LAST UPDATE | 23 Oct 2025

A PROTEST AT the entrance to an Ipas centre in Citywest has concluded peacefully this evening after two previous nights of unrest.

A smaller crowd attended the gathering today, where gardaí maintained a signifcant presence.

The crowd dispersed before 10pm, and protesters were urged to return for another peaceful gathering tomorrow.

Protesters pictured at Citywest this evening. Rolling News Rolling News

Luas services to Saggart had been suspended again this evening due to public disorder near the Citywest hotel over the last two nights. 

Protests in the area had turned violent last night, with two gardaí injured and 23 people arrested after rocks, bottles and fireworks were hurled at the 300 gardaí in attendance.

On Tuesday night, six people were arrested and one garda was injured following clashes.

Earlier today, sixteen people appeared in the Dublin District Court on various public order related offences in connections with the riots, and one man was charged with violent disorder.

Protests began on Tuesday just hours after a 26-year-old man was charged with the alleged sexual assault of a young girl on Garter Lane, the roadway that leads alongside the front of the Citywest complex, on Monday. 

It was then that the activity shifted from supposed protest to frenzied, largescale, violence directed at the gardaí.

The former Citywest Hotel was purchased by the state for use as an Ipas centre earlier this year.

There are around 1,200 Ukrainian refugees in the centre currently, and approximately 460 international protection applicants.

‘Something that you will regret’

A number of senior gardaí had said that they were expecting another night of unrest at Citywest this evening, and the public was warned not to get involved.

“Think about your decisions, don’t get swept up in something that you will regret later,” Garda Assistant Commissioner Cliona Richardson said this afternoon.

Statement from Assistant Commissioner for the Dublin Metropolitan Region, Cliona Richardson and Chief Superintendent Michael McNulty, DMR West, on the ongoing serious public disorder in Saggart, Co. Dublin. #KeepingPeopleSafe pic.twitter.com/t4YK8pgcLM

— Garda Info (@gardainfo) October 23, 2025

“There’s people being impacted from transport being cut short,” Richardson told reporters, “which means people are not able to go to work, go to the shop, go to visit people in hospital, go to friends and family that they need to.”

Richardson warned people intent on violence that they could end up doing prison time.

“We have a robust plan in place that, if you do come out with criminal intent or violent intent, we will deal with that matter appropriately,” she added.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Six One news this evening, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan echoed this sentiment.

“Any person thinking they’re going up there this evening for trouble would be ill advised to do so, and they’ll be met with a forceful response,” O’Callaghan said.

He added that he appreciates “the legitimate concerns” surrounding the alleged incident at the site on Monday.

“There are very many decent people in Saggart and the surrounding area who have concerns,” O’Callaghan said.

“I just want to say the local people are not the people out there throwing rocks at the gardaí – they’re the people who are engaging with local TDs.”