Phibsborough community rallies to support asylum seekers moved on from Phoenix Park

Members of the Phibsborough community in Dublin rallied together over the weekend after a group of asylum-seeking men who had been camping at the Phoenix Park arrived in the area and set up camp.

About 16 men from Palestine, Jordan, Afghanistan and Somalia camped in the north Dublin suburb over the weekend after they were moved on from a site in Phoenix Park on Friday by gardaí and staff from the Office of Public Works.

Local community WhatsApp groups sprang into action, gathering food and supplies for the men and arranging a rota of local residents to stay with the men and to stave off anti-immigrant threats.

A number of residents also opened up their homes so the men could use toilets and showers, while some cafes and businesses also made their toilets available to the men.

In a statement, the Phibsboro For All group said accommodating the men in tents in a largely residential neighbourhood was “not an ideal situation” and that the State had “duty of care” to accommodate and support asylum seekers.

At present, “these men are left to rely largely on the mercy of voluntary and charitable organisations to fulfil these obligations,” said the group.

Phibsborough’s community response to the men’s arrival in the area has been “fantastic” with people offering to prepare food, dropping in welcome notes and ensuring rubbish was removed from the site daily, said the statement. “We have found these men to be kind, generous and very peaceful, and it has been a pleasure to get to know them on a personal basis.”

Gardaí attended the site overnight on Saturday after a number of hooded men yelled racist slurs at the asylum seekers and threatened them with violence. However, no arrests were made.

Shortly after 9am on Monday it was confirmed 10 men had secured indoor accommodation through the department.

The men moved out of the city centre last Wednesday after gardaí removed tents from a site at Charlemont Place in the south inner city where about 60 international protection applicants had been sleeping. They spent two nights in Phoenix Park before they were moved on again on Friday evening.

More metal barriers were erected at the Charlemont site, adding to the kilometres of fencing lining the Grand Canal to prevent people from pitching tents. Waterways Ireland has said the barriers will remain in place until October.

Some 2,353 male international protection applicants are currently homeless, according to the latest Government statistics. An average of 61 men, women and children arrived in Ireland each day last week seeking asylum, with a total of 429 arrivals in the week leading up to July 7th. This compares to the average of 32 arrivals per day during the same week in 2023.

There has been a notable increase in the number of Palestinian refugees arriving from Jordan seeking asylum in recent weeks, while a few dozen are arriving each week from countries such as Nigeria, Somalia and Afghanistan.