There were extremely angry scenes at Rooskey this afternoon at an anti-racism rally.

Two local people attended the event to oppose such an event being held at the village, leading to one of a number of rows.

About 60 people attended the demonstration to protest against the second suspected arson attack at the Shannon Key West Hotel on Monday night.

It was organised by Leitrim/Roscommon United Against Racism.

The hotel is earmarked for asylum-seekers.

But the event was almost completely unsupported by locals, and a massive broke row out at the start when local woman Niamh Beirne Kiernan, accompanied by her niece Freda Beirne, verbally confronted the protesters and asked them to leave.

They felt it portrayed Rooskey as racist, leading to this row.

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Freda and Niamh explained their views afterwards the confrontation.

There were also acrimonious exchanges between videographer Rowan Croft, known for his right-wing views, and rally organisers.

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The event concluded with Strokestown’s Emmett Corcoran, the editor of The Democrat newspaper, also engaging in a heated confrontation with Leah Doherty, the organiser.

There were a notable Garda presence at the event but though there were angry scenes, there were no physical altercations to report.