Dublin Riots

Ex-assistant commissioner Pat Leahy: ‘From a garda management perspective, they weren’t ready for it’

While no one could have expected the scale of the riots, there is a belief gardaí could have been better prepared

Gardaí at the scene in Dublin city centre as crowds gathered on Thursday after a knife attack on three young children and a woman. Picture: PA

It is just six weeks since Helen McEntee vowed to increase the number of gardaí on the streets of towns and cities around Ireland, saying “money would be no barrier” to providing safer communities for the public.

With a €109 million increase in her annual budget, it seemed the justice minister could finally put behind her a punishing summer that saw several high-profile assaults in the capital city, personal criticism, and calls for increased garda ...