DCU student arrested during protest over Taoiseach’s visit
The DCU campus entrance on Dublin's northside
A Dublin City University student was arrested during a protest against a visit to the campus by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
The DCU BDS Campaign group, a “student-led movement calling for the boycott, divestment and sanctioning of the Israeli apartheid state and justice for Palestine”, gathered on campus at 9.30am yesterday to protest at the visit.
One man in his 20s was arrested for alleged public order offences and has since been charged.
The BDS group has since claimed they were subjected to “excessive force, pushing and dragging from the moment we arrived”.
“We are appalled by how DCU students were treated for peacefully protesting on our own campus,” they said in a statement.
“The complicity of Taoiseach Micheál Martin and other TDs present at the event today is the real crime, not exercising our democratic right to peaceful assembly.”
An Garda Síochána said they “were in attendance to maintain the peace and order at a public gathering in Whitehall, Dublin 9, in the early hours of Thursday, April 3.
“Any garda response in relation to evolving events is in keeping with a community policing model and graduated policing response taking into account relevant legislation and public safety,” they said
“At approximately 10.30am, a man in his 20s was arrested for offences contrary to the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994, and detained at a garda station in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.
“He has since been charged and is due to appear before court at a later date.
“Ireland is a constitutional democracy and there is a constitutional right for citizens to express freely their convictions and opinions and to assemble peaceably, subject to statutory provisions.
“An Garda Síochána respects the right of citizens to exercise their constitutional rights; exercising such rights does not extend to committing breaches of statutory law.”
A DCU spokesperson said: “Dublin City University’s new Polaris building was officially opened by An Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister James Lawless on the morning of Thursday, April 3.
“A protest took place outside the building. One of the protesters was arrested and subsequently charged by An Garda Síochána.
“As this matter will be before the courts, the university will not be commenting further.”
The Taoiseach’s office has been contacted for further comment.
This article was amended at 7.03pm on April 4, 2025, to include a statement from Dublin City University
