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There was no “heavy hand” in the Garda’s response to far-right anti-lockdown protesters in central Dublin on Thursday and the Gardaí did not allow the protesters to “stampede” through the main streets of the city, said the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
He added that the far right in Ireland had moved from open source communication between them, such as social media, to more covert media by organizing protests. Intelligence compiled by gardaí showed that they planned to attempt to disrupt key institutions and infrastructure of the state.
This included Dublin Port, high-profile commercial areas such as Grafton Street in Dublin, Dáil Éireann, and government departments.
Violence erupts when anti-blockade protesters clash with Gardaí on Grafton Street in Dublin on Thursday. Photography: Damien Storan
He said that Irish groups believed in the grand replacement theory, a conspiracy that suggested predominantly white populations were being deliberately replaced by people of other ethnic groups by mass migration, which had become very popular with far-right groups in United States.
However, the Irish groups remained small and were under observation and investigation by the Gardaí.
Harris was speaking at Garda headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, where he addressed the media about the police plan for the next six-week period, as the Republic will remain at Level 5 of the Living with Covid-19 plan.
He also spoke a day after 11 people were arrested after far-right anti-blockade and Gardaí protesters clashed on Grafton Street.
Trouble erupted when a group tried to occupy the street, the capital’s main commercial thoroughfare. A large rally had been planned for Custom House Quay, although both the Yellow Vest group and the Health Ireland group decided to withdraw from the meeting. However, another group subsequently made their way to Grafton Street, where the fighting took place.
Gardaí took positions in numbers on Grafton Street to prevent protesters from occupying the area for a sit-in protest against public health measures to combat the spread of Covid-19. A similar protest took place in the street earlier this month, without social distancing and by protesters wearing no masks.
Commenting on the overall surveillance plan for Covid-19 level 5, Mr. Harris said that traffic volumes had already started to decline as a network of thousands of Garda checkpoints had been erected across the country; some static and some mobile.
He added that the additional enforcement powers and additional sanctions the government is introducing for those who violate Covid-19 regulations would be helpful to the force.
However, the Garda would continue to view engagement with people as its primary focus during the pandemic and “did not want to get to the point of enforcement action” against members of the public.
When Mr. Harris was told that he had previously said that he did not want any more powers for the Garda, that he believed the force did not need them, and seemed reluctant to introduce new powers, he said he was a “faithful public servant” and would do ” what they say to me “.
He added that the new powers would only be a last resort and that the execution powers available to the Garda earlier in the pandemic were used very rarely.
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