Interfaith group pleads with Dubliners ‘to treasure the diversity of our city’

A group representing all religions in Dublin has condemned Thursday’s riots in the city as “orchestrated public disorder stoked by hate and far–right rhetoric online and on our streets.”

The Dublin City Interfaith Forum strongly condemned “those people and groups who clearly set to sow hatred and division in our community” and expressed gratitude to “An Garda Síochána, other emergency services and members of the public who put themselves in harm’s way to professionally and proportionately respond to the uncontrolled violence and thuggery that erupted after the horrific attack.”

The group, which includes representatives of the city’s Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Bahai’s, Sikhs, as well as its Christians, said “we stand by all those who hold to the rule of law and democracy and we ask, at this difficult time, [them] to reflect on how we can heal the scars left” by the events of Thursday night.

“We ask people to treasure the diversity of our city. This is a diversity that stretches back to its very founding,” the group said.

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In a statement by forum chair, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin Michael Jackson, the group asked that people “collectively find a way to address and to move on from the hate–filled rhetoric and actions of those last night to a shared aspiration of making Dublin a welcoming city, a city of kindness. More than ever, we need to stand with our diverse communities.”

The forum’s “deepest thoughts and prayers are with the three children and the woman who were viciously attacked in Dublin,” it said, as well as with “the other people who have been injured, their families and the teachers and staff” at Gael Scoil Mhuire on Parnell Square, the scene of a stabbing on Thursday that sparked the rioting.

Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell described what happened on Thursday as “a moment of truth for our city and for Irish society more broadly.” The violence had “dismayed us all”, he said.

He called on people to “not be passive in the face of what we have witnessed. In the first place, let us refuse to allow ourselves to be cowed or intimidated by those who seek to coerce us. We can challenge the misinformation that seeks to sow doubt, suspicion, resentment, and fear. We can challenge the casual remarks that spread cynicism and prejudice.”

Above all, he said, “we can reach out in solidarity and friendship to those who have made their homes among us, but who are being targeted with words of hate and gestures that are filled with hostility and derision. Let us not forget the invaluable contribution so many make to our economy and society. Let us not take for granted the vibrant gifts of faith and witness which they bring to our parish communities.”

He too prayed “for the victims of the horrific assault on Parnell Square, for their families, for the school staff, and the children in Scoil Mhuire primary school. We give thanks for the courage and decisiveness of those who acted so promptly with such selflessness, for the skill of the emergency services and gardaí, and for all who helped restore order.”