Investigation into incident at Dublin city schoolyard
According to eyewitnesses, a teenage boy wielding a knife chased a man on to the grounds of St James's Primary School on Basin View lane in Dublin 8, and punched and threatened him, before being confronted by staff at the school who managed to get the boy out of the schoolyard.
The teenager returned with an older woman a few minutes later and shouted obscenities at the man, who is a foreign national. He also shouted "Dublin 8 says no".
Three weeks ago an encampment was set up close to the school on Basin View, by anti-immigration protesters who are objecting to the opening of a second IPAS centre on the lane.
Under tricolours, protesters have hung a large banner which reads 'D8 says no'. This is the name those involved have given to their campaign.
The encampment is close to two primary schools and one secondary school on the narrow city thoroughfare which is nestled between the new children's hospital and the Guinness complex.
Signs have also been hung which say 'Keep our children safe'.
The attack at the school took place shortly before 9pm on Wednesday morning and was witnessed by a number of children who had yet to enter the school building, as well as their parents.
According to eyewitnesses the boy shouted about 'paedophiles' as he attacked the man.
It is understood that the man was waiting outside the school as a friend who was with him dropped off his child.
Gardaí, including the Armed Support Unit, attended the scene and the boy was arrested a short time later and detained before being released.
An Garda Síochána said: "Gardaí attended the scene of an alleged assault and public order incident at Basin Street, Dublin 8 on Wednesday 28th May 2025 at approximately 8.45am.
"A male youth was arrested in relation to the incident. He has since been released and a file will now be prepared for the Garda Youth Diversion Programme."
Under the Children's Act it is for the Garda Youth Diversion Programme to decide whether or not the file should be sent on to the DPP for prosecution in the courts.
Gardaí say their investigation is ongoing.
The anti-immigration encampment is directly beside and facing the entrance to a second primary school, Canal Way Educate Together.
It is outside a premises which is currently being converted into residential accommodation with a view to housing asylum seekers.
An adjacent building already houses around 20 people seeking International Protection.
Wednesday's attack follows rising tensions locally over recent weeks as a result of the encampment and concern as to its potential impact.
Protest 'hijacked', locals say
Locals say the protest was originally established by local parents who are opposed to a second Direct Provision centre opening on the lane and say the area has been neglected for too long and has very few services, but locals say this original protest has been "hijacked" by others with sinister motives.
"The protest has been hijacked by people who are trying to stir up hate and racism and this [attack] is a direct result of their actions," one person told RTÉ News.
"That innocent gentleman who was just waiting for another parent was attacked and could have been stabbed or badly injured," they added.
Speaking about the encampment a parent said: "It's absolutely intimidating. There's dogs, there's drugs - you can smell the stench of weed. The whole thing is absolutely intimidating for children and families."
Of the attack that took place in the schoolyard on Wednesday the parent said: "Everybody is rattled".
Also on Wednesday, a number of local organisations, including Basin View's two primary schools, met to discuss their concerns about rising tensions. The meeting was arranged before the attack happened.
On Thursday, the organisations jointly published a leaflet.
The leaflet states: "We are concerned by the small minority who intimidate children, parents, teachers, and workers. We want this intimidation to stop we want to work with you to make it stop.
"We are writing this because we care about the safety of our community and believe that misinformation, hate and violence have no place here. We believe everyone here deserves to be safe, no matter the color of their skin."
Warning that what is happening is "hurting children", the leaflet says: "Fear, lies and panic spread very easily on social media, and lead to people being targeted based on the color of their skin."
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