Identity Ireland
Identity Ireland Aithenteas Éire | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Peter O'Loughlin |
| Founded | July 2015 |
| Headquarters | Identity Ireland Suite 5068, 5 Fitzwilliam Square East, Dublin 2, Ireland |
| Ideology | Euroscepticism Right-wing populism Nationalism Anti-Islamism Anti-immigration |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| Affiliation | Fortress Europe |
| Website | |
| www | |
Identity Ireland is an unregistered political party in Ireland. It was launched in Dublin on 22 July 2015. Its founders are Gary Allen, Peter O'Loughlin and Alan Tighe.[1] O'Loughlin is the party's national spokesperson.[2]
Policy
Identity Ireland argues for a return to Irish sovereignty and to the Irish pound.[3] The party supports controlled border policy in order to curtail mass immigration because they say is a strain on the Irish welfare system.[4] They also support more careful vetting of incoming asylum seekers.[4] They support the Irish branch of Pegida, and have joined the Fortress Europe coalition.[5] They advocate for the introduction of a two strike law for serious offences, as well as the re-introduction of penal labour.[6] They support keeping Ireland's neutrality.[7]
Election results
Peter O'Loughlin ran as an independent candidate in the Carlow–Kilkenny by-election in 2015 and was eliminated at the first count[8] having taken 1.4% of first-preference votes.[9] Another party member, Ted Neville, ran as an independent candidate in four previous elections in the Cork South–Central constituency.[10] He has appeared on television to discuss immigration.[11] O'Loughlin ran unsuccessfully in the 2016 Irish general election in the Cork North-Central constituency as an independent going out on the second count.[12][13]
General election results
| Election | Seats won | ± | Position | First Pref votes | % | Government | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 / 166
|
 0
|
17
|
183 | 0.0% | Opposition | Peter O'Loughlin |
Reception
Identity Ireland has been accused of being racist and fascist. Some of their press conferences and meetings have been disrupted by protesters.[14][15] However, after the launch, their membership went up by 25%, to 115 members.[3] Party leader, Peter O'Loughlin was invited to speak at the first Pegida rally of 2016 in Dresden, Germany.[16] In January, the party was criticized for suggesting a local Muslim community leader be tossed into the Irish Sea. They have since clarified that they did not actually advocate violence against them, but were simply concerned about his actions.[17]
References
- ^ identity ireland is launched in Dublin, July 2015. 28 July 2015 – via YouTube.
- ^ Identity Ireland. 24 October 2015 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b "Identity Ireland sees 25% increase in membership since yesterday". newstalk.com.
- ^ a b Catherine Healy. "These men tried to launch a new party … but anti-racism protesters gate-crashed their event". TheJournal.ie.
- ^ Roche, Barry (30 January 2016). "Anti-Islamic group Pegida Ireland to be launched at Dublin rally". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ http://identityireland.org/law-order/
- ^ "Identity Ireland's Photos - Identity Ireland | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
- ^ "Sinn Féin big winners in Carlow/Kilkenny by-election".
- ^ "FF look set for by-election win after Aylward pulls ahead to 28%".
- ^ "ElectionsIreland.org: Ted Neville".
- ^ Ted Neville of Identity Ireland discusses immigration on the Late Review. 30 July 2015 – via YouTube.
- ^ http://www.electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2016&cons=57
- ^ "Cork North-Central". RTE.ie. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
- ^ Rónán Duffy. "Gardaí probe assault at meeting of party that wants "proper border control"". TheJournal.ie.
- ^ "Launch of controversial right wing political party descends into chaos in Dublin". Independent.ie.
- ^ "Head of controversial Irish group addresses far-right rally in Germany". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
- ^ "Political group Identity Ireland clarifies comments about senior Islamic figure". www.irishexaminer.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.