Riots erupt in Dublin after children stabbed

Buses and police vehicles were torched and shops looted as anti-immigrant protesters took to the streets in Dublin after three young children were injured in a knife attack.

"They are disgraceful scenes. We have a complete lunatic, hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology engaged in serious violence," Police Commissioner Drew Harris told reporters after deploying 400 officers to restore public order.

He added that all lines of inquiry related to the attack remained open, contradicting a senior officer who had earlier told reporters that police were satisfied the incident was not terror-related.

"I'm not going to speculate any further in respect of a terrorist motive. Until we're sure what the motive is, we have to keep an open mind as to why this happened." 

The unreset came after a five-year-old girl sustained serious injuries in the knife attack at the City Centre, with two more children and two adults taken to hospital with injuries.

Police said it appeared the man, whose nationality they did not reveal, attacked a number of people on Dublin's Parnell Square.