Image of armored vehicles in Dublin unrelated to recent riots in Ireland

On November 23, 2023, a man armed with a knife attacked three small children and a caretaker at a primary school in central Dublin's Parnell Square East. This incident sparked widespread protests in central Dublin. The protests quickly escalated into riots, starting on Parnell and O'Connell Streets and spreading to other parts of the city center. Rioters targeted buses, cars, and shops. (Read Logically Facts’s report on the Dublin riots here.)

What’s the claim?

Amid these events, an image of armored military vehicles has been circulating online, purportedly showing forces deployed in Dublin to control the riots. A Facebook user shared the photo, captioned: “BREAKING: The situation in Dublin, Ireland has escalated extremely quickly, the Irish army are now involved.” An archived version of the post can be accessed here.

Similar posts were also shared on X (formerly Twitter). An archived version of the post can be accessed here.

Screenshot of the viral image of an armored vehicle. (Source: Facebook/X/Screenshots/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is false.

Here are the facts

Logically Facts determined that the image in the viral post is not from the riot-affected areas. While the riots broke out near Dublin City Centre, in the north of the city, the viral image was geolocated to Terenure, a suburb south of Dublin City Center. The white building visible in the viral image matches a location on Google Street View: the R137 Road in Terenure. There were no riots reported in Terenure.

Comparison of viral image and Google Street View. (Source: X/Google Maps)

The North City Centre includes areas like O’Connell Street, Henry Street, Parnell Street, the IFSC, North Docklands, and the North City Quays. According to reports from the Irish Independent and the Irish Times, the riots occurred along O’Connell Street, Parnell Street, Henry Street, and parts of Parliament Street, and ended on Capel Street.

On November 24, 2023, Garda Síochána, Ireland’s traffic service, announced on X that officials were deployed in Dublin City Centre and advised the public to avoid the North City Centre. Google Maps shows the street in the viral image is approximately 6.5 kilometers from Dublin City Centre. 

Distance between the area where riots were reported and the area seen in the viral image (Source: Google Maps)

Logically Facts also received confirmation from the Irish Defence Force that the viral image is unrelated to the Dublin riots. “The Defence Forces conduct routine driving and training exercises both in Dublin City and beyond, very regularly. Terenure is close to Cathal Brugha Barracks and is also on the route from our training area in the Glen of Imaal to Cathal Brugha Barracks; seeing military vehicles in this part of the city is a regular occurrence,” they stated.

The Irish Defence Force also clarified on Facebook on November 24, 2023, that the image does not show Defence Forces vehicles deployed in Dublin City Centre. 

While Logically Facts has not been able to confirm when the photograph was taken, there is sufficient evidence to conclude that it does not depict the Irish Army deployed in the riot-affected areas of Dublin.

The verdict

An unrelated image of army vehicles on a Dublin road has been falsely linked to the riots following the recent school attack. The Irish government has not deployed army vehicles in Dublin to control the riots. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.