Debunked: Gardaí discovered an Airsoft gun, but didn't arrest ‘migrant men’ with firearms in Dublin

CLAIMS THAT A group of foreign men were arrested at the Garden of Remembrance for “waving a gun around” are false.

Gardaí said that they did search people at the scene where an airsoft imitation gun was found, but that no arrests were made.

However, false claims about the incident remain on social media. 

“There has been four non-nationals detained in the Garden of Remembrance,” says an Irish man in an Instagram video, “you have these people walking round Dublin streets, and Dublin parks, waving guns.”

That video has received more than a thousand likes on Instagram since being posted on 16 September.

“A group of migrant men have just been caught in Dublin, in the Garden of Remembrance, with guns”, a conspiracy theorist says in a British accent in videos shared thousands of times since it was posted to Instagram and Facebook on 17 September.

However, while there was garda action at the Garden of Remembrance, a real gun was not found, and no one was arrested.

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“In the course of an optional search of a public amenity in the Dublin 1 at approximately 11:00am, Wednesday 16 September 2026 Gardaí attached to the ASU [Garda Armed Support Unit] recovered an imitation firearm (airsoft),” a statement from the Garda Press Office reads.

“A number of individuals were searched, but no arrests were made. Inquiries are ongoing.”

This story is not the only time that an airsoft imitation gun was used to imply that immigrants were wielding guns in Dublin.

A video showing a man holding an Airsoft rifle in a Tallaght industrial estate was also shared widely earlier this month, along with false claims that it was filmed outside a mosque and showed a real firearm.

Airsoft rifles are legal to sell and own, provided that they have a power rating of less than one joule — over this limit, they are treated like real guns.

One joule is about the amount of energy an apple falling one metre and colliding with the ground would make.

However, there are restrictions on carrying or displaying airsoft guns openly in public.

A register for dealers in “realistic imitation firearms” such as airsoft guns is currently being established.

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