‘The riots upset me... but we feel welcome here’

CORK-BASED Polish darts star Radek Szaganski admits he found the Dublin Riots ‘upsetting’ – but stressed that his experience in Ireland has largely been a positive one.

The Polish national moved to Ireland in 2006 as a bus driver before his darts career took off, first settling in Limerick before moving to Cork for work reasons.

Originally from Poznan, the 44-yearold – who will compete at the upcoming PDC World Darts Championship – shared his empathy for those caught up in the riots, namely his fellow bus driver whose vehicle was ultimately set ablaze in the Irish capital.

‘It was upsetting,’ Szaganski told Mail Sport.

‘I am a bus driver so I would not want that to happen. I would not want to be in the position of that bus driver (in Dublin).

‘If you want to protest you can protest, but you should not set buses on fire. I do not agree with that.’

Garda commissioner Drew Harris alleged that the riots were carried out by a ‘lunatic, hooligan faction driven by a far-right ideology’ in the wake of the attacks.

Anti-immigrant sentiment appears to be on the rise in Ireland, but Szaganski says he has felt welcome in the 17 years he has built a life here.

‘In my job I never heard anything bad from Irish people, so we are happy here,’ he said.

‘Sometimes if somebody is not happy and argues with you on the bus you will hear “You Polish **** ”, you know? It happens but not often.

‘However it has only happened a few times in the whole time we have been here in Ireland, so we should talk about the good things instead of the bad things.

‘But 98% of the time is a good thing, it is only 2% what has been bad or maybe less than that. I am not that bothered as it happens everywhere in the world.’