Dublin locals rage at Government as Coolock migrant protests escalate: ‘All hell has broke loose!’

Coolock residents have expressed their fury at the Irish Government as migrant protests at a former paint factory continue to escalate.

Demonstrations broke out at the building after people opposed its alleged repurposing into a site for refugees and asylum seekers.

Gardai have confronted the protesters, who set up a camp back in March, with pepper spray and water cannons, enraging the locals even futher.

Speaking to Dublin resident Sean, he said that a week on from the violent protests and clashes with police “all hell has broken loose”.

Sean told GB News reporter Dougie Beattie: “A week on and all hell has broken loose, it’s been madness.

“Crown Paints has been set on fire four or five times maybe this week, there’s constant police presence and things have got really bad now.”

When asked by Dougie Beattie if he agrees with Taoiseach Simon Harris that the behaviour of the protests is “thuggery”, Sean disagreed, explaining: “It’s not thuggery, I would say it’s the frustration boiling over now.

“The community has had enough, we’ve tried to have conversations with them, and we tried to walk up to Coolock Gardai Station on Friday but they wouldn’t let us walk up.”

Sharing an update on any negotiation between the Irish Police and the Coolock protesters, Sean revealed that they have a “meeting set up” next week to discuss the demonstrations and how to settle the tensions.

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Sean said: “They let one of the men put in a letter of complaint, so we have a meeting with them now on Monday, and we’ll see where it goes from there.

“But it doesn’t look like anything is going to change any time soon.”

President of Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald, released a statement on social media after meeting with residents and community groups in Coolock, calling for “urgent engagement” with the protesters to resolve the issue.

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, McDonald said: “After meeting with residents and community groups in Coolock, I’ve written to Simon Harris. The government needs to urgently engage with residents. Calm must be restored. This is a decent, proud community that must be heard and respected.”

When asked by Dougie about McDonald’s intervention, Sean hit back at the Sinn Féin leader and claimed she had “met with her own Sinn Féinn representatives”.

Sean told GB News: “She says she met with the locals, and the community, we found out it was our own Sinn Féinn leader, that she went to down here.

“She runs for Sinn Féinn – Sinn Féinn don’t do anything for the Coolock community and we don’t support Sinn Féinn in Coolock.

“So I don’t know why she’s down talking to them.”