By: Luke Crafton
Almost three years ago, in November 2022, a new wave of far-right Irish politics erupted. For the first time, fierce protests arose over the development of asylum housing for 380 men, women, and children in a former office building in East Wall, Dublin. Locals involved in the protest cited widespread claims which pinned their frustration over the housing struggles of area natives on the influx of migrants. Protestors also expressed distress over anecdotes of disproportionate amounts of unmarried males arriving in Ireland, highlighting unfounded reports of violence and aggression habitually being expressed by migrants and asylum-seekers.
In November 2023, riots broke out across Dublin that instantly circulated on social networks. Following the stabbing of three children in East Dublin, new Irish right-wing platform Gript, along with various right-wing politicians, began rapidly disseminating information about the perpetrator. Riad Bouchaker’s Algerian identity became a focus, despite his status as an Irish citizen of 20 years.
The manifestation of this vitriol boiled over on the 23rd. Events included a riot peaking at 500 people involving fireworks and flares, the assault of the gardaí (the Irish police), and the destruction and burning of a Luas tram and gardaí vehicles, costing tens of millions in damage. The ramifications of misinformation and biases were unleashed in some of the most severe disarray that Dublin has seen in recent history.
This rise in violent far-right demonstrations in Ireland is rooted in populist xenophobia, and has led to the manipulation of a population with valid grievances over housing, economics, and crumbling social welfare systems. Migrants’ concern for their community’s well-being has been weaponized against their communities, which are some of the most vulnerable in the country. Brian Killoran, the CEO of Immigrant Council in Ireland, states that “The far right is a lightning rod…They are harnessing dissatisfaction in communities and blaming migrants when actually there are much bigger structural problems.”
Many experts point to the fact that the areas of Ireland most active within the wave of nationalism are those in “ignored and deprived” regions where “disproportionate” amounts of migrants are housed due to vacancies and lack of competition. The presence of migrants in these areas is more clearly visible to the Irish natives, therefore reinforcing a collective sense of neglect from the Irish government.
In response, these populations feel validated in their belief that they are being displaced and thrive upon rhetoric that continues to blind them to the larger serious, but repairable, problems that Ireland faces.
Ireland represents the experiences of many Western countries as they continue to face challenges in housing, economy, and in the provision of social services, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. Ireland is not an isolated example of right-wing populism, as countries globally lean towards more drastic right-wing platforms centered around xenophobic rhetoric and anti-immigration policies. However, whether or not this fever faces the root causes of these systemic problems or scapegoats migrants to cope with the issues remains to be seen.
Migration will continue to grow in our highly globalized world due to conflicts, inflation uncertainty, and economic recession. With the West perceived as increasingly welcoming to migrants, America and Europe will have to make a decision. They must decide whether they are willing to honestly confront the changing dynamics of the international community, or if they will turn to ethnocentrism and withdraw from responsibilities to global politics for temporary relief from uncertainty.
Currently, the West has the ability to choose whether it will tackle these problems with awareness and tolerance, or lead our societies to experience firsthand the failure of right-wing populism as a miracle cure for growing domestic and international crises.
