LAST UPDATE | 20 Jul 2023

TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has condemned an attack on the family home of a councillor in which a rock was thrown through a window with a note telling him to “stop supporting” refugees. 

Independent councillor for for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Hugh Lewis has said the rock was thrown through the window of the house on Monday night.

Lewis no longer lives at the property. His 78-year-old father Patrick Lewis lives there alone. 

The rock smashed through the window while his father was the only person inside.

The Irish Times reported on Tuesday that a note was wrapped around the rock, which read: “Hugh, stop supporting f**king refugees or you’ll have to move out. This is your last warning.” 

Speaking to reporters following a trip to Ukraine, Varadkar said: “I want to condemn, unreservedly, the attack that happened on Councillor Lewis’s home.

“Whatever views people may have, there is no excuse for attacking any individual or attacking their property.

“That’s absolutely wrong and should be condemned by everyone unreservedly.”

Speaking to RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne yesterday, Hugh Lewis said this was the first time he has “gotten a violent threat”. 

“The tone and the narrative has changed substantially over the past period, particularly in the past number of weeks,” he said. 

Lewis said his dad “wasn’t able to eat” the day after the attack “because he was kind of in shock”.

“It’s not a nice experience for anybody, particularly a 78-year-old man living on his own,” he said. 

“It was quite a traumatic experience that he should never have gone through to say the least.” 

Gardaí confirmed in a statement to The Journal yesterday that they are “investigating an incident of criminal damage that occurred at a residence in Ballybrack, Co Dublin at approximately 11.30pm on Monday”. 

In a statement yesterday, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett condemned as “shocking and vile” the recent attack on Lewis’ father’s home.

“I am certain the actions of a small group do not represent the views of the vast majority of people in the Ballybrack or wider Dún Laoghaire area, but I would ask anyone who has been taken in by the prejudice, fearmongering and mis-information to think again and reject this politics of fear, hate and intimidation,” Boyd Barrett said. 

“Hatred, division and intimidation will lead us to a bad place, and I hope our entire community will reject this dangerous poison and step away from these mis-directed and ugly protests.”

Other incidents

Separately, gardaí attended an incident in Ballybrack village on Tuesday afternoon. 

“A number of people gathered in the area, causing disruption to traffic later in the evening. Local diversions were put in place for a period of time,” gardaí said in a statement. 

Gardaí confirmed they are investigating an incident of criminal damage which happened at a property in the village. 

No arrests in relation to this incident have been made. 

The Department of Integration said in a statement that it has not contracted Ridge House, which was subject to the damage, in Ballybrack. 

“A proposal has been submitted and the Department is awaiting a full suite of supporting documentation to be supplied before it can evaluate the poroperty for use as an accommodation centre,” it said. 

“A detailed assessment must take place before any property can be deemed suitable as accommodation for international protection applicants,” the Department said. 

“Before  the opening of any facility the Department endeavours to engage with local representatives to provide information as soon as possible following the agreement of terms with contractors.” 

Gardaí also attended the scene of a demonstration in the village yesterday evening. 

No arrests were made. 

With reporting by Press Association