Forty-two ‘persons of interest’ in Dublin riots identified after fresh appeal

A total of 42 “persons of interest” in the Dublin riots have been identified following a fresh appeal issued this week.

Gardai released 99 images of people they wanted to identify, to either rule in or out of their investigations on Tuesday.

Gardai said there had been a “very significant ongoing public response” to their appeal, launched almost a year on from when the disorder broke out in Dublin on November 23.

Officers said they were “validating nominations” for the 42 “persons of interest” whose images had been removed, with 13 images removed in the last 24 hours alone.

They also cautioned that it should not be presumed that identification meant criminal involvement in events.

Rioting broke out in the Irish capital after three children and a care worker were injured in an attack outside a primary school and creche on Parnell Square East, for which a man was charged and appeared before the courts.

A Garda car, buses and a Luas tram were set on fire, shops were looted and infrastructure, such as traffic lights, was damaged during the riot.

Of the 28 vehicles damaged that night, 15 were official Garda cars and two belonged to the Dublin Fire Brigade.

Gardai said 66 premises or places of business were subject to criminal damage.

Of the 57 people arrested in connection with the public disorder to date, 53 had been charged.

Gardai said the 134 charge sheets to date included 25 counts of criminal damage, including arson, 22 counts of burglary and five counts under firearms and offensive weapons legislation.

More than 17,000 hours of CCTV footage was also retrieved by gardai.

A Garda appeal for information remains in place for the remaining 57 photos of “persons of interest” on the Garda website.

People with information are asked to contact any Garda station or the Garda Confidential phone number on 1800 666 111.