A man aged 52 was found guilty of staging an assault on three young children and violently attacking other people outside a primary school in Dublin on 23 November 2023.
Riad Bouchaker, who was not listed as having a fixed address, was convicted on eight counts that included attempts to murder a five‑year‑old girl, who suffered a serious brain injury, as well as multiple assaults on children, a teenager and a crèche worker.
He denied the charges at the Central Criminal Court, but the jury deliberated for nearly six hours before returning a unanimous verdict. The judge thanked the jury for their “hard work” and remarked that the evidence was “entirely in line with the evidence that you heard.” Sentencing appears for 12 October; Bouchaker remains in custody until then.
The afternoon of 23 November saw a police‑led riot that lasted for four hours and spread across large sections of Dublin. It was the most forceful deployment in Irish state history, with 26 squads of riot police battling flare‑up segments. Three buses, a tram and 11 police vehicles were destroyed. Thirteen shops were seriously damaged, as were several public transport hubs, leading to an estimated 15‑20 million euros in damage and cost of police reinforcements.
Police chief Drew Harris condemned the attack as an attempt by a “lunatic, hooligan faction driven by a far‑right ideology.” The mayor’s office urged calm and the city’s emergency services were called in to secure a stop‑gap for a new school safety plan.
