© PAA large crowd gathered at the Coolock site in north Dublin
A large fire started after pallets and construction machinery were set alight at the former Crown Paints factory in Coolock.
Work was due to begin on the Malahide Road site this week, Irish broadcaster RTÉ said.
Comment: And so it may be that this protest is just the beginning.
Gardaí described the disturbances as a public order incident and the road has been closed.
Comment: The right to protest is now a 'public order incident'.
They said they had a significant presence in place, including several public order units.
Video footage circulating on social media appeared to show protesters clashing with gardaí.
Comment: Footage:
Three fire engines from Kilbarrack, North Strand and Finglas fire stations are in at the scene, as well as a turntable ladder.
'Effort to spread fear and hate'
A large crowd gathered at the Coolock site in north Dublin
The Irish justice minister said she was "appalled at the criminal behaviour that took place in Coolock".
Helen McEntee said anybody involved would face "the full rigours of the law".
"I have spoken to the Garda commissioner and he has assured me that everything will be done to bring those responsible to justice," Ms McEntee added.
Dublin city councillor Mícheál Mac Donncha described the incident as "deplorable" and that "violence, intimidation and arson should have no place in our communities".
"The burning of vehicles and attempted burning of the building are violent criminal acts and must be strongly condemned," the Sinn Féin representative said.
He said the Department of Integration had said the site was being developed to accommodate families seeking international protection.
Comment: Families there may be, but the majority of migrants have been young, single, men. Moreover, Western governments have proven that the current roster of politicians and parties are incapable of providing for the citizens and families they do have.
"Those responsible should desist immediately," he added.
"This is an effort to spread fear and hate in our communities and the vast majority of decent people want nothing to do with it."
Comment: Weaponised mass migration is causing untold problems across Europe, and the US, and at a time when people's living standards are collapsing. The general public also realise that this is an issue that, if not halted, threatens to ignite. And so this kind of divisive rhetoric, smearing all the protesters as xenophobes or criminals, simply won't work; not with the majority of people in Dublin, nor with the majority in the US and Europe who are suffering the same. On the contrary, those spouting such ideological nonsense will be revealing their utter incompetence, or insidious corruption.
As recent elections across Europe are showing, the majority of people want policy to reflect their needs and values, and, as life becomes more difficult, it's likely that they will be less willing - nor able - to wait for another election cycle to bring about the change that they desperately need: