Leo Varadkar reveals he was advised not to go home after Dublin Riots

The Fine Gael TD was Taoiseach when widespread violence and looting erupted in the city centre hours after a woman and three children were allegedly stabbed outside a creche last November.

By: irishmirror.ie

Jul 17 2024
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Leo Varadkar has revealed he was advised not to go back home on the night of the Dublin Riots and admitted he was “fearful” about his personal safety on a number of occasions.

The Fine Gael TD was Taoiseach when widespread violence and looting erupted in the city centre hours after a woman and three children were allegedly stabbed outside a creche last November.

Mr Varadkar, who announced on Tuesday he would not be contesting the next General Election, made the comments after The Irish Mirror exclusively revealed Gardai foiled a far-right plot to assassinate him when he was serving as Tanaiste.

We established that a gang of extremists were in the process of procuring firearms for the murder bid when officers became aware of their plot - and moved to increase security around Mr Varadkar in early 2022.

When asked if he was ever "fearful", the 45-year-old said: “There were a number of times. On the night of the Dublin riots, I was advised not to go home and I didn't. I stayed somewhere else. But I never let that bother me.”

The Dublin deputy also revealed he asked Gardai not to give him information about security threats because he didn’t want to be distracted.

Speaking on RTE Radio 1, he explained: "One thing I would have asked the gardai was not to advise me or give me too much information about security threats unless I really needed to know for some reason.

"I didn't want to be distracted by potential security threats or always looking over my shoulder, so I asked that they not give me detailed briefings unless there was some particular reason to do so, and I think that's probably the right decision."

He said he felt "very fortunate" he was able to lead a "relatively normal life" during his time as Taoiseach.

Mr Varadkar continued: "Now I want to lead a very normal life, and I'm kind of grateful for that. I've spoken to people who are heads of government in other countries, or people who are senior politicians in other countries, and some of them can't even go to a restaurant because they have to shut down the whole restaurant or the block.

“Some of them can't go to the shops, can't go to the cinema, and really do live in a security bubble.

"I'm really grateful that wasn't the case for me, and largely isn't the case for in Ireland yet, like of course there are security threats to politicians, but it's still a relatively safe country."

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