Blame Ireland’s migrant surge, not ‘right-wingers,’ for Dublin riots
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
DUBLIN — In the 12 months leading up to April this year, 141,600 immigrants landed in Ireland.
The Irish population has increased by more than 2%. If the US had similar immigration, it would mean 9 million extra people.
This is the highest level since the prosperous “Celtic Tiger” era of the late ’90s.
Ireland’s non-nationals comprise a whopping 20% of the population.
The tinder box of immigration blew open Thursday with a mass riot in Dublin following the stabbing of a number of young children outside a school near the main street.
The alleged perpetrator is foreign-born but still a citizen.
The riots have, so far, led to more than 30 arrests and a number of stores destroyed.
Once a source of massive emigration to the United States, the Emerald Isle is now the destination of choice for Ukrainian refugees and other nationalities seeking a better life — and better welfare entitlements.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ireland had a surge of 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.
Ukrainian refugees receive more than $200 a week from the Irish state — the most generous supplement provided by any European country.
Last year, more than 13,000 people from non-Ukrainian origin entered Ireland, a 400% spike over 2021.
A large portion of new applicants hail from Georgia, a country deemed “safe” by Georgia’s ambassador in Dublin.
This has turned an already explosive housing shortage into a catastrophe.
All these factors culminated in the horrific riots this week as hundreds of inner-city residents torched the streets in what the Prime Minister Leo Varadkar described as “huge destruction by a riotous mob.”
Buses, rail carriages and police cars were burned alongside an orgy of destruction and looting.
Dublin’s “fair city where the girls are so pretty” (as the famous Irish band the Dubliners proclaimed) was turned on its head as a Foot Locker and several other stores were burned and raided.
Rioters even hijacked a bus for reckless joyriding.
Police chiefs have been quick to blame “far right” anti-immigrant elements.
Yet public frustration with homelessness, joblessness, immigration, lack of law and order and anti-social behavior have been breeding a revolt by the urban underclass.
Ireland has seen a surge in anti-immigration protests in recent years as the large influx of migrants has sparked clashes with already deprived communities and rural enclaves.
That includes incidents of arson, such as the deliberate torching of centers used to house migrants.
Ireland’s authorities are now in panic about immigration, issuing last-minute promises about revoking generous welfare handouts for Ukrainians.
Their bigger problem: An election looms next year amid a dire shortage of houses for the young.
Irish youths are swinging to the Sinn Fein opposition political party, which was at one point the political wing of the terrorist Irish Republican Army.
Mainstream or center-led parties are in a panic about a Sinn Fein voting surge, as in 2020.
Commentary with vague but menacing tones about the “far right” masks the fact there is no political representation of serious conservative opinion in the Irish Parliament.
The divisions in Ireland’s conservative parties have prevented the emergence of a right-wing surge.
Smaller parties with various ideologies, from the European Union-hostile Irish Freedom Party to the Trump-inspired National Party, have struggled to garner sufficient support to even meet their election deposit requirements.
In a peculiar and laughable Irish tale dubbed the “Pot o’ Gold” scandal, the former leader of the National Party announced that $400,000 worth of the party’s gold had been stolen, not by left-wing agitators, but by other members seeking to rein him in.
These internal disputes cast doubt on the prospect of a successful right-leaning party emerging in the near future.
In the absence of such a political force, the question looms: How long before the Irish electorate follows the path of the United Kingdom and its continental European counterparts, shifting toward right-wing populism?
The emergence of street level anti-immigrant “far right” protests poses a double challenge to the ruling parties and Sinn Fein, which have refused to mention immigration.
Now, for the first time, immigration has been flung like a lit torch into the center of Irish politics.
The issue is now cutting across traditional political lines.
NY dad brutally attacked by teens on dream trip to Ireland, may ‘lose one of his eyes’
The speed with which the rioters took control of the main thoroughfare is bound to raise questions.
Irish police are afraid to use water cannons and tear gas, unlike other European countries and the United States; it took them more than four hours to subdue the rioters.
Plus, police morale is very low due to pointless virtue-signaling such as “hate speech” initiatives.
More than 90% of ordinary police officers recently voted “no confidence” in the country’s top law-enforcement officer.
They’re resigning in droves due to inadequate power, work pressure and malaise.
A high-profile assault this summer of an American tourist in Dublin led to an official security alert by the State Department for American tourists in the capital.
Ireland depends hugely on US dollar investment by tourists and big American corporations.
If nothing else, the sight of burning vehicles in Ireland’s Times Square will act as a wake-up call to the Irish government.
The image of Ireland as a safe place for both investors and tourists has been severely tarnished.
The social and political consequences of Thursday’s riots will fester in Ireland for years to come and shape its politics, stability and culture.
Theo McDonald is based in Dublin and writes about economic and social issues.
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Finally!
European nations have had their bellies full of illegal migration.
Perfect burn the city down to protest immigration. Did the right-wingers forget that for many years the Irish were not accepted, guess not.
Revive Sinn Finn and have the Irish start killing each other again. A brilliant strategy that fell out of a bottle of Guinness.
I guess the final straw was incidents like the one last year:
A 23-year-old high school teacher and musician, Murphy, was murdered by Slovakian immigrant Jozef Puska while walking alongside the Grand Canal in Tullamore, County Offaly, in January 2022. Puska, who was also a sex offender in his native country, was arrested earlier this month and sentenced to life by a unanimous jury in a Dublin court.
Puska was reportedly unemployed and living on welfare since arriving in Ireland, which has raised criticism regarding the influx of immigrants into the country. McGregor also voiced his opinion on the same issue, calling for a new system to keep a check on immigrant activity in a since-deleted tweet.
“I'll say it! What sort of ridiculousness was/is it to allow that sort in to our country? Ireland is not a revolving door, nor even attached to other nations! It is a stand alone island among the greatest of all Gods beautiful creations,” he wrote.
McGregor Speaks Out on Immigration in Ireland Following High-Profile Murder Trial (sherdog.com)
Migrants entering for welfare benefits is a bad situation to begin with. When they reach 20% of the population it becomes a nightmare.
Do the lefties understand that multiculturalism and open borders destroy civilization.
If they do understand, they don't seem to care. Unchecked immigration into any country never ends up having good results.
McGregor is already under investigation for "hate speech" for criticizing the police, by the police.
Do you understand that the majority of immigrants to Ireland are Ukrainians and Georgians? Ukrainians because of the war in Ukraine and were invited to Ireland and the Georgians are legal immigrants, which doesn't constitute ''open borders'' and for multiculturalism the old canard of the conservative right.
You should probably read this article:
New York Irish pub's poignant message in wake of Dublin’s riots: "There was a time when the Irish weren’t welcome"
BTW, the guy who stopped the attack was an immigrant from Brazil who used his bike helmet to beat the attacker senseless.
During a hearing, the court revealed that McGregor had 18 prior convictions, many of them for traffic offenses.Mar 24, 2022
He was also arrested in Florida for robbery and criminal mischief.
He should not have got in the ring with Roger Mayweather probably got a few screws knocked loose.
“..,understand that multiculturalism and open borders destroy civilization.”
The definition of xenophobia and demonstrably wrong.
This country is and has always been a blending of cultures…from the foods we eat to the music we listen to and the art, literature, and philosophy that enrich our lives…whether admitted in gratitude or denied in ignorance. These are the attributes of a healthy ‘civilization’, to be embraced and nurtured, not discouraged or dismissed, lest we forget who we are and all we could be.
I think they got the idea from Merrick Garland.
No & No.
History has already proved me right.
I recall it well. They were unwelcome and unwelcoming all at the same time.
Know your history.
And you are absolutely correct. Without assimilation, it does not work well.
Just look at where we are today. Factions of Israeli and Muslim people fighting each other in our streets because of something 1000's of miles away. It also bred the BLM movement.
We can have people who disagree. Multiculturalism involves having people who vehemently disagree with our values.
Yessir
No, multiculturalism is merely tolerance and acceptance of those from different cultural backgrounds. Those who look, speak, think and believe differently...
We do not believe in genocide. Those who do should not be granted citizenship.
I do, you should try it sometime.
You don't. If you did, you'd be able to speak comment 4 hours ago..
Makes as much sense is burning the city down because a drug addict overdosed.
It is something to see the internaitonal left adopt the Biden defelction of painting any criticism as "far right" and try and thus illigitimize any substantive criticism. Trudeau does the same thing. He just spouts Biden approved buzz words like MAGA , Fox News or Far Right whenever he's criticized. It's very obvious and very troubling how gullible people can be. Believing there's a "far right" in Dublin, for starters, is laughable. The people in those neighborhoods that rioted are well to the left of average American left winger. The ignorant progressives just call them "right wing" so they can dismiss their concerns.
Ireland is in a lot of trouble. They are on path to pass speech restrictions that would be a little much for China. They want to create a left wing police state where free speech simply doesn't exist. Good thing no one on this site posts from Ireland, pretty much every poster here would be looking at jail time for their "offensive" content.
The far right wing mentality is right up there with anthropogenic global warming as far as the most dangerous things the world faces.