Dublin couriers fear further deaths amid clashes and rising bike theft
Recent clashes between Dublin delivery riders and groups of youths have raised fears of further deaths, while anti-immigration accounts circulate edited or selectively framed videos to portray incidents as attacks by foreigners. Riders say they face theft and violence in areas they avoid, and a union representative is urging Gardaí to create a specialist bike theft unit so couriers are less likely to confront suspected thieves themselves.
The article describes a rider being stabbed after riders went to recover a tracked e-bike, and a separate clip showing a rider kicking a boy, whose preceding actions were not shown. It recalls the deaths of Thiago Cortes, killed after being knocked from his bike in 2020, and Josh Dunne, stabbed during a confrontation over an e-bike in 2021. Many couriers are migrants working as self-employed contractors, sometimes using rented accounts because they lack the legal status required to be self-employed.
In short
- Dublin riders report assaults and bike thefts.
- Online accounts use incident videos to spread anti-immigration claims.
- A union representative wants a dedicated Garda bike theft unit.
Explained simply
Dublin couriers deliver food and other goods by bicycle, often using electric bikes that can be valuable and easy to steal. Many riders are migrants and work as self-employed contractors; some use accounts rented from others because their immigration status does not allow them to work as self-employed people.
Bike theft can leave riders facing the choice of losing their bike and income or trying to recover it themselves. Thiago Cortes was killed after being knocked from his bike in 2020, and Josh Dunne was stabbed during a confrontation over an e-bike in 2021.
Videos of later incidents have circulated online, sometimes with only part of what happened shown, and some accounts have used them to make claims about migrants. Couriers’ concerns have renewed calls for a specialist Garda unit to handle bike theft, so riders are less likely to confront suspected thieves themselves.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “As list of ‘no-go’ zones for Dublin’s delivery riders grows amid far-right social media goading, couriers reveal just how bad the situation on the ground is now, what gardai tell them… and why they fear more deaths are imminent”.