Derek Blighe (born 1980)[1] is an Irish far-right anti-immigration political activist.[1][2][3][4][5] A construction worker by trade, Blighe emigrated to Canada during the post-2008 Irish economic downturn. Following his return to Ireland in 2019, Blighe became politically active during the 2022–23 Irish anti-immigration protests, in which he acted as a self-described "citizen journalist". This involved him attending, filming and promoting anti-immigration protests across Ireland. As part of this activism, Blighe has promoted the great replacement conspiracy theory as explaining the basis for immigration into Ireland. In 2023, he became the leader of a registered political party Ireland First, with anti-immigration as the main plank of its platform.

Background

Blighe was born in 1980 in Rylane,[1] a small village approximately 30 km north-west of Cork City. His father, Denis Blighe, was a trade unionist and supporter of the socialist politician Joe Sherlock, a member of the Workers' Party and later the Democratic Left.[1] In 2001 Denis Blighe was active in defending refugees from criticism; he wrote a number of letters to the Irish Examiner expressing the view that refugees were "working in non-union jobs, are being exploited by low wages" and "Refugees find it difficult to find accommodation. People tell them to come and see the property and say they will call them back, but the phone never rings. Some landlords seem to have a problem with them".[1]

After leaving secondary school, Blighe became a bricklayer. Following the collapse of the Celtic Tiger in the late 2000s, Blighe emigrated to Calgary in Alberta, Canada.[1][6]

Activism

Following his return to Ireland in 2019, Blighe became active online and began professing conspiratorial views, such as endorsing the conspiracy that a "great replacement" is occurring in Ireland. Blighe suggested that the government is purposefully replacing native Irish people with immigrants from Africa and the Middle East.[1]

Blighe became politically active in the spring of 2022, filming videos initially with an anti-lockdown focus before pivoting to anti-immigration as his main topic; targeting the arrival of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These videos soon brought him into contact with members of the Irish far-right, such as former National Party member Philip Dwyer. In August 2022, Blighe was amongst a number of protesters who taunted and jeered the Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar during their commemoration of Michael Collins at Béal na Bláth.[1]

In the latter half of 2022, Blighe attended and lead anti-immigration protests in counties Dublin, Wicklow, Kerry, Waterford, and Cork. During this time period, he also began assembling an organisation known as "Ireland First", which organised through secret Telegram groups. Both The Irish Times and The Guardian have described Blighe using the Ireland First telegram channel to radicalise his supporters with extremist language.[1][6][7] The Phoenix has reported that in 2022 Bligh shared a number of messages from British Neo-Nazi Mark Collett to the Ireland First Telegram channel.[4] In early 2023, Ireland First registered as a political party with Electoral Commission, with an official website promoting Blighe as their leader.[1][6]

Views

Blighe has stated Ireland is being "assaulted" by "unvettable fake refugees". He has referred to immigration as a "plantation" (in reference to the Plantations of Ireland), and linked migration to rape and violence. Blighe has spread false claims that children would be sharing buildings with refugees, something the Department of Integration later clarified was categorically false.[5]

In 2022 Blighe regularly claimed the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a "fake war publicised to encourage economic migrants to come to this country".[8][9]

Misinformation

In May 2023 the head of the Presentation Brothers in Ireland, Brother Barry Noel, condemned Blighe after Blighe falsely spread the claim that black men in Cork City were migrants "planted" by the government. They were in fact six members of the religious order from West Africa visiting their Irish counterparts during a conference. Cork North Central TD Mick Barry commented that the affair was a "ham-fisted attempt to stir up racial suspicion fell flat on its face, but the farce had a sinister edge — an attempt to promote the view that the mere sighting of black men is cause for alarm".[10]

In June 2023 the Garda Síochana issued a statement countering Blighe after Blighe stated online it was "100% confirmed" that an 11-year-old girl had almost been kidnapped by a "foreign man" in Kenmare, County Kerry. The Garda press office stated that while a report had been made on 6 June of a suspicious adult male, none of the other details reported by Blighe were accurate. One source within the Gardaí told TheJournal.ie that CCTV evidence seemed to suggest that no incident had occurred at all, much less a "foreign man".[9]

Dublin riot

On 23 November 2023 Blighe shared misinformation claiming that a girl who had been stabbed in Dublin earlier that day had died in a YouTube video of an anti-immigrant protest in Fermoy.[11]

Blighe was brought to court and charged with theft after he filmed himself in September 2022 taking clothes from a shelter for Ukrainian refugees.[12]

Personal life

While living in Canada, Blighe met and married a Canadian woman. She emigrated to Ireland with him and their Canadian children in 2019.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Roche, Barry (13 March 2023). "The making of a far-right agitator: From Irish emigrant to anti-refugee extremist". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  2. ↑ Aideen Finnegan (13 March 2023). "'We need guns and men' - inside the group chat of Ireland's new far-right party". In the News (Podcast). The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "Garda And Hard Right". The Phoenix. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023. Cork far-right activist Derek Blighe
  4. 1 2 "Alternative Patriots". The Phoenix. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023. Derek Blighe from Cork is another far-right activist
  5. 1 2 McAuley, Eimer (5 February 2023). "Far right protesters aren't just in it for the cause - there's also money to be made". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 13 March 2023. Derek Blighe is a Cork-based far right social media personality who also bills himself as a 'citizen journalist'.
  6. 1 2 3 Gallagher, Conor (12 March 2023). "Ireland First: Inside the group chat of Ireland's latest far-right political party". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  7. ↑ Mooney, John (4 September 2022). "Right-wing memes add fire to evolving extremist movement". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  8. ↑ McAuley, Eimer (3 December 2022). "Fermoy latest town to be visited by anti-immigration campaigners and misinformation". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  9. 1 2 Raymond, Shane (22 June 2023). "Debunked: No evidence for claims by anti-immigrant activist of attempted abduction in Kerry". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  10. ↑ English, Eoin (8 May 2023). "Cork religious leader hits out at video describing African Presentation Brothers as 'military-aged males'". The Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  11. ↑ Ryan, Órla; O'Connor, Niall; Raymond, Shane; Ryan, Nicky (2023-11-24). "Dublin riots: How a mob in the capital turned to looting, arson and calls to kill". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  12. ↑ Heylin, Liam (8 March 2023). "Anti-migrant activist Derek Blighe seeks to have theft charge struck out due to 'personal difficulties'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
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