‘Dublin is burning’ Umpteen Dublin businesses close their doors to an ongoing city centre riot

Emily Mullen

The violent protest was sparked this afternoon following an incident in the North city centre

Several nightclubs, restaurants and bars have closed in the wider city centre tonight amid safety concerns for staff and patrons. Footage of escalating tensions began to be seen on social media following the attack outside a Dublin primary school at lunchtime today, with scenes of protesters gathering around the Parnell Square/O’Connell Street area stopping the passage of public transport and Garda vehicles. These protests then escalated into violent scenes near the site of the attack, with a garda car and a tram set on fire and some footage shows some protesters involved in scuffles with gardaí, looting shops, while others threw bottles at officers.

Footage of the violent clashes between gardai and protesters has been shared widely on social media, with colleagues from Joe.ie sharing a shocking scene recorded from O’Connell street of his walk home, which shows a Dublin bus on fire and protesters attacking a lone garda. With bus and luas services suspended and Frontline Gardaí backed up by Public Order Units deployed throughout the city centre, the public is advised to avoid North City Centre and the South City Quays at this time.

Several well-known Dublin businesses have announced closures, following an order issued by DublinTown advising all businesses to close. Businesses have taken the tough decision to close their doors in the lead-up to one of the busiest times of the year. Here’s a brief roundup of all the businesses we spotted:

The George, on George’s Street

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A post shared by The George Dublin | Gay Bar (@thegeorgedublin)

The Big Romance on Parnell Street

In light of the incidents on Parnell st, the @BigRomanceBar is closed, so we are cancelling Daniel Avery this evening . Staff safety more important

— Stephen Manning (@stiofainmanning) November 23, 2023