A man has been arrested after protesters surrounded Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald’s car in Dublin last night.
It happened as Deputy McDonald was leaving the Sean O’Casey Community Centre in her home constituency at around 7pm.
In videos shared widely on social media, a group of people gathered outside the centre can be heard shouting abuse at the Sinn Féin leader as she made her way to her car.
They can be seen surrounding the car before Gardaí call for them to back away to allow Deputy McDonald to leave.
In a statement today, Gardaí said a man was arrested after officers ‘attended a gathering’ at East Wall.
“One man was arrested for a public order offence and detained at a Garda station in Dublin city,” they said.
Gardaí added: “He was later released pending an Adult Caution.”
Party Response
A Sinn Féin spokesperson said Deputy McDonald had been helping a local community group with Christmas preparations when it happened.
"Mary Lou McDonald attended a community meeting in the Séan O'Casey Community Centre yesterday evening,” they said.
“This included helping local people who were making preparations for the lighting ceremony of the community Christmas tree this weekend.”
The spokesperson said the incident should not reflect poorly on the greater East Wall community.
"As she was leaving the community centre, a small, aggressive group was outside,” they said.
They said East Wall remains “a great community”, adding that the group “in no way represents the people of this area”.
