Rooskey arson: Racist attacks on asylum seekers

Those objecting to asylum seeker accommodation will often claim not to be racist but to be expressing legitimate concerns about the background of the impending new arrivals, the strain they will place on local services and the impact they will have on the character of their adopted town.

But what kind of background must someone come from to try to burn down a hotel twice — once when there was a security guard inside?

What of the strain it puts on local services to have three units of the fire brigade — in a county with no full-time fire service — and several Garda patrols (in a rural area with scant Garda coverage) called to the scene and stuck there through the night and into the next day?

What does it do to the character of a town where anyone out late in the evening — walking the dog, returning from a night shift, enjoying normal freedoms — now has to fear they will run into thugs, arsonists and potential murderers?

There are reasons for concern about the kind of asylum seeker accommodation we create. It is often used for too long, without adequate supports for the residents or opportunities for them to put their skills to use, while private operators profit handsomely. But if the people who attacked the Shannon Key West Hotel think they are doing so to protect and preserve the noble character of rural Rooskey, they are not only racist but incredibly dumb.