Gardaí have confirmed that 35 Nigerians were last night deported on a flight back to Lagos.
The charter flight left Dublin Airport just before midnight.
The deportees, who included men, women and children, were accompanied by members of the Garda National Immigration Bureau. A number of those due to be deported secured judicial reviews at the last minute and so did not travel.
The development follows a series of arrests of non-nationals across the country in recent days, who had failed in their applications for asylum.
This is the first such mass deportation this year. Deportations have become a routine part of the Department of Justice and the gardaí's immigration and asylum control policy.
