SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE have attended a “Northside For All” solidarity rally this evening in support of refugees and asylum seekers.

The rally took place this evening at the Fairview Footbridge in Dublin’s Northside.

The Fairview Footbridge adjacent to the area of East Wall where protests began late last year against the housing of refugees at an old ESB building.

A statement by Northside For All said that Dublin’s Northside prides itself on “being welcoming and caring”.

The statement added that people in the Northside “make friends quickly with newcomers” and that the “community is strong and unified”.

However, the statement said: “There are some who want to divide us, using fear about where we come from or the colour of our skin.”

Last week, there were a number of protests across Dublin against the accommodating of refugees and asylum seekers in the capital.

People Before Profit deputy Gino Kenny, a TD for the Dublin Mid-West constituency, said he has received threats that far-right protesters will “come to my home and burn it down” following protests against asylum seekers.

Protestors in Ballyfermot were also said to have “roared obscenities” outside the home of Independent councillor Vincent Jackson, who said he returned to the house last Thursday evening to find his “daughter roaring and crying”.

Jackson expressed concern that these protesters are “being fed a lot of information that is incorrect” and that there are “other agendas going on here”.

Labour TD for Dublin Bay North Aodhán Ó Ríordáin attended this evening’s rally and said he was “proud of the stand we took tonight”.

So proud of the stand we took tonight. https://t.co/YbM0dJUEX6

— Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (@AodhanORiordain) January 18, 2023

People in attendance at the rally chanted: “Say it loud and say it proud, refugees are welcome here”.

Say it Loud, Say it Clear Refugees are Welcome Here! #NorthsideForAll #RefugeesWelcome pic.twitter.com/r42Qq1XfyH

— DBN Repealers (@DBNRepeal) January 18, 2023

Elsewhere, Dublin councillor Allison Gilliland, who is a former Lord Mayor of Dublin, remarked: “This is the real Northside, the real Dublin and the real Ireland – welcoming, inclusive and supportive.”