The Extreme Far-Right Ecosystem in Ireland: History and Contemporary Trends

It is often claimed that there is little to no organised extreme right-wing (ERW) presence in Ireland. The absence of the ERW is often attributed to Ireland’s ‘civil war’ political system, however, in recent years, the country has witnessed an increase in both far-right and ERW activity via online activism, street protest, and even violence. Perhaps the most prominent manifestation of the ERW is in the online space, and this article seeks to understand the Irish online ecosystem by focusing on social media influencer activity, their role in the propagation of ERW ideas, the spread or contagion of ideas into and out of the Irish eco-system, and the themes that are dominant in this space. This exploratory study, which analysed 422,156 social media posts across four platforms (1 October 2020 to 30 June 2021), found that Twitter and Telegram played a more facilitatory role than YouTube and 4chan in the proliferation of ERW content in Ireland. The most frequently mentioned extreme right-wing influencers were Irish, British, and American public figures and social media influencers, and the majority of location mentions referenced the United States, followed by the United Kingdom. The most popular themes were global conspiracy theories followed by anti-left, alt-right, anti-black, and anti-government sentiments. The article concludes that there is ERW presence in Ireland, and it has its own online ecosystem aimed towards creating division and spreading ideologies of hate and, in some instances, a call to action.