The online backlash comes against the backdrop of a rise in racial violence against Indians in Ireland last year.
A simple photograph of a queue outside an Irish food bank triggered a wave of racist attacks against Indians on social media, exposing the growing xenophobia faced by the Indian community in Ireland. The said photograph, showing students waiting outside the Speir student pantry, accompanied an article in the Irish Times about how the student-operated initiative was struggling to cope with growing demand amid the country’s deepening cost-of-living crisis.
The report noted that the food bank at the University of Galway was forced to turn away hundreds of students each week due to overwhelming demand, despite distributing almost €500,000 worth of food last year. While the report highlighted a growing cost-of-living crisis in Ireland, social media users focused on a part of the image accompanying it.
The whole photograph showed students—from different racial backgrounds, some sitting, while others standing– waiting outside the Speir student pantry at the University of Galway. However, social media users zeroed in on a part of the photo that showed students of South Asian heritage, unleashing a wave of hostile remarks, many of them targeting Indians.
Am I the only one seeing a pattern? pic.twitter.com/nyuMK4vBKy
— Dave (@davecoughlan80) February 22, 2026
Racist Hostility
One X user wrote, “Is it my imagination, but are most, if not all, of the ‘students’ in that queue foreign? If they are mostly foreign, then perhaps that explains the numbers turning up for free food. In order to study here, aren’t foreign students supposed to be able to support themselves?”
Is it my imagination but are most, if not all, of the “students” in that queue foreign? If they are mostly foreign then perhaps that explains the numbers turning up for free food. In order to study here, aren’t foreign students supposed to be able to support themselves?
— Paddy@Dublin (@PaddyDubli39323) February 21, 2026
Another user wrote, “Deport Indians. Stop universities selling places to foreigners. And Irish people who need it can get the services they require.”
A third user wrote, “How come it’s only Indian foreign students in the line and not other international student groups?”
Another X user wrote, “Immigrants are natural thieves and will take money (or food) even if they have plenty of their own.”
A user, who himself claimed to be an Irish expat, wrote, “Begin the deportation, close thy heart to ones who are not our own, as now our children suffer.”
Yet another user, without providing any evidence, claimed, “They loot every service that the country operates using any sort of trust-based system… To them, it’s a lifehack.”
What The Report Said
The Irish Times report, about the Speir student pantry, noted that it was originally designed as an environmental initiative established by Donegal student Adam Mullins, distributing surplus food from supermarkets to students. It noted that the pantry now plays an increasingly vital role in student welfare at the university.
Over the past two years, the report said that the university and its students’ union have come on board to support the pantry that’s providing subsidised meals to hundreds of students.
“The cost-of-living crisis is crazy, and it massively impacts us [students]. You see it everywhere, and it is getting worse,” Mullins told the publication.
Mullins noted several students have told him they couldn’t afford to stay in college without the pantry. “It is getting worse. Everything is expensive now,” he said.
Law student Aly told the publication that without the food back, there were times she would have had to go hungry to pay rent, adding the service “helps a lot.”
The pantry works in partnership with FoodCloud, an Irish not-for-profit social enterprise, redistributing surplus food from supermarkets. The report noted that weekly demand for the student pantry far outweighs supply. Students access the service online, with a lottery system deciding who gets a time slot.
The report did not provide any nationality-wise breakdown of students using the food bank.
Racist Attack
The online backlash comes against the backdrop of a rise in racial violence against Indians in Ireland last year. In one of the most brutal assaults in July 2025, an Indian man was left bleeding in Tallaght, Dublin. He was stabbed, robbed and stripped of his trousers when a group of young men descended on him in the street as he was walking to the temple. He was falsely accused, both before and after the attack, of inappropriate behaviour around children. Authorities probing the incident said it was a potential hate crime.
In another attack, a 32-year-old Indian-origin man suffered a fractured cheekbone and multiple injuries after being attacked by six teenagers near his Dublin apartment.
Last month, the Embassy of India in Ireland had advised Indian nationals to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours. In the advisory issued on X, the Embassy noted the rise in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently. The Embassy also shared its contact details, including email and mobile number, for Indian nationals.
