The Burkean
What Happened on the Day?
At 12.15pm yesterday Gardaí arrived on the scene to what they described as a public order incident, outside Hartstown Shopping Centre near Blanchardstown. The incident involved a Nigerian male named George Nkencho (27) with a large blade harassing passersby, having previously assaulted two male employees at a local EuroSpar.
As a consequence of the assault, one of the two shop staff received facial injuries resulting in them being taken to Connolly Hospital. Subsequent to this, Gardaí responded to a separate incident involving the same Nigerian male at an adjacent post office.
According to statements and footage, uniformed Gardaí made contact directly with Nkencho who, per reports, was threatening members of the public with a knife. For twenty minutes, uniformed Gardaí on foot and in marked vehicles followed Nkencho imploring him to put down his weapon, but to no avail. Gardaí also warned members of the public to keep distance to ensure their safety.
In a nearby estate, Manorfield Drive, Gardaí discharged multiple shots, having made repeated attempts to reason with Nkencho who, from footage taken, was erratically swinging his knife at Gardaí, almost slashing one in the process. Previous to this, less-than-lethal options (taser and OC pepper spray) were used.
After initial treatment the individual was transferred to Connolly Hospital before being pronounced dead. Under Section 102 of An Garda Síochána Act 2005, an investigation has been ordered with a post-mortem scheduled tomorrow.
Since then there has been small scale protests regarding the killing, largely driven by local Nigerians, with footage emerging apparently of fireworks being thrown at members of An Garda Síochána near to where the shooting occured. There have also been various fundraising efforts launched to pay for the deceased funeral costs.
Ireland’s George Floyd Moment?
Despite the clear case for the use of lethal force, the Irish political elites wasted no time in inverting reality to import American racial narratives. Some were relatively innocuous, such as the Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu, though many were an egregious assault on all rational thought. Ruth Coppinger, the former TD who lost her seat in Dublin West, claimed that, save for the machete he was intent on hacking Gardaí apart with, he was “otherwise unarmed.”
Paul Murphy TD stated that he believes that “it appears to be a disproportionate and unnecessary use of lethal force” by Gardaí. Which begs the question – if a nearly 30-year old man with a knife attacking the Gardaí isn’t a proportionate situation – what is?
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, who will be bringing hate speech legislation in front of the Dáil in the coming months, also chimed in, calling Nkencho’s death a ‘tragedy’. Other politicians who chimed in to mourn the death of Nkencho were Labour Head Alan Kelly, and former TCDSU President Senator Lynn Ruane.
Some Nigerians have also posted the name and a picture of a member of the Gardaí, intimating that the member of the force was responsible for the shooting —a deplorable carry-over from the strategy of the far-left in recent years, where individual Gardaí were identified on social media and threats issued against them in an attempt to intimidate members of the force.
Information has also arisen on social media relating to Nkencho and his past behaviours —with allegations ranging from burglary to assault being made by many within the locality.
The aftermath of the shooting has resulted in the mobilisation of not just a considerable street presence by the Nigerian community, but also members of the country’s bloated NGO complex, keen to get their talons into what could be an Irish Stephen Lawerence case, which was used to re-engineer the British justice system.
The prominent yet controversial anti-racist academic Ebun Joseph has already appeared front and centre of coverage, and has called for a ‘media blast’ to promote the death on the national airwaves. In addition, Fine Gael councillor Yemi Adenuga has already stated they have been liaising with the Department of Justice due to the racial angle of the crime.
While the dust is still settling on the matter, less than 24 hours since shots were fired, there is already a cynical effort being made by progressive activists, as well as particular elements within the Nigerian community to use the death to muscle their agenda into the public square. The efficacy of these attempts though is questionable at best, with the use of force against Nkencho clearly falling under the remit of justified action owing to the immediate, lethal threat he posed to individual Gardaí, as well as the exhausting of non-lethal force prior to the shooting.
Despite the desires of Ireland’s NGO complex, there is insufficient grounds to plug their agenda on this matter, and they have garnered very little public sympathy for BLM-style protests, especially as the state enters another ‘Level 5’ lockdown.
If there was no footage showing the events leading up to Nkencho’s death, the Gardaí involved would have been in a perilous situation considering the cultural mood of the past year. However, as things stand at the moment, there can be little doubt that the members of the force present on the scene yesterday were acting in an ethical and proper manner.
Shootings by Gardaí are a statistically rare incident in Ireland, occuring only as a last resort. Attempts to cheaply import in Americanised racial narratives will fall flat on their face, especially considering the blatant nature of the grounds for engagement in this case. The Irish population at large will likely not tolerate the attempts to beatify Nkencho, and are too jaded by constant lockdowns to tolerate mass BLM protests, as was seen in summer.
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