After violent attacks, now Indians face racist online abuse in Ireland over food queue photograph

A photo showing students queued outside the Speir Student Pantry at the University of Galway has sparked a wave of racist abuse online, with Indian students and other South Asian-looking people singled out on social media. The image accompanied an Irish Times report on a student-run food bank struggling with rising demand amid Ireland’s cost-of-living crisis, with the pantry reportedly using a lottery/booking system and still turning away hundreds weekly despite distributing nearly €500,000 worth of food last year. The episode has also revived concerns within Ireland’s Indian community, after the Indian Embassy in Dublin issued safety advisories in 2025 following reports of physical attacks on Indian nationals.