Dublin canal: Woman pushed into water after 'racial abuse'

Gardaí (Irish police) are investigating an "alleged racially motivated incident" after a woman was pushed into the Royal Canal in Dublin.

A video, which was widely shared on social media, showed two boys pushing the woman into the canal.

RTÉ said Xuedan Xiong, who lives in Castleknock, pulled herself out of the water and was helped by onlookers.

She had challenged a group of young people about racial discrimination, RTÉ said. She was not injured.

She later told the Irish Times that three people had stopped to help her while she called gardaí.

A spokesman for An Garda Siochana said it takes "hate crime seriously and each and every hate crime reported to us is professionally investigated and victims supported during the criminal justice process".

"The Garda Diversity and Integration Strategy 2019-2021 has a significant focus on enhancing the identification, reporting, investigation and prosecution of hate crimes, and An Garda Siochana is taking actions to improve internal recording and encourage more reporting by the public.

He added that anyone who feels they have been the victim of a hate crime should report the matter directly to the police and "not to third parties or on social media".

Irish Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said there is "no place for this in Irish society".

In a tweet, he said: "Appalling & deeply upsetting. No place for this in Irish society. We must call out racism any time it rears it's (sic) ugly, repulsive head. No child is born a racist - we need to face up to that reality too. We all have a role to play."