Three young children were among five injured in a knife attack in Dublin on Thursday that sparked chaos in the city centre. Police have not yet ruled out any motive, including terrorism, Reuters reports.

Public transport was suspended and patients at a nearby maternity home were advised not to travel to the nearby maternity home unless absolutely necessary after clashes broke out between police and anti-immigration protesters who arrived at the scene of the attack next to the high street in the Irish capital "O'Connell".

A double-decker bus was burned to the ground, and the windows of a nearby hotel and a fast-food restaurant were broken. A store was ransacked.

"These are disgraceful scenes. A hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology has engaged in serious violence," Police Commissioner Drew Harris told reporters after sending 400 officers to restore order.

A police car was also burnt.

Such disturbances are almost unprecedented in Dublin. There are no far-right parties or politicians elected to parliament, but small anti-immigrant protests have grown over the past year, Reuters reports. The government is reviewing security measures around parliament after a recent protest locked MPs inside.

Harris said all versions of the investigation into the attack remain open, contradicting a senior officer who earlier told reporters that police were confident the incident was not terrorism-related.

A five-year-old girl was seriously injured in the knife attack. The condition of a 40-year-old man who was arrested by the police is also serious. He is believed to have attacked several people in Parnell Square in Dublin just after 1.30pm local time.

A woman in her 30s was also treated for serious injuries, while the other two children - a five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl - suffered minor injuries. The boy has been discharged from the hospital.

"It was total chaos, women sobbing, men screaming and crying," Anthony Boyle, 31, an IT consultant who lives nearby, told Reuters.

The crime scene was still cordoned off by police when about 50 anti-immigrant protesters briefly broke through a police barrier in the evening.

A larger crowd then began throwing objects and shooting fireworks at riot police. The crowds began to disperse about four hours later.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said criminals used the knife attack "to sow division".

BREAKING:

Irish rioters have set the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Dublin on fire.

The government is using the hotel to house asylum seekers. pic.twitter.com/V1AG4KVcrK

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) November 23, 2023