OPINION: Gardaí are victims not villains of anti-immigration protests like Coolock

I regularly go down rabbit holes on X and other social media when it comes to anti-immigration protests. All in the name of research, I might add. East Wall, Ballinrobe, Naas, Newtownmountkennedy, Clonmel and now Coolock to name a few. I've watched them all unfold in real-time, unfiltered, and I've come to a conclusion; gardaí are the victims of the piece, not the villains.

There is a recipe to these things at this stage. Word spreads about an old hotel or factory being turned into accommodation for international protection applicants, some locals get active, mostly on social media but often in person too. Many have legitimate concerns for their area but others are just anti-immigrant and blatantly racist. It is sort of like adding a few drops of oil to a saucepan so your pasta won't stick; the oil and water are separate to one another but are all boiling away in the one pot. People get very loud and the line between genuine anger and wanton hatred becomes blurred. At the first sight of a hi-viz jacket on site, the coiled mob is sprung from the community hall and social media echo chamber into the real world.

Coolock is an example where peaceful protest was swallowed by acts of criminality, the setting of at least three fires at a building designated for asylum seekers, the hounding of workers off site, injuring of security guards, and even death threats to politicians. Young men with their hoods up and scarves covering their faces hurling abuse, both verbal and physical at gardaí. That is not protest and no one will ever convince me otherwise. The group of people I felt most sorry for watching Coolock was the gardaí sent out to deal with all of the above.

There are a number of far-right figures in Ireland who have amassed huge social media followings. They bring their hate-filled rhetoric like a racist roadshow to wherever the latest protest arises. They are the cheerleaders of doom that sow fear and hatred everywhere they go. Many of them tried and failed to win election last month and yet they feel like they somehow represent Irish people. At times, the protesters in these areas don't want them there because they cheapen their argument. Nevertheless, they often find their tribe at these demonstrations too. They may not be starting the trouble but they fan the flames with glee.

Dealing with this crucible of anger from Mayo to Coolock and everywhere in between are the gardaí, often sent from other areas of the country, ill-prepared, to deal with the latest protest. I've watched countless videos now of gardaí being named by so-called protesters, their addresses published online. They're harassed, physically assaulted, spat at, verbally abused and as we've seen in Coolock, injured in the line of duty. Those injuring them are thugs but those in charge of them are setting them up for failure.

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Many people say 'well, that's their job' but it often feels like they've been made the battering ram of both the government and their policies and the people attending these protests. In Coolock, I watched hooded men and teenagers throw petrol bombs at them. When they ran out of those, other projectiles like rocks and sticks were sourced. They threw anything that came to hand; a piece of fence or even a full bottle of Coca-Cola. It was an onslaught and a pile-on of epic proportions. 

Remember back to the Dublin city riots in November when gardaí from as far as Cork were just plucked like chess pieces and moved to the capital. It was a difficult watch on social media to see one garda fall over on O'Connell Bridge only to be repeatedly kicked by thugs. Imagine being that garda's wife, mother, brother or friend. In the eyes of those attending these anti-immigration protesters, gardaí are the enemy. These ordinary men and women earning an honest living to protect our communities are ragdolls to the far-right, and the government and the hierarchy of An Garda Siochana, serve them up like lambs every time. There never seems to be a clear plan.

There are two major things at the heart of this problem. A police force built for policing by consent being tasked with quelling as one garda described it in today's Sunday Independent, 'urban warfare.' It's like sending firefighters out to tackle a wildfire with a glass of water. Thugs have no respect for gardaí. A baton and pepper spray don't cut it when you're getting savaged by a mob.

The second issue is the immigration policy of the government being badly explained, executed and justified to the Irish people. In the absence of information in an area, disinformation and rumour spread like wildfire, in communities and their Whatsapp groups. A whisper in the post office becomes an online movement. In the absence of order and organisation, grows chaos. Far-right agitators posing as Irish patriots are like moths to that flame but those in charge are allowing the narrative to develop. It's a scary place to be as a country, not least if you're a serving garda.

It does not feel like the government has a plan for immigration. To ordinary citizens it feels like they are standing over a map of Ireland and sticking pins in it before sending groups of asylum seekers there on buses. The government will say they can't reveal the locations of planned international asylum centres because the buildings become targets for attack, but what happens in the end is rumours swirl and multiple buildings, sometimes the wrong ones, are targeted, either by protest or often arson. 

It is only a matter of time before a garda is killed at one of these protests. The government needs to accept some responsibility for that. The people at these protests somehow feel like they're saving Ireland. They're emboldened every time a politician goes on the news and calls them thugs. They see politicians, the media and gardaí as enemies. That's the extreme view, but as with the first rumour of a new asylum centre in a town, it's one growing legs every day. The endgame to this doesn't bear thinking about.