a day ago
Breaking India Day festival at Farmleigh postponed over safety fears
The Ireland India Council has announced that it will not go ahead with the India Day festival at Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park this Sunday because of fears over safety, following recent attacks on Indians in Ireland.
Speaking outside Government buildings after a meeting with Tánaiste Simon Harris, the chair of the council Prashant Shuki said "we feel that the situation at the moment for holding India day is not conducive, and we will review the situation, and we will announce new dates for India Day this year".
He said the council had considered the situation and consulted widely including with gardaí before making what he described as a very difficult decision.
He explained that while the advice is that people attending the event in Phoenix Park would have been safe "we are more concerned about actually, the outside of the event in the country."
The council has organised India Day events every year since 2015 and this is the first time that there has been any disruption to the scheduling of the event.
Another group which also met the Tánaiste this afternoon, the Federation of Indian Communities in Ireland, says an event it has organised on Sunday in Merrion Square in Dublin, will go ahead.
It comes after the Minister of State for Migration last weekend called for a stronger policing response, in the wake of a series of attacks on members of the Indian community.
There have been several assaults and incidents of racism reported by Indian people in Ireland, prompting the Indian Embassy to issue a warning to its citizens living and working in Ireland.
More than 100 people took part in a silent protest by members of the Indian community in Ireland at the Department of Justice last month.
Colm Brophy said that the attacks were appalling, adding that he hoped that the incoming Garda Commissioner would prioritise the matter.
