Flowers have been left at the scene, outside a primary school, of Thursday’s stabbing in Dublin
By Aoife Moore
BBC News NI Dublin reporter
Another child involved in the stabbing incident outside a school in Dublin on Thursday has left hospital.
Three children and a school care assistant were injured in the knife attack, which was followed by hours of rioting in the city centre.
A six-year-old girl, who had head injuries, has now been discharged. A boy, five, was discharged on Friday.
A five-year-old girl remains in a critical condition in hospital along with the teaching assistant in her 30s.
Floral tributes have been left for the victims at the site near Gaelscoil Cholaiste Mhuire primary school.
No arrests have yet been made in relation to the incident on Parnell Street, but Gardaí are not looking for anyone other than one suspect, a man in his 40s, who is currently in hospital.
However, 48 arrests have been made in the city since Thursday, following hours of rioting in the aftermath of the attack.
Vehicles were set on fire and shops looted in the disorder.
Police are trawling through 6,000 hours of CCTV riot footage.
Image source, PA/Niall Carson
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris (right) meets officers outside Leinster House, the Irish Parliament building, on Saturday
Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the most riot police in Irish history had been deployed to deal with the violence.
It was reported that she briefed fellow ministers that gardaí would be certain to arrest more individuals.
A high visibility policing plan is in place throughout the weekend, according to the minister, including the deployment of four public order units.
The dog unit and the mounted unit are also being deployed, and two water cannons are now available for use if required after a mutual aid request made to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
Image source, PA Media/Brian Lawless
A bus and car were set on fire on O’Connell Street on Thursday evening
Dublin city remained quiet on Saturday as thousands descended on the capital for Christmas shopping as well as a number of sporting events.
A small protest centred on immigration issues passed off without incident on O’Connell Street, with a heavy Garda presence visible across the city centre.
Two large sporting events planned for Saturday night are to go ahead, including a boxing match involving Bray boxer Katie Taylor at the Three Arena.
“I have allocated an additional €4.4m for the purchase of 95 extra Garda cars and vans by the end of this year,” a statement from Ms McEntee read.
“This includes 17 high visibility public order Garda vans which will be deployed in our towns and cities across the country to provide further reassurance for people, businesses and communities. It also includes 38 new fully electric patrol cars and 40 unmarked surveillance cars.
“This is in addition to 10 high visibility community policing vans which are currently being prepared for deployment.
“I want to again be clear that the thuggery we saw on Thursday will not be tolerated and, as minister for justice, An Garda Síochána, including Commissioner Harris, have my full support to maintain order. Those responsible will be brought to justice.”
Earlier on Friday, Ms McEntee defended the Garda’s response after Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of the largest opposition party Sinn Féin, said she had no confidence in either Ms McEntee or the head of the force, Drew Harris.
The Taoiseach (Irish PM) Leo Varadkar said he has confidence in Ms McEntee, his Fine Gael colleague, as does Tanaiste Micheál Martin, who added he also has confidence in Mr Harris.
“All of this is essentially an attack on the state and an attack on families, on workers and on our communities and society and we cannot tolerate that,” he said.
‘I have never witnessed anything like that in Ireland’
On Thursday night the scene at Arnotts department store was terrifying as looters had broken in, writes BBC Ireland Correspondent Chris Page, in Dublin.
But there is little sign of that on Henry Street on Saturday evening.
One of Dublin’s main shopping streets, its stores are open, the Christmas lights are on and shoppers are out and about.
It looks like a scene you would expect to see in any European capital – but there is an edge to the mood.
“It was embarrassing for Ireland and it’s not the majority views,” one shopper told me, when asked about Thursday’s violence.
“There was no need for it. It ruined the city,” another man added. “I thought it was disgraceful. I have never witnessed anything like that in Ireland.”
One woman said that, as a mother, the rioting concerned her: “Where are the parents of those teens? I know where mine are.”
Another man said he had witnessed the “ugly scenes,” while on his way home from work on Thursday. However, he added that it was “reassuring” to see police everywhere on Saturday night.
Mr Harris blamed the rioting on a “lunatic, hooligan faction driven by a far-right ideology”.
There was a major police presence in central Dublin on Friday night, with officers making several arrests on O’Connell Street after sporadic altercations.
Gardaí said there were no reports of any significant incidents.
Mr Varadkar said about 500 people were involved in Thursday’s disorder.
He said they had “brought shame” on Ireland and promised new laws within weeks to bring those involved to justice.
Image source, RTÉ
Two Police Service of Northern Ireland water cannon travelled to Dublin on Friday after a request from Irish police
Gardaí have received two water cannon from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) for potential use in any further disturbances.
What happened in the Dublin stabbings?
A five-year-old girl and a school staff member who “used her body as a shield” were hurt in the attack after 13:40 local time on Thursday.
It is understood that a group of young children were lining up when they were stabbed by a man.
Several members of the public helped subdue the attacker, including a Brazilian food delivery driver who used his bike helmet to fight off the attacker.
A man in his late 40s who was also seriously injured is a person of interest, according to police. They said they are not looking for anyone else in relation to the attack.
In a statement, the school said it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the incident and that its thoughts were with the pupils and creche worker who were injured.
How did the Dublin riot develop?
Just hours after the knife attack, rioters destroyed 11 police vehicles, while 13 shops were badly damaged and more were looted during clashes with riot police.
Three buses and a tram were also destroyed and several police officers were injured during more than three hours of sustained violence.
The “extraordinary outbreak of violence” had come after “hateful assumptions” were made based on material circulating online in the wake of the stabbings, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said.
It is understood that included false claims that the attacker was a foreign national.
Sources have indicated to the BBC that the man suspected of carrying out the attack is an Irish citizen who has lived in the country for 20 years.
“These are scenes that we have not seen in decades,” said the garda commissioner.
Irish President Michael D Higgins said Thursday night’s violence “deserves condemnation by all those who believe in the rule of law and democracy”.
