News/Commentary

Shocking videos emerge from Ireland as ‘illegal immigrants’ bused to rural areas, authorities clash with locals

January 16, 2024 | | Print Article

It appears the Irish public is fed up with massive illegal immigration and claims are surfacing that police are roughing up protesters in the small town of Roscrea, where migrants are being placed in the only hotel there.

This has been going on for some time now according to reports but the confrontations between the disaffected populace and authorities are turning more contentious and possibly violent. One hotel in Dublin where illegal immigrants were housed was set on fire recently.

“A man has been arrested after scuffles broke out at a hotel in Co Tipperary as anti-immigration protestors gathered while asylum seekers were being brought onto the premises,” the Irish Examiner reported.

(Video Credit: RTE News)

“It comes as protestors began holding a demonstration at Racket Hall hotel on the outskirts of Roscrea last Thursday after it emerged it was going to be used to house people seeking international protection,” the outlet added.

A bus arrived at the hotel reportedly carrying women and children around noon on Monday. The hotel has 40 bedrooms and will house 160 illegal immigrants.

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“The Racket Hall hotel was the only hotel operating in Roscrea until it closed the doors to the public on Thursday night following the announcement the owners of the facility have signed a 12-month contract to use its 40 rooms to accommodate 160 international protection applicants,” the Irish Times reported.

“According to the department’s briefing note, the property consists of a ‘large refurbished four-star hotel accommodation’ with amenities and ‘ample community recreational space on site.’ It will have high-speed wifi,” the outlet continued.

Approximately 200 incensed protesters gathered at the hotel. People who witnessed the arrival of the illegal immigrants asserted it was not women and children, but men who stepped off the bus. Authorities are calling them “asylum seekers,” residents are calling them “illegal immigrants” and are flatly stating they are not welcome there.

Police arrived in eight vans when the migrants reached the hotel to deter the locals from blocking them. Viral videos have surfaced showing police and protesters going at it. One asserted that police pounded the head of a protester into a table and then roughed him up.

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After the illegal immigrants arrived, police remained at the hotel forming a line and making a show of force to the residents, warning them to back off.

“Shortly before 12 midday, uniformed members of An Garda Síochána, supported by ‘soft cap’ public order personnel provided a cordon at the entrance to the IPAS [International Protection Accommodation Services] Centre to facilitate access for transport carrying international protection applicants,” the Irish police stated.

“Soft cap” indicates that the police were not wearing helmets or body armor, according to the Irish Examiner.

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“One man was arrested under the Public Order Act and has since been released. A file will be prepared for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution,” the news outlet noted.

The police claim no pepper spray was used in subduing the man.

“There was no need for this, the videos are shocking. We have been here protesting peaceful, it was crazy, we genuinely didn’t want any of this,” a woman named Martina told the Irish Examiner.

“We are here since Thursday evening, being peaceful, a lot of people have been coming and going. There was no engagement with locals, and nobody came to talk to us. There was no negotiation or discussion. Anger started to build, and the asylum seekers arrived this morning, it all kicked off, it was not acceptable. Young children were here,” a local named Michael Donovan added, according to the media outlet.

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“The protestors are going to take things day by day and it’s an around-the-clock protest, and the Government is responsible for this. They held no discussions with us. Roscrea is on its knees, this was the last hotel we had in Roscrea and we don’t have the gardaí, we don’t have the jobs, we don’t have much. The Garda station is only open certain hours, people are unemployed, and this is the result of it. We don’t have the resources to deal with this,” he said in the interview.

Ireland is seeking to pass a new law that could jail citizens for possession of memes, cartoons, or any content that could be deemed “hateful” as well.

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