Why You Should Care About What Happened At Tola Vintage
Text: Izzy Copestake
Image: The Journal
Three people were arrested during Tola Vintage’s annual Culture Night block party, according to Gardaí. This was the store’s fourth year hosting the event, where local musicians, DJs, friends, and customers gathered to celebrate the institution’s 10th birthday with the community. However, the Gardaí’s handling of the event has sparked online discussions, with attendees and representative groups fearing that Black communities in Ireland are policed more harshly than white communities.
The 19th edition of Culture Night took place last Friday, the 20th of September 2024. As with most years, it was eagerly anticipated across the country as towns, cities, and rural communities came alive with a wide range of free events celebrating culture, creativity, and the arts. However, chaos ensued at Tola Vintage in Temple Bar after Gardaí stormed a party at the shop.
Videos shared online show the situation rapidly descending into violence after Gardaí arrived, with people being pushed to the ground, a girl threatened with pepper spray, and a man left bleeding after being pushed down (see videos). Reportedly, 15-20 Gardaí were on the scene, which had been peaceful before their arrival.
In a statement to The Journal, a senior Garda source said that Gardaí were clearing the streets for public safety reasons. A Garda spokesman also told The Journal that any actions undertaken by Gardaí on Culture Night “were solely focused on public safety in a public space”. According to the Garda spokesperson, the gathering outside the premises of the store had attracted a large crowd, “unsuitable for the street capacity”, and added, “The premises had also not put in any additional public safety measures for the advertised event.” The spokesperson also said that: “A number of individuals present, particularly those who had consumed alcohol, failed to comply and actively disrupted Garda directions for persons to disperse from the street.”
Despite the Gardaí’s explanation for shutting down the party, questions have been raised about why such heavy-handed treatment was used. Just streets away, other block parties with sound systems playing techno and drawing large crowds were allowed to continue without interference. By contrast, the crowd at Tola, a Black-owned business with a largely people of colour audience, was abruptly and violently shut down by Gardaí. We spoke to several attendees about their experience.
One party-goer described how her sister was pushed to the ground by a male Garda while simply trying to collect her bags. As her sister left the shop, another Garda officer pushed her, causing her to fall and drop her belongings. “It was scary. As soon as they arrived, it felt unsafe, which is disappointing, as they are supposedly here to protect us.”
Over the past few months, far-right protests have seen people of colour verbally and physically abused, sites for asylum seekers set on fire, and masked protests taking place. In a recent RTÉ documentary on far-right protests, demonstrators were seen physically pushing, intimidating, and hurling insults at a journalist while Gardaí stood by. This raises the question: why are Gardaí cracking down so heavily on Culture Night celebrations and parties, yet not on actual displays of violence?
In the wake of what happened that night, discourse on social media has focused on the apparent disparity in policing between white people and people of colour. Some party-goers reached out to District to share their experiences
“It just felt racially motivated because this isn’t any different from countless other parties on Culture Night,” one attendee told District.
One passer-by outside the shop gave their account: “I was passing Tola Vintage yesterday when a squad of Gardaí stormed up, batons drawn, using unnecessary force. There was no problem before they arrived. I’m white, and the racism was so obvious. We ended up getting hurt when the Gardaí caused a surge by grabbing and pushing people. There were twenty times more people around the corner at Central Bank, unharassed and not attacked like at Tola.”
The Gardaí have not commented on these accusations. However, according to a Instagram post shared by Black and Irish, representatives from the group, alongside Tola Vintage, will be meeting with Senior Garda Representatives in the first week of October to discuss the incident.
In a statement on Instagram, Tola confirmed that they will not be hosting the event again. “Once a year, we host a block party outside our store for Culture Night. We invite local DJs, customers, creatives, and friends to join us for the evening. We never anticipate the size of the crowd, but the event always wraps up by 11:30, and everyone helps clean up the street. This will be our last year hosting a block party outside our store, as we don’t receive the same respect given to other businesses and streets in Dublin, where people are free to drink on the streets and party every weekend. Thank you to everyone who has come to our block parties over the last four years. We’ll be back next year with something even better 🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒”
Culture Night is usually one of the most special nights in the entire calendar in Ireland, this year it has been tainted by unnecessary Gardaí brutality.
