It’s no revolution, but five extremists will take seats
Standing in front of a flag carried by his supporters at the count centre in the RDS, newly elected Independent Dublin city councillor Gavin Pepper declared: “The Government needs to wake up and send them home.”
The comment from the anti-immigrant activist-turned-politician was very much on-brand.
Pepper, a taxi driver and father of six, has made his name on social media by pushing an anti-immigrant agenda. Now he is an incoming councillor for the Ballymun-Finglas ward.
He has been front and centre at protests in locations around Dublin, opposing the arrival of asylum-seekers. He describes himself on social media as “pro-Irish, pro-family, pro-life and pro-free speech”.
A security source told this newspaper that Pepper is “a person we have an interest in” over various comments he has made online.
In a video posted on social media after gardaí raided his home last summer, Pepper said he is the subject of garda inquiries.
The raid followed an encampment in Sandwith Street, Dublin, being burnt after refugees who had been seeking shelter there were forced out by protesters.
There is no suggestion Pepper was responsible, but he has admitted being present at a protest shortly before the blaze.
He has also been repeatedly named in the Dáil by Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy over his links to the far right and anti-immigration movements. In response, he confronted the TD in a video he later posted on social media.
Pepper is one of the far-right candidates who won seats in the local elections. In total, more than 100 people stood for far-right parties or as far-right Independents in the elections.
Other successful candidates with hardline views on immigration were Independent Malachy Steenson (Dublin City Council); the National Party’s Patrick Quinlan (Fingal County Council); Glen Moore of the Irish Freedom Party, who was elected on to South Dublin County Council; and Tom McDonnell of Éire Saor in Newbridge, who was elected on to Kildare County Council.
McDonnell filled the country’s last council seat and later defended remarks he made following his win, in which he called for women to “breed” more.
Ciaran O’Connor, of the Institute of Strategic Dialogue, which monitors the far right as well as disinformation, said he “wasn’t surprised” by the results.
“It wasn’t the revolution that was promised, but the election of a small number of candidates — who I would consider to be far-right — is still significant,” he said. “There were also many others who came close. For the first time, we have a handful of candidates elected on the basis of ethno-nationalism.”
Mr O’Connor said the rise of the far right in Ireland has its roots online. Many of these individuals have spoken about foreign “plantations” in Ireland. Such language has “deep historical connotations” here.
“Much of the far right in Ireland grew as an on-street movement, going around to various locations, protesting about the arrival or suspected arrival of immigrants into communities,” he said.
“Now we’ll see how people move from that kind of activity to working as councillors, because it’s an entirely different environment.
“Can they perform and adapt in this new environment, separate it from their anti-immigration agenda? It is a different test for them.”
Another notable takeaway from the rise of the right is the impact it had on Sinn Féin at the ballot box.
At various immigration protests over the past 18 months, a strong anti-Sinn Féin sentiment was evident. Traditionally, Sinn Féin has attracted support in working-class areas, but the far right has taken some of this vote and managed to smear Mary Lou McDonald’s party.
“We’ve seen that anti-Sinn Féin sentiment is strong at many of these anti- immigration protests,” Mr O’Connor said. “The far right has been seeking that vote. At many of these demonstrations, Sinn Féin, and Mary Lou McDonald in particular, have been branded ‘traitors’. There’s been posters and signage to that effect.
“This strategy seems to have had a certain level of success. All eyes will now be on the general election and the number of far-right candidates who run.”
Sources point out that being aligned to the far right is not a crime. For some it is simply an “ideology”.
“At the same time, if the Dublin riots taught us anything, it’s how quickly things can escalate,” one source said.
In recent months, several files have been submitted to the DPP over threats from far-right individuals to politicians.
Officers within the Garda National Crime and Security Intelligence Service have a number of other live investigations into threats to public figures from members of the far right. Sources said an increase in hate crimes is indicative of a rise in support for the far right.
“There’s a small number of so-called members of the far right who are involved in committing hate crimes or inspiring others to commit these crimes,” a source said. “This isn’t happening in a vacuum in Ireland. The far right are on the rise worldwide. An Garda Síochána is only concerned if such ideology impacts crimes rates. There is no doubt that right now it is.”
Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan's exclusive take on the day's news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.