What we know about Dublin’s riots — and what they indicate about European politics

Rioters in Dublin torched several city buses and police vehicles, and damaged more than a dozen storefronts in the city. It all began with knife attack on Thursday, which left several wounded.

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

Irish officials say the country hasn’t seen the kind of violence and rioting that overtook Dublin on Thursday night in decades. Rioters torched several city buses and police vehicles and damaged more than a dozen storefronts in the city. Ireland’s police chief blamed a, quote, “lunatic hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology” for the destruction and chaos. It all began with a knife attack in Dublin on Thursday, which left several people wounded, including three young children. Police arrested a suspect, but then hours later, the incident led to protests that quickly spiraled out of control. Willem Marx is in central Dublin this evening and joins us now. Hey there.

WILLEM MARX, BYLINE: Hey, Scott.

DETROW: Can you give us a sense of what exactly happened last night and what the city looks like right now?

MARX: Well, the scenes last night were, for many people in Dublin, just unbelievable, with fires raging on several vehicles, including a city tram, even firefighters being attacked by large crowds of rioters. Hundreds of police responded. And, in fact, they say that last night was Ireland’s largest-ever deployment of riot police at a single moment. People here seem very surprised by these events, particularly the intensity, but also the scale of the violence. It wasn’t just isolated to a couple of streets, but it spread out right across the city center.

Authorities say the cost of the damage could run into tens of millions of dollars. There have been 32 arrests so far, there may be more. Tonight, here in the city center, there’s a very heavy police presence, particularly around government buildings near where I am. Workers have been told to head home early before it got too dark. And the head of the…