Calm returns to Dublin streets

DUBLIN, Nov 25 (Reuters): Calm was restored to the streets of central Dublin on Friday night amid a heavy police presence after 34 people were arrested following rioting the previous night that was triggered by the stabbing of three young children in the street.
Police were on alert for further violence after rioters smashed shop windows; set fire to police cars, buses and a tram; and clashed with officers in and around the main thoroughfare of O'Connell Street in violence rarely seen in the Irish capital.
Shoppers and tourists returned on Black Friday morning, passing officers guarding looted stores as burnt out vehicles were removed. Police chased a few people from the street on Friday evening and made some arrests but the city was quiet.
"Those involved brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland and brought shame on their families and themselves," Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told a news conference early on Friday of the violence overnight.
A 5-year-old girl remained in a critical condition on Friday following emergency treatment for serious injuries sustained in the stabbing, which happened near a school and beside O'Connell Street.
Police, who say they have not ruled out any motive including whether it was terror-related, have not commented on the nationality of a man detained in connection with the stabbings but there was immediate speculation online that he was foreign.
The man is in his late 40s and being treated for serious injuries. Police said they were not looking for any other suspect.
Police blamed far-right agitators for starting the violence after a small group of anti-immigrant protesters arrived at the scene of the stabbing and clashed with police.
Varadkar said his government would take immediate steps to tighten anti-hate legislation he said was unfit for the social media age. Ministers also plan to fast-track laws to allow officers to use body-worn cameras.
"As a country we need to reclaim Ireland. We need to take it away from the cowerers who hide behind masks and try to terrify us with their violence," Varadkar said in an emotional statement.
The attack was condemned across all political parties, including the main opposition Sinn Fein, whose leader called for the justice minister and police chief to resign over what she called an "unacceptable failure" to keep people safe.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee said she would not quit and Police Commissioner Drew Harris earlier defended the force's response, saying the scenes in the city were unprecedented.
"I think that we've seen an element of radicalisation. We have seen a group of people who take literally a thimble full of facts and make a bathtub of hateful assumptions and then conduct themselves in a way which is riotous and disruptive to our society," Harris told a news conference.
It took officers several hours to regain control after a group of local youths joined the protesters, some of whom were shouting "get them out", with one carrying a sign saying "Irish Lives Matter". The crowd grew to about 200 to 300 people.