34 arrested in Dublin after large-scale riots

Irish police on Friday said they had made 34 arrests for rioting in Dublin overnight and that more protests could follow after the stabbing of five people including three young children triggered violence rarely seen before in the capital.

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Police guarded looted stores and firefighters cooled down smouldering vehicles in the heart of Dublin's city centre early on Friday after hours of riots which Police Commissioner Drew Harris said he expected to lead to many more arrests.

Police blamed far-right agitators for starting the violence after a small group of anti-immigrant protesters arrived at the scene of the stabbing beside the main thoroughfare of O'Connell Street and clashed with police.

Police have not commented on the nationality of a man detained in connection with the stabbings but there was immediate speculation online that he was foreign.

"We have not seen a public order situation like this before," Harris told a news conference, adding that there would be a very heavy police presence in the city on Friday.