ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANISATION My Lovely Horse Rescue (MLHR) has condemned the use of horses during violent scenes in Dublin last night, warning that “someone will die if this continues.”

The condemnation follows violent clashes outside the Citywest complex near Saggart, where gardaí were attacked with fireworks and bricks and a garda van was set alight.

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan and Tánaiste Simon Harris both denounced the rioting as “violence and thuggery,” while gardaí described attempts to charge police lines using horse-drawn sulkies.

A garda van was set alight at the riot yesterday. Sasko Lazarov Sasko Lazarov

Five men appeared in court this afternoon in connection with the riot.

In a statement, MLHR referenced videos taken during the riot which show a man driving a horse-drawn sulky through the large crowd while holding a small child on his lap, describing it as “an act of animal cruelty.”

They added that it was “extraordinary public safety failure evidence of the escalating lawlessness around unregulated horse ownership and sulky racing in Ireland’s urban areas.”

The incident has been reported to gardaí, the charity said.

“This was a small child, possibly a baby, on a sulky in the middle of a protest,” said Kerry-Anne Pollock, Head of Animal Welfare Advocacy at MLHR.

“This isn’t just about welfare anymore, it’s about safety. It’s a miracle nobody was killed,” Pollock added.

Fireworks and bricks being fired at gardai a short while ago at the entrance of the City West hotel. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/k5hR1BDaYs

— Eimer McAuley (@eimer_mcauley) October 21, 2025

The charity’s co-founder Martina Kenny said the scenes in Citywest, where horses were reportedly forced through crowds and ridden bareback, reflected a wider issue of “urban cowboys” operating without regulation.

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“These animals were used as tools of intimidation and, effectively, as weapons,” she said.

“It is cruelty and lawlessness, not culture.”

The charity said it had repeatedly warned the Department of Agriculture, An Garda Síochána and local authorities about the risks posed by unregulated horse ownership and sulky racing in urban areas.

In the absence of a State-led response, MLHR announced plans to convene Ireland’s first National Multi-Agency Taskforce on Urban Horse Ownership, inviting participation from government departments, gardaí, local authorities and welfare groups.

“We’ve reached the point where the public is genuinely unsafe,” Pollock said.

“It’s not a matter of if someone is seriously injured or killed — it’s when.”