Violent clashes broke out in central Dublin on Thursday evening, with vehicles torched and riot police attacked by a far-right mob following a knife attack at a school in the Irish city.
A five-year-old girl was seriously injured in the attack earlier in the day. A woman and two other young children were also hospitalised.
The Chief of police in Ireland said following a stabbing outside a school, rioting in Dublin resulted in huge destruction and 34 persons were arrested.
The head of the Irish police force, Drew Harris said 11 police vehicles and 13 shops were badly damaged during the clashes.
The knife attack took place outside a primary school in the city centre, after 1:40pm local time on Thursday.
The police have said that a man in his 40s who was also seriously injured is a person of interest.
Police added that they were not looking for anyone else at this time and were following a definite line of inquiry.
Riot police were deployed after disorder broke out in the city centre, near the scene of the attack, including O’Connell Street which is one of Dublin’s main shopping streets.
Mr. Harris blamed the rioting on a “lunatic, hooligan faction driven by a far-right ideology”, who engaged in violence as police tried to protect the scene of the stabbing for investigation.
No serious injuries were reported by the public but some police officers were assaulted, he said. None are believed to have been badly hurt while the rioting calmed down towards midnight, more than 400 officers remained on patrol in Dublin city centre overnight.
It is understood that a group of young children were lining up outside their school when a man began a knife attack.