Through Their Eyes: Stories from a Night That Shook the Capital
On November 23, 2023, Dublin witnessed one of its most turbulent nights in recent history. The riots erupted after a violent attack on a woman and three children outside Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire on Parnell Street. A year later, individuals who were in the city during the chaos reflect on their experiences.
‘I’ve Never Been So Scared’: Personal Accounts of a City in Turmoil
Nila, a 20-year-old architecture student, found herself to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. “I noticed the sky was a different colour, I get to the bus stop and the LUAS is actually on fire.”.
Without a charged phone, Nila was left to navigate the chaos alone. Nila remembers the night well, after being directly caught up in the incident. “The reason I got hit by a glass bottle on the back of the head is not because I was just caught in the crossfire, but probably because I’m a person of colour.”
Travelling home proved difficult for Nila as taxis and bus services were limited in the city. “I stayed there until about 4:00 AM, I was alone in the city.”
I genuinely have never been so scared for my life.
Over the past year, Nila says the events have left her emotionally conflicted about her identity. “After the riots, I feel weird saying that I’m Irish. If you didn’t see what I looked like, you’d assume I was Irish.”
Blocked Streets and Burning Bridges: Niamh’s Account
Niamh Dobbs, a 21-year-old student at the Technological University of Dublin, remembers the disruption vividly.
“I was on Grangegorman campus, I remember I was gonna go home that day. But instead, I decided to go into Aungier Street Library, which is really weird because I would never really study there,” she remembers. The student journalist describes the streets of Dublin, whilst trying to make it home to Drumcondra, as Parnell Street was “blocked off.”
We couldn’t go to Pearse St. because there was a literal fire in the middle of the bridge.
Niamh described the frantic atmosphere, with store windows smashed and crowds running. She recalls: “I remember entering Tara Street station and the announcement said, ‘get on the train. Doesn’t matter where you’re going. Get on the train, you need to get out of the city centre.’”
Niamh was in the city the next day; she says the city felt “really weird seeing the LUAS completely destroyed.”
‘It Was Utter Chaos’: Cillian’s Duty as a Witness
Cillian, 21, an aspiring journalist, went to Parnell Street to observe the events firsthand. He explains he felt it was “his duty to go in He described the streets as chaotic, with a Garda car and a double-decker bus in flames: “Multiple shops doors were forced open and anything in sight being looted.”.
He remembers the tension escalating, as he was walking down Parnell Street, where the stabbing took place earlier that day. “There was a big stampede the opposite way I was walking, and many people called out ‘shots fired’.”
Doing what everyone else did, I turned around and legged it.
The Author’s Reflection: Witnessing Chaos Unfold
Finally, as I was in Dublin during the riot, it was a surreal experience seeing how fast the streets can turn into turmoil. The bus I was travelling on couldn’t reach its final destination, so I was asked to get off on a street I didn’t know. The first thing I saw after a few minutes of walking, was a Dublin Bus engulfed in flames on O’Connell Bridge.