The knife attack on three primary-school children and a school-care assistant in Dublin last week shocked Ireland. It happened in broad daylight on Parnell Square, close to Dublin’s busiest streets. And it was witnessed by tourists, Dubliners and thousands of CCTV cameras

Yet, in the immediate aftermath, the Irish media seemed intent on shrouding the incident in mystery. The Irish Times described the suspect merely as ‘a naturalised Irish citizen, who has lived here for 20 years’. Many other outlets followed suit. What they steadfastly refused to say was that the suspect was an Algerian-born Irish citizen.

The reason for the media’s resort to euphemism and vague language was obvious enough. They were worried that stating the truth about the suspect would prompt an upsurge of anti-immigrant prejudice.