Political violence in the US took a murderous turn last week with the assassination of the rightwing figure Charlie Kirk. This is yet another horrendous moment in a society falling into a nihilistic spiral from which there appears to be no off-ramp.
There’s little we can do in Ireland about the US, beyond watching in dismay. What we can do is confront political violence in this country. What Tánaiste Simon Harris recently endured – multiple threats against him and his family – is disgraceful and unacceptable. It is also, sadly, unsurprising. Since 2018, a number of tipping points regarding illiberal agitation have occurred, and many a Rubicon has been crossed.
A movement has been built, online and off, that is attempting to destabilise democracy by pushing conspiracy theories, attacking minorities to divide people and disrupt social cohesion and engaging in political violence.
There have been semantic disagreements regarding how to characterise what is a seemingly nebulous movement. It promulgates racist violence, anti-immigration protests, online disinformation and hate, conspiracy theorists, fascist agitators, far-right political groupings, anti-LGBTQ+ hysteria. It leans heavily on copycat tactics, grifter archetypes and sloganeering lifted from playbooks we see elsewhere, such as in the MAGA movement and the English far right.
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This ecosystem can be broadly characterised as right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and by extension Irish authoritarianism. Many involved in it will not be deterred by warnings from gardaí, stern statements from politicians or pleas from mainstream journalists. Some do not believe in the rule of law. Others contend that mainstream politicians are traitors. Many are monomaniacal in their obsessions. Most are chronically online and existing in disinformation silos. Collectively, what they seek amounts to an anti-democratic revolution.
Political violence is one expression of this movement. In May 2024, analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and the Hope and Courage Collective (H&CC) identified 36 incidents of “politically motivated violence, intimidation, harassment or threats” during the local and European Parliament elections. Some 21 targeted women and 15 targeted men. Thirteen targeted individuals from a migrant background running for election, all featuring “racially-charged abuse”. Eleven of the incidents were online (threats, doxxing, hate speech). Two involved physical assaults.
Analysis of political violence, intimidation, threats and harassment during the 2024 general election recorded 55 incidents. Eleven were online harassment, and 20 were online “smear campaigns and threatening rhetoric”. The rest were offline; four incidents of violence, 13 of harassment, 7 related to candidate property.
Dovetailing with this was a long-running arson wave targeting refugee and asylum-seeker accommodation (or buildings earmarked or rumoured to be used for accommodation) that began in Donegal in 2018, and unfolded in multiple places including Rooskey, Buncrana, Ballincollig, Dublin 1, Ballybrack, Fermoy, Wexford, Roscahill, Ringsend, Sandyford, Leixlip, Newtownmountkennedy, Crooksling, Convoy, Clonmel, Finglas, Coolock and on and on.
One significant early incident of political violence occurred in October 2019, when Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny received death threats after speaking out against racism and far-right agitation. That month, his car was burned in the driveway of his home in Leitrim.
As the arson crime wave progressed, protests continued against refugee and asylum-seeker accommodation, with locals often riled up by online agitators. Larger protesting groups frequently convene in Dublin, led by the far right. These demonstrations are characterised by racism and a visceral hatred of mainstream politicians and gardaí. They include some truly outrageous incidents, such as the erection of a mock gallows outside Leinster House in September 2023, followed by a full-scale riot in the city centre that November.
Simultaneously, people of colour, people perceived to be “non-Irish”, and LGBTQ+ people, repeatedly sound alarms about an uptick in bigotry, violence, harassment and intimidation online and off. People have been beaten, homeless asylum seekers burned out of tents.
Political violence is being invited (through hateful and unhinged rhetoric); incited (thought direct threats) and instigated. This is ugly and uncomfortable to face, but we cannot afford to delay in confronting it. This movement does not characterise our society as a whole, but Irish authoritarianism is a part of our society. It has new digital characteristics, contemporary expressions and tactics, but it is also a continuum of the cruellest aspects of Ireland. We have form when it comes to submission to a dominant collective identity, oppressive social policing and political violence.
Unlike other jurisdictions where the political mainstream becomes extreme by following the worst forces in society down the rabbit hole, Ireland is capable of something better. We have proven ourselves able to reflect on difficult issues and express maturity in conversations, when invited to engage in a calm, respectful, non-judgmental way.
We need a show of unity and solidarity across the political spectrum to condemn and commit to addressing political violence born of this authoritarian movement. One way to do this could be through a Citizens’ Assembly on addressing racism, political violence and protecting our democracy. Both actions would require us to face an uncomfortable reality. The question is whether we’re smart and courageous enough to do so.
