A wave of racist comments targeting Indians has surfaced on social media after a report in The Irish Times highlighted rising demand at a student-run food pantry at the University of Galway. The racist comments add to the growing xenophobia faced by the Indian community in Ireland.
The Irish Times report described how the Speir student pantry, originally launched as an environmental initiative, is now struggling to cope with demand amid the country’s deepening cost-of-living crisis. According to the report, the pantry distributed nearly €500,000 worth of food last year but still has to turn away hundreds of students every week.
However, the story triggered a stream of hostile reactions online, many of them directly targeting Indians and other foreign students.
One user on X questioned the presence of international students in the queue, writing: “Is it my imagination but are most, if not all, of the ‘students’ in that queue foreign?… foreign students should be able to support themselves?”
Another post singled out Indians, claiming: “This is a habit of Indians… there are also videos of Indians online, in other countries coaching fellow Indians to save cash by using food banks.”
A separate user went further, alleging: “They loot every service that the country operates using any sort of trust-based system… To them, it’s a lifehack.”
Yet another comment claimed, without evidence, that “the entire queue… is Indian,” while a user describing himself as a “proud Irish man” wrote that “90%+ of them were Indian nationals on student visas,” questioning why they were in Ireland.
The online backlash comes against the backdrop of several violent incidents against Indians reported in Ireland last year.
In one case, a 40-year-old Indian man, an Amazon employee who had arrived in Ireland just weeks earlier, was brutally assaulted by a teenage gang in Tallaght, Dublin. He was beaten, stabbed in the face and partially stripped, with authorities probing the incident as a potential hate crime.
Irish national Jennifer Murray, who helped the Tallaght victim, had said at the time that multiple Indian men had been targeted by the same gang within days, raising fears of a troubling pattern.
In another attack, 32-year-old Indian-origin resident Santosh Yadav suffered a fractured cheekbone and multiple injuries after being attacked by six teenagers near his Dublin apartment.
Migrant advocacy groups have also warned that Indians appear to be a particular focus in some hate incidents, though officials maintain Ireland remains broadly safe for international residents.
WHAT IRISH TIMES REPORT SAID
In its report, The Irish Times said long queues are now common at the University of Galway pantry, with over 100 students lining up during a recent distribution slot. The initiative was founded by Donegal student Adam Mullins, who said the “cost-of-living crisis is crazy and it massively impacts us [students].”
Mullins noted that some students had told him they might not be able to stay in college without the support. Students’ union vice-president for education Sean de Burca also warned that food poverty is pushing some students to drop out.
Law student Aly told the publication that without the pantry there were times she would have had to go hungry to pay rent, adding the service “helps a lot.”
The report did not provide any nationality-wise breakdown of students using the facility.
RACIAL ATTACKS AGAINST INDIANS
Last month, the Embassy of Ireland in India had acknowledged concerns raised by Indian students but stressed that the country remains “safe, inclusive, and welcoming.” It said the Indian community, now more than 100,000 strong, plays a “vital and highly valued role” across sectors.
The embassy also admitted that incidents of racism and xenophobic attacks last year were “deeply concerning” and said they were “unequivocally condemned” by the Irish government.
Separately, the Embassy of India in Dublin had issued a safety advisory in August 2025 after a string of assaults on Indians, urging citizens to avoid deserted areas and exercise caution.
Indian students have previously spoken about multiple challenges in Ireland, including high rents, housing shortages and difficulty finding visa-sponsored jobs.
Some told India Today they were struggling with poor housing conditions and long commutes, while others said they had underestimated the severity of Ireland’s housing crisis before moving.
Even as authorities emphasise Ireland’s welcoming environment, the latest surge of online hostility, coupled with last year’s physical attacks, has intensified concerns within the Indian community about safety and growing anti-immigrant sentiment.
