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Migrants in Ireland, including Indians, Africans and other nationalities, are in a state of increased panic, following the recent incidents of racist attacks in the country. In recent days, at least three incidents of racially motivated hate crimes targeting Indians were reported from Ireland, forcing even the country’s president, Michael D. Higgins, to denounce such acts.
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Racist attacks in Ireland
Hate comments that originated on social media are now spilling onto the streets of Ireland, with shocking consequences, including the attack on a six-year-old Indian-origin girl and another man from India who was assaulted by a group of teenagers in Fairview Park, Dublin, over the weekend.
Anti-immigrant protests in Ireland
Ireland, like many other European countries, has seen a rise in anti-immigrant sentiments in recent years. Anti-immigrant protests in Ireland started in 2018 in response to the country accepting a large number of asylum seekers fleeing conflicts in countries including Syria and Iraq.
Another wave of refugees to Ireland, this time those fleeing the war in Ukraine in 2022, also added to the rise in anti-immigrant sentiments in the country.
As per official data, a total of 676 hate crimes and hate-related (non-crime) incidents were recorded in Ireland in 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
An increasingly worsening cost-of-living crisis, rising unemployment, and homelessness in recent years have only added fuel to the fire. Far-right groups also exploited the situation, claiming that the large-scale, uncontrolled migration would alter the demography of Ireland.
These days, a simple search on social media will throw up any number of videos of anti-immigrant protests from across Ireland.
📍Dublin –
The Irish are currently protesting at government buildings after news broke that the EU intends to force Ireland to pay damages to unhoused asylum seekers, while Irish people awaiting housing have no such right. pic.twitter.com/vbhaXuDiXj
— MichaeloKeeffe (@Mick_O_Keeffe) July 16, 2025
Protesters who say they are “reclaiming Ireland for Irish people” are also calling for an end to the country’s liberal immigration policy.
❌BREAKING❌ Please share ☘️☘️
“Ireland has risen, the people have had enough”😲
Massive crowds of #IrelandisFull citizens march through the Cork city demanding the gov listen to concerns about migrants being planted in their communities 🇮🇪
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More… pic.twitter.com/aeNhlbx30g— TheLiberal.ie (@TheLiberal_ie) June 7, 2025
Hate crimes on the rise in Ireland
As per official data, a total of 676 hate crimes and hate-related (non-crime) incidents were recorded in Ireland in 2024 – up from 651 in 2023. Local media reports say that the number of recorded hate crimes will go up further in 2025.
Indians not being singled out
While the attacks on Indians have garnered the most attention in recent times, The Irish Times, quoting official data, said that there is little statistical evidence to show Indian nationals are being singled out in these kinds of attacks.
But there is a disturbing pattern in the recent attacks on Indians in Ireland – all of them were carried out by teenagers.
Racism is not new in Ireland
Dr Ebun Joseph, chief executive of the Institute of Antiracism and Black Studies, and the special rapporteur for the National Plan Against Racism, said that racism and racial crime are not a “new thing” in Ireland.
“It’s been there. The black community, the Roma community, the new Traveller community have experienced racism in Ireland for years,” Joseph told BreakingNews.ie.
“Young people are being made to think that violence against another person because of the colour of their skin or where they are from or their accent, that to feel that is right to do is a major problem. This is national crisis,” she said.
Jennifer Whitmore, a Social Democrat politician and member of the Lower House of the Irish Parliament, said that racism has been normalised in the country.
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“We are at the point now where it is quite normalised for people to be racist in what they say on social media,” Whitmore said.
Echoing the words of President Higgins, Whitmore also highlighted the contributions of migrants in Ireland.
“Our health system would collapse without many migrant communities and having that conversation of the value of migrants and also reflect on Irish people who have been migrants, it’s something Irish people are very familiar with,” she said.
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