Racist graffiti that has appeared in the Newlands Cross area of Dublin has been condemned by the Immigrant Council of Ireland.

The slogans, which carry messages about Irish ethnicity, have been described as disappointing, particularly at this time of year.

In response to a query from TheJournal.ie, CEO of the Immigrant Council of Ireland Denise Charlton, said, “The views expressed in this graffiti stand in stark contrast to the celebrations which have taken place in Dublin over the last few hours and have been watched online by people across the world.”

It is the celebrations involving hundreds of thousands of people which reflect Irish hopes as we head into the New Year, and not graffiti scrawled by a narrow minded individual or small group.

It is the second such incident in the Newlands Cross area in recent months and follows other incidents which have occurred across Dublin. In the past year the Immigrant Council of Ireland has seen a 51% rise in reports of racism, with 217 incidents in total.

The group encourage anyone with information regarding such incidents to go forward to Gardaí.

Speaking about the graffiti, a spokesperson for Dublin City Council, said, “it is a policy of Dublin City Council to prioritise the removal of graffiti that it feels to be offensive or racist towards any group.”

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