Fuel protests show legitimate protests can be taken over by far right, Cork expert warns

Protesters on O'Connell Street in Dublin on the sixth day of the national fuel protests on Saturday.

The recent fuel protests across the country showcased how legitimate protests can potentially be co-opted by far-right actors, a Cork academic has warned.

At a media press conference regarding the fuel protests last week, justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said: “When you look online at present, you can see that many outside actors are seeking to manipulate these people for their own purposes.” 

The justice minister said the British right wing activist Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was “referring to and relying upon these protests to advance his own political measures". 

When he was asked if it was unfair to link comments made by Robinson to the demonstrators, Mr O’Callaghan added: “All I can tell you is Tommy Robinson, who has a big coverage and following online, is relying on referring to these protests, and I know the overwhelming majority of people protesting do not want to see themselves manipulated by people like Tommy Robinson."

Dr Yasmine Ahmed is from the school of society, politics and ethics at University College Cork (UCC). Her primary research focus is on the far right, along with its recent developments globally and in Ireland.

She told the  Irish Examiner “I think we had the chance to observe a pattern there. So that these protests are not inherently far right regardless of the organisers per se.

“The protests are around fuel cost, which is something that impacts everybody, directly or indirectly, because we have people driving their cars to work and to take their kids to school. 

So the protests are in itself not inherently far right. But of course, actors can engage with the protest and skew the focus of the protest.

Dr Ahmed said various articles had highlighted that national and international actors have joined the call for protest. 

"Which doesn't make them directly, openly far right, it is just when then the focus of the protest goes from the fuel in itself to other issues, that it can become co-opted by far-right actors. 

“From our own understanding and it's the way we saw it playing out in the past, is that there is a crisis and there are fears around a specific issue. In the crux where there is no clear action taken, sometimes these actors can fill those gaps.” 

In response to a query from the Irish Examiner, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said: “The right to protest peacefully is a fundamental constitutional right and one which must be protected. However, it is not an absolute right. That right must be exercised lawfully and must respect the rights of others.

“The blockades of critical infrastructure were directly impacting on emergency services and hospitals, as well as businesses and the general public, and were not a form of lawful protest. Some people may have attempted to escalate an already difficult situation.

“The manifestation of online disinformation and incitement as violent action in the physical world is of concern to the department and An Garda Síochána.

“It is the responsibility of An Garda Síochána to monitor and investigate such incidents as part of their operational response."