The violent events of Tuesday and Wednesday night in Citywest, Dublin, were not without precedent. Riots in Dublin in November 2023, violence in Ballymena earlier this year; the numerous accommodation centres linked to International Protection services that have been targeted with arson since 2018: all illustrate how hate and violence linked to anti-migrant sentiments have become normalised on this island in a few short years.
The vast majority of people protesting against the housing of asylum seekers in their locality do so peacefully. But too often, protests and broader scepticism – and even anger – against migration have been exploited by extremists willing to resort to violence. There is now a depressingly familiar pattern to how this plays out – and at the centre of it all are online social media platforms.
When news emerged of an alleged sexual assault against a 10-year-
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