Police in Northern Ireland are treating "Irish Lives Matter" graffiti seen in west Belfast as a "hate incident," Independent Television reported.

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ITV said the graffiti appeared after signs saying the community "will no longer accept the re-housing of illegal immigrants" were put up Tuesday in the Suffolk area.

Gerry Carroll, a member of the Legislative Assembly in West Belfast, told the station there was no place for this "racist poison"; Paul Maskey, a Sinn Féin member of Parliament, called the graffiti an "attempt to create fear and intimidate people."

Inspector Andrew Matson told ITV "we are treating the matter as a hate incident."

The development comes on the heels of violent protests in Dublin after a stabbing attack outside a school. An Algerian immigrant reportedly stabbed three children and two adults, leaving a 5-year-old girl and 30-year-old woman in critical condition.

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Former UFC champion Conor McGregor called for change and greater safety in Ireland: "In a war you are nothing. We are not backing down, we are only warming up. There will be no backing down until real change is implemented for the safety of our nation. We are not losing any more of our woman and children to sick and twisted people who should not even be in Ireland in the first place. Call it what you want. We do not care. May God help us all. Ireland for victory."

Following McGregor's comments, police in Ireland launched an investigation into whether his words amounted to hate speech.

In addition, a June speech from Green Party Senator Pauline O’Reilly went viral over the weekend. O'Reilly argued in favor of a bill that would allow the government to punish people for hate speech, noting that it's also important to put a damper on free speech.

“When you think about it, all law, all legislation is about the restriction of freedom. That’s exactly what we are doing here ... we are are restricting freedom, but we’re doing it for the common good," she said. "You will see throughout our constitution, yes you have rights, but they are restricted for the common good. Everything needs to be balanced."

Violent protests break out across central Dublin after stabbing attack at school youtu.be

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