Anti-racism groups respond to arrests at block party

Irish anti-racism groups have condemned arrests following a block party held by Tola Vintage, a clothing store based in Dublin City, on Friday evening.

The store has hosted the Culture Night event for four consecutive years.

A Garda spokesperson confirmed the arrests saying: “Gardaí arrested three people for public order offences around Fownes Street, Dublin 2 at approximately 10.10pm.”

 

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A post shared by United Against Racism (@unitedagainstracismireland)

Groups such as United Against Racism Ireland have raised concerns about the Garda's strong reaction to the block party attendees saying, "The block party happens every year on culture night, with event organisers having all the correct permits to run it. "

They continued, "gardaí CHOSE to brutalise Tola vintage and event goers. For absolutely no reason, other than being black and brown enjoying culture night."

Black and Irish also posted on Instagram saying "We share in the disappointment from many creatives and event goers, particularly from the Black community, who feel like this is an all too frequent thing. However, by working together we can bring about change so this doesn’t happen in future."