Fourteen children were among a group of 39 people deported from the State in the early hours of yesterday morning. Five of the minors deported were born in Ireland, gardaí have confirmed.
The group of Nigerian nationals was flown from Dublin airport at 12.30am yesterday on a specially chartered flight to Lagos.
The group included 14 men and nine women.
There were seven Nigerian-born male minors on board and four female minors. Another five children on the flight were Irish-born.
They were accompanied by a travelling party of around 30 Garda escorts, most of whom were attached to the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
A number of medical staff were also on the charter flight.
The Irish party returned to Dublin yesterday at around 4pm.