Six people are reported as being injured after a large number of “anti-fascists” allegedly attacked an annual conference of a political party in Ireland.
The annual conference of a political party in Ireland was reportedly disrupted on Sunday after an unknown number of “anti-fascists” allegedly attacked it, resulting in six people being injured, four of which were reportedly brought to hospital.
One man aged 34 has reportedly been arrested in relation to the incident, which is said to have occurred at the luxury Lough Erne Resort in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland as it was hosting the yearly ard fheis (national conference) of the populist National Party.
According to a report by the Belfast Telegraph on the incident, witnesses describe a minibus full of people arriving at the conference before what is described as a “large brawl” took place.
“They said they were anti-fascists,” one unnamed individual reportedly said regarding those who got off the bus. “One person got hit with a car, and I think potentially there were knives involved. One man’s hand was bleeding quite badly.”
Online publication Gript Media has meanwhile reported that a minibus of “far-left militants” allegedly “armed with hammers” arrived at the National Party, with a photo of those who allegedly protested the event showing them as being mostly dressed in black and wearing masks.
The news outlet went on to describe a source as saying that one young man was hit on the head with a hammer and was subsequently brought to hospital, while another is said to have suffered “deep cuts” to his hand, and may have to undergo surgery as a result.
James Reynolds, a senior member of the National Party, has since described the alleged attackers as “red Communist thugs” in a video uploaded on the organisation’s social media.
The party has also praised a number of its members who allegedly kept those who attacked the conference away from women and children allegedly attending the event.
It appears that, despite the violence, the conference continued largely as initially planned, though this has yet to be officially confirmed.
In a statement seen by Breitbart Europe, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) confirmed that they responded to what they termed an “altercation” after a conference in Fermanagh was disrupted by protesters.
“Police received a report of an altercation in the Lough Shore Road area of Enniskillen shortly after 1pm on Sunday 13th November,” the statement reads.
An officer from the law enforcement organisation is then quoted in the statement as saying that “calm was restored a short time” after police arrived at the scene.
“Two people were treated at the scene for their injuries with a further four taken to hospital with injuries which are not believed to be life threatening at this time,” the PSNI official reportedly said.
“One man, aged 34, was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. He remains in police custody at this time,” they continued.
“Our enquiries are ongoing and I would appeal to anyone who has any information in relation to this incident to contact police on 101, quoting reference 899 13/11/22.”
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