At least six people have been arrested as gardaí cleared protesters off O’Connell Bridge in Dublin city centre this afternoon.
The protesters blocked lower O’Connell Street and were cleared by a line of gardaí from the Public Order Unit.
Several hundred people gathered on O’Connell Street earlier today for an anti-immigration march – organised by a group calling itself Citizens of Éire – to Leinster House.
Many of them were holding Irish flags. Protesters chanted “get them out” and “whose streets, our streets”.
Banners saying ‘Thornton Hall says no’ and ‘Newtown says no’ were also visible.
There have been protests in both areas against plans to accommodate International Protection applicants.
As the march made its way to Leinster House, it passed a smaller counter protest at the bottom of Grafton Street, organised by the United Against Racism group.
The two sides hurled insults and chanted at each other but a line of gardaí, mostly from the Public Order Unit, separated them.
Gardaí intervened again on Dawson Street to keep the two sides apart before the anti-immigration group reached its destination on Molesworth Street where it demonstrated before the protesters left the area.
Some of the demonstrators then returned to O’Connell Bridge where they blocked traffic in both directions before gardaí made a number of arrests.
