Retired Garda inspector: Far-right activity must be 'nipped in the bud' now
The turn off for Magowna Hotel in Clare, where locals set up a blockade last month in protest at the housing of asylum-seekers in the hotel. Picture: Eamonn Farrell / RollingNews.ie
Tony Gallagher could be considered a very experienced observer of the rise of the far right in Ireland given his 20 years' experience at Garda inspector rank of dealing with public order and major events in central Dublin.
The retired inspector is concerned at the increasing sight of people blocking access to roads and property and even the movements of gardaí themselves.
Given what he experienced during his career, he is appalled at what is happening now and firmly believes it needs to be “nipped in the bud”.
Mr Gallagher is also not convinced by comments from Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on handling the far right.
Mr Harris recently insisted gardaí were not going to “fall into the trap” of playing into the far right playbook of goading gardaí into an “over response” to their antics.
His comments were in response to a perception gardaí have adopted a too “softly-softly” approach to asylum-related demonstrations despite incidents including an apparent arson attack on a homeless asylum-seekers’ camp in Dublin in recent weeks and a recent incident in Co Clare which saw a pensioner hospitalised after being struck at a demonstration.
Garda Representative Association President Brendan O'Connor also recently warned gardaí cannot keep standing back and tolerating the level of abuse being thrown at them by agitators.
Mr Gallagher, who retired from the force last June, said it was worth bearing in mind that the Public Order Legislation is almost 30 years old.
“As far as using the excuse of not falling into the trap of the far right’s playbook, that is just playing for time," he said.
“This sort of thing is a blatant affront to the State and simply is not acceptable. This needs to be tackled before it escalates because what you will see is the pushing of the boundaries by protest groups."
He said most people at protests and rallies were law-abiding.
“However, some groups turn up on the day with a different intent and do a disservice to the cause, and the legitimate protest groups themselves don’t want this. They will see how far they can push it without a reaction from the gardaí.
“There is a certain profile of demonstrators at asylum and immigration demonstrations that are pushing boundaries. They are anticipating the gardaí aren't going to react to provocation and they are testing that resolve and they are pushing against it.
“They are becoming braver and more confrontational and that's what could be coming down the tracks.”
Mr Gallagher believes gardaí need to be treating the far right in Ireland with the same strategic and well-resourced approach police used to tackle soccer hooligans.
“We had a database of the main hooligans, and we built intelligence on them. We took them on,” he said.
“We made use of CCTV at events and then went back to the drawing board afterwards, circling and profiling the people who were the main aggressors and then looking at the legislation that we could use to apply to them.
“As well as having the resources, and back-up, we also had great intelligence from within the gangs and that helped avoid serious bloodshed.
“The same type of strategic and resourced approach needs to be taken with the far right."
He said gardai need to identify the main players, research who they are, establish the offences they are committing and then move on them.
“They need to treat the far right like a football hooligan phenomenon because if they don't, it will potentially get worse and it could grow, like a virus.”
A recent evening saw an example of the sort of thing that worries him.
Protesters stopped a Garda van trying to cross a junction in Dublin.
Officers in the van had been monitoring a march of about 200 people protesting the arrival of asylum seekers at Airways Industrial Estate, Santry, earlier in the day.
As the van tried to cross the Swords Road at the R104 near Junction 2 on the M50, a group of protesters was filmed blocking its path.
A woman accompanying a man streaming the incident live urged people to “block them, block them”.
The man then addressed his 160 or so live viewers at the time, telling them: “You can see here the guards tried to get away. The community isn't having it.”
Mr Gallagher believes this sort of behaviour needs to be tackled as it happens.
“We are in a changing environment,” he said. “There should be reserve units patrolling areas where demonstrations and marches are likely to occur.
“There needs to be an immediate response to protesters who block Garda vehicles.
“Blocking vehicles and other access is crossing a line and putting it up to the State and taking over the powers of the gardaí.
“This has to be nipped in the bud and tackled straight away.”
Mr Gallagher also questions Simon Harris’ recent vow, while interim Justice Minister, to get sentences for assaults on gardaí and other emergency service workers increased.
He told the : “It is positive that he has looked at it but that is just a bit of sensationalism on the part of the Government to make them appear like the party of law and order.
He said there was already law under Section 19 of the Criminal Justice Public Order Act.
That is an assault on a police officer in the due execution of his or her duty and it now carries a seven-year term.
“But — and I have had experience of this — the DPP doesn't always select that because they will go for a case that's easier to prove,” he said.
“So, regardless of what sentences were increased by Mr Harris, (who is no longer the Minister for Justice) it is important to note that they’re not even utilising the legislation that’s already
there for stronger penalties.
“Added to that, if mandatory sentencing in relation to certain existing offences were adhered to, we'd also be better off.”
Mr Gallagher recalls a gradual rise in soccer hooliganism while managing policing at events including soccer games in the capital.
“There are a number of behaviours you notice and one of the main ones is the way groups of supporters link up with each other to combat other combinations of supporters’ groups.
“We successfully stopped that from happening, but it was an ongoing thing.
“The same linking up goes for far-right groups — they seem to be linking up with each other in this country and we, of course, saw the arrival of [far right agitator and self-styled 'journalist'] Tommy Robinson.”
The founder of the English Defence League posed, shortly after he arrived in Dublin, with a convicted criminal.
“While I am not saying that there is a definite link between the far right in Ireland today and soccer hooliganism, I mention hooliganism in this context because the behaviours are potentially very similar,” Mr Gallagher said.
“It is of course not at this level yet as the groups are small, but it needs to be monitored closely.”
He is careful to stress he does not think gardaí should treat far-right protesters exactly as he and his team of officers, who oversaw Garda event management at Dublin’s Fitzgibbon Street Garda Station, treated soccer hooligans.
But he says gardaí have their own tried-and-tested playbook for dealing with on-street troublemakers, hell-bent on what he saw at the time as “calculated aggression”.
Local gardaí policing games likely to attract violence at big Dublin derbies, were backed up by mounted police and dog units were specially drafted in for so-called Category A matches where they expected violence.
They also had public order units on regular stand-by, and they made sure that each match was adequately staffed so that gardaí attending were well protected.
“We nipped things in the bud and brought matters under control,” he said.
As far as far right agitators who relentlessly film other people in public, he says this kind of intimidatory behaviour also needs to be dealt with.
“There is a form of harassment in this kind of conduct, of deliberately antagonising someone for a reaction,” he said.
“Sticking a phone in somebody’s face and urging people to remember their face could be interpreted as incitement.
“Taking it even further, as some individuals have, and asking their viewers to track down people, and this sort of thing really needs to be tackled.
“They should be lifted and then brought into court and conditions put on their bail preventing them from doing that.
“The laws around this kind of intimidation need to be tightened or replaced, as should the laws around things like roadblocks and other actions to block access for whatever purpose.
“The far right needs to be sent a strong message that their behaviour is just unacceptable, and the State isn’t going to put up with it.”
Mr Gallagher, whose bravery awards include a Walter Scott Medal of Valour for confronting armed raiders in 1993, believes Commissioner Harris needs to be far clearer on what is the force’s policy with regards to the far right.
“The policy is ‘softly softly’ and, to a certain extent, it works but there has to be a backup policy, and it has to be supported,” he said.
He also said that one of the reasons for the gardaí’s current method of handling demonstrations is the fact that it is, in his words, so “risk averse”.
“I think that the guards are risk averse to take action simply because they're afraid of the consequences from intensive monitoring from too many oversight bodies,” he said.
“The right-wing demonstrators are pushing boundaries. They know the guards aren't going to react to provocation and they are testing that resolve and they are pushing it.
“They are becoming braver and more confrontational and that's the build-up to what could be coming down the tracks.”
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