Irish nationalists clashed with police in Dublin on Saturday as demonstrations against a planned march by Northern Irish Protestants sparked the worst rioting in the city for over a decade, Reuters reported. Hundreds of rioters hurled bricks, fireworks and bottles at police as they waited for the "Love Ulster" rally to get underway in one of Dublin's main shopping streets. The rioters were protesting plans for relatives of people killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a guerrilla group that fought to unite Northern Ireland with the Irish Republic, to march through central Dublin with pro-British musical bands. Organisers abandoned the rally before it got underway as riots spread to other parts of the city centre. Police shepherded bewildered shoppers and tourists off the road and 14 people, including six police officers were taken to hospital, police said. They made 37 arrests. Roads were sealed off and shops shut across the city centre. A Reuters witness saw rioters hurling metal fences into the road and setting bins alight on O'Connell Street, one of the city's busiest shopping throughfares. The street was the scene of the 1916 Easter Rising, a rebellion against British rule in Ireland that helped to bring about the country's independence. One elderly woman told Reuters that windows were smashed in an exclusive department store close to the Irish parliament, where some of the "Love Ulster" organisers had gone to meet the country's Justice Minister after the march was abandoned. --more 22 14 Local Time 19 14 GMT
