow for the safe entry of construction machines and materials, plus security staff.
However, the event turned chaotic as petrol bombs were hurled and a digger was engulfed in flames. This sparked confrontations between the gardaí, including members of the Public Order Unit, and assembled crowds on Monday and Tuesday. The law enforcement response deployed riot shields and pepper sprays, resulting in additional Public Order Unit presence on Friday evening.
The operation managed to disband crowds following a fire outbreak on the site and receiving a hail of projectile assaults on the gardaí.
Fires on the previous Thursday and Friday nights inflicted insignificant damage to the building’s entrance area. Saturday night’s fire incident was also understood to be minor. However, an evaluation was underway to determine the exact extent of Sunday’s fire.