Member-only story
What Next for Ireland’s Far-Right?
Sinn Féin’s surge was the story of the recent election and the support garnered by the left as a whole was a welcome new development in Irish politics. But these were not the only changes the country’s political system was undergoing. The election was the first in which the Irish far-right had a very visible presence. Relatively new political parties such as the National Party and the Irish Freedom Party brought to the Irish political scene the type of far-right movements that have characterised European politics for decades. Seeking to place the blame for Ireland’s socio-economic woes on immigrants, particularly those from Islamic countries, these parties are arguably the Irish equivalent of more electorally successful European parties such as France’s Rassemblement National (formerly Front National) and Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland. Such parties share with the Irish far-right a Eurosceptic stance, a virulently anti-immigration and anti-Islam message, as well as a deep conservatism on social issues, although the Irish far-right is much more conspiratorial in its ideology than its more mainstream counterparts on the continent.
The Irish electorate has, for now, decisively rejected such politics. Despite running in constituencies across the country, the highest share of the vote that any far-right candidate managed to attain was just 2%. Ireland remains part of a very small…
