Irish police on Thursday arrested 19 people in Dublin after anti-immigration protesters blocked the main bridge in the capital for hours at peak traffic time. The bridge blockade during the evening rush hour followed a march by the around 500 anti-immigration protesters through central Dublin to the Irish parliament.

Gardaí were required to respond to a number of public order incidents in Dublin during the anti-immigration protest and anti-racism counter-protest on Thursday, September 19.

Sixteen people have been charged with a range of offences including assault, criminal damage and possession of a knife

Two Garda Public Order Units were deployed to clear protesters who had staged a sit-down protest on O’Connell Bridge

Thursday saw several gatherings across the capital as anti-immigration demonstrators and anti-racism activists staged rival events

SEVERAL ANTI-IMMIGRATION protesters were forcibly removed from O’Connell Bridge this evening as gardaí mounted an operation to break up a sit-down demonstration. Hundreds of protesters then made their way up O’Connell Street at around 5pm,

At least six people have been arrested as gardaí cleared protesters off O'Connell Bridge in Dublin city centre this afternoon.

Earlier, the rival groups had gathered in the area close to the Dáil. Barriers erected by gardaí prevented any protest activity in the immediate vicinity of the Leinster House building. Gardai form a barrier between protesters and counter-protesters on Grafton Street in Dublin city centre (Brian Lawless/PA) Events began around 2pm at the GPO on O’Connell Street as hundreds of people assembled for the start of the anti-immigration demonstration.