Dublin riots left north inner city youth ‘traumatised’ by the stigma of violence

A year on from the Dublin riots, young residents of the north inner city still feel “unfairly blamed” and hurt by how their community was stigmatised afterwards.

They are “annoyed”, feel nothing has improved and are “fearful” of similar clashes in future. Youth workers say many young people remain traumatised 12 months later.

The Dublin riots broke out on November 23rd, 2023, following the stabbing of three children and a care worker outside a primary school on Parnell Square.

In December Riad Bouchaker, an Irish citizen and Algerian national, of no fixed abode, was charged with attempted murder.

There have been multiple arrests and convictions in the year since then over the public disorder in the hours after the attack.

On Thursday, Declan Donaghey (28) of Williams Place Upper, Dorset Street, pleaded guilty to arson, violent disorder and criminal damage during the riots and was jailed for 6½ years.

“I do think he got too long,” says Sean (20) who does not want to give his full name, as he walks along Gardiner Street in Dublin this week. He believes they “just had to make an example out of him”.

He feels young people in the area were “big time” blamed for the riots. He didn’t get involved. “I used my brain, but I can see the way people were; they were frustrated and got involved,” he says.

A teenage girl on Sean McDermott Street, when asked how she feels ahead of the anniversary of the riots, says: “Everyone is kind of on edge, fearful it’s going to happen again.”

Luke Fay (21) from Sheriff Street, who is a history and philosophy student at Trinity College Dublin, says: “Just because the area is seen as a bad area doesn’t mean people coming from there are bad.

“When people are given opportunities and chances, they will take them. I am a testament to that,” he says.

His family has lived in the north inner city for generations. His father, Mark Fay, runs a local shop with his grandfather Gerry – both well-known and respected community activists. Luke too is active, advocating for young people and sitting on the boards of the North Inner City Community Coalition and the North Wall Women’s Centre.

He was at home when the riots erupted getting texts from friends “caught up in it” and “desperate to get out”.

Local youth workers Dean Murray and Jonathan Dowling, who is also a criminologist, say anger had been festering in the community since Covid lockdowns, which had a more adverse impact on overcrowded, poorer homes.

“We are going to be cleaning up the impact of Covid on young people in disadvantaged areas for many years,” says Dowling.

The return to post-Covid normality coincided with a sharp rise in immigration.

“There was a lot of anger building in the community, a lot of protests in the area – in East Wall, on Talbot Street. People’s genuine fears were stoked by people who had far-right agendas,” says Murray.

Dowling “panicked” when news of the stabbings broke. “I knew this was going to explode,” he says.

In the immediate aftermath “a lot of kids were quite fearful”, says Dowling, “coming out of school with fear: ‘What if someone comes to my school with a knife?’”

Children of colour feared being attacked. Schools and clubs saw a drop in attendance in the days afterwards.

Many of Fay’s peers were “shook up that this could be allowed to happen, and worried for the future”. They then felt their community was blamed, he adds.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee described those involved in the riots as “scumbags”. Politicians described their horror at the violence but offered little comfort to those most affected, says Fay.

“The impact of the riots, especially on my community, was like a slap in the face,” he says.

The area is one of sharp economic contrasts. The Irish Financial Services Centre area is classified by independent agency Pobal as “very affluent”, while adjacent homes around Sheriff Street, Oriel Street and Summerhill Parade are “very disadvantaged”.

“It feels like the community is crying out for very small things that would make a huge difference but always it’s only the bare minimum that is done,” says Fay.

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He believes a portion of Dublin City Council’s €35 million budget for a swimming pool on George’s Dock would have “a bigger, better impact” tackling antisocial behaviour than employing a hundred extra gardaí.

“We know what the problems are and how to solve them,” he says.

Fay knows people his age or younger, sleeping rough and selling drugs – “kids who have trauma”. He says there are supports in our area that would help them.

“But just not enough,” he says. “The services that could save them are crying out for funding. That’s State neglect.”

Dowling says well-funded youth services are “crucial” where parents haven’t the capacity to mitigate the impact of poverty.

Both he and Murray grew up in the area and “were born into social deficit but were lucky enough that our parents and peers were able to wrap around us and support us”, says Dowling.

“I don’t believe anyone is born wanting to do something wrong. It’s the oppressive policies and legislation,” he says.

“That’s no excuse for crime but when you are allowing people to be born into poverty, then bringing measures that keep them in poverty and they start doing things you don’t like, I believe you need to look in rather than look out.”