Three people were arrested for public order offences during a large anti-immigration march and counter demonstration in Dublin city centre on Saturday.
The arrests were understood to be for minor matters, including failing to follow the direction of a garda.
Despite the large numbers involved, the events passed off mostly peacefully. “No major incidents of note occurred,” a garda spokesman said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said on Sunday that he rejects the “negativity” of those who protested against immigration and the government in Dublin city centre on Saturday.
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Mr Martin was speaking at the annual Fianna Fáil 1916 commemoration held at Arbour Hill cemetery in Dublin.
He said: “I don’t accept the negativity from those who spoke yesterday, in respect of where modern Ireland is today. The level of opportunity in modern Ireland is far in excess of anything previous generations experienced in terms of educational completion and so on.”
Asked if he was concerned at growth in support for radical nationalist movements within the State, he said there had been both local and general elections last year, with the ballot box the “key determinant” of how society is organised.
“I think it has to be based on ideas and policies. And we believe we have a stronger set of ideas than perhaps those who articulated yesterday.”
In his address at Arbour Hill, he indicated that the Government would move ahead with reforming the “triple lock”, which governs the deployment of Irish troops overseas and permits it only once a resolution has been passed by the UN Security Council. The coalition wants to remove this element, arguing that it gives Russia and China an effective veto on Irish troop movements.
The Taoiseach said that the revolutionaries of 1916 envisaged a republicanism that embraced a “generous and outward-looking future”, saying that it was “one of the greatest shames of our history that sectarian movements tried to hijack the spirit of 1916” and to present an “unchanging, inflexible and triumphalist republicanism as the inheritance of 1916”.
Large numbers of gardaí maintained a cordon around the demonstrations on Saturday and successfully prevented contact between the two groups.
The Garda Public Order Unit and Mounted Support Unit, along with a helicopter from the Garda Air Support Unit, were present throughout the day.
The anti-immigration protest, described by organisers as an Easter Rising commemoration to pay respect to “those who fought and gave their lives to preserve the Irish nation and create the Irish Republic”, began at 2pm at the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square.
United Against Racism – supported by a number of organisations and members of Opposition parties including Sinn Féin, Labour, People Before Profit, the Social Democrats, the Socialist Party and the Green Party – hosted a counter-protest at the nearby GPO at 1.30pm.
There were some hostile and aggressive interactions between protesters as the anti-immigration rally passed by the antiracism demonstration at the GPO.
The United Against Racism demonstration saw those gathered carry signs reading Stand Against Racism while chanting “refugees are welcome” and “whose streets – our streets”.
[ Thousands take part in anti-immigration protest in DublinOpens in new window ]
The anti-immigration protest travelled down to Custom House Quay, with anti-immigrant speakers including Dublin city councillors Malachy Steenson, Gavin Pepper and Philip Sutcliffe as well as Fingal councillor Patrick Quinlan of the far-right National Party.
Cllr Steenson spoke of “really exciting times” and how “we have moved this project on hugely”.
He said Independent councillors such as himself and cllrs Pepper and Sutcliffe, who won seats on Dublin City Council last year, were using them to “push forward our message that this country should be run by its people for its people”.
Former MMA fighter Conor McGregor posted a video of himself and his family at the Garden of Remembrance in advance of the anti-immigration protest.
In a post on X, Mr McGregor said it was “a big day here for our country” and that the rally was to commemorate “the valiant heroes who went before us”.
He said the protest was also to “shine our light on the failure of Ireland’s Government and our full disapproval of it”.
However, he did not address the crowd or take any visible part in the protest once it started.
