London   -   Three police officers were injured in the latest anti-immigration protests at a site earmarked for housing asylum seekers in Dublin, authorities said. It was the latest in a series of clashes at the site in a deprived northern suburb of the Irish capital over the past week. Police said a planned public gathering at the site on Friday initially “passed off peacefully” before turning into an “incident of public disorder”. A fire broke out at the building site, with police subjected to “both verbal and physical abuse including rocks, concrete bricks and other objects being thrown at them”, they said in a statement.

The Garda -- Ireland’s national police force -- said officers used pepper spray and batons to “defend themselves”.

Three officers who were injured were “recovering” on Saturday, according to a police update.

A man in his 20s arrested on Friday was later released without charge.

Irish Minister for Justice Helen McEntee condemned the clashes on social media, saying that “a small minority of individuals are inciting violence and fear in an attempt to divide our communities.”

“I utterly condemn the attacks we have seen on Gardai in Coolock. An attack on a member of An Garda Siochana is a serious criminal offence which carries a prison sentence of up to 12 years,” McEntee said in a statement on X.

The unrest came just days after violence broke out at the site for the planned accommodation in a former paint factory in the Coolock area.

It is intended to house around 500 asylum seekers.

On Monday, at least 21 people were arrested after police cars were attacked and machinery set on fire.

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called Monday’s violence “reprehensible” and “criminal”.

The latest violence comes amid rising far-right sentiment as the government struggles to respond to a surge in asylum-seeker arrivals and a wider housing shortage.

Last November, central Dublin was engulfed by riots after far-right social media accounts incited protests following a knife attack on schoolchildren by an Irish citizen from an immigrant background.

Arson attacks have also increased on buildings around Ireland planned for accommodating asylum seekers, with several dozen fires at such properties since 2023.