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MAXIMUM DISRUPTION: Gardai restrain a man during last
              weekend’s anti-lockdown protest in Dublin.
              Photo: Damian Eagers/PA

MAXIMUM DISRUPTION: Gardai restrain a man during last weekend’s anti-lockdown protest in Dublin. Photo: Damian Eagers/PA

March 07 2021 02:30 AM


Out of nowhere, the eight-shot cannon firework burst through the assembled crowd. Its target was gardaí, deployed to stem rising violence at the anti-lockdown protest in Dublin city centre last Saturday.

The iconic image now defines the chaos of the day: a warning shot to society about growing unease among citizens, fuelled by far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists.

Specialist detectives are now paying close attention. Not least because one member of the Kinahan cartel - a retired professional boxer - has been identified on CCTV instigating violence. The ageing boxer mingled with far-right extremists, intent on attacking gardaí and causing maximum disruption.

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