East Wall And Fermoy Protests

Protests across Ireland started in early November 2022 after the development of sites in various parts of the country as temporary refugee shelters by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), as it attempts to accommodate the influx of 65,000 refugees during 2022. In Kill, County Kildare, plans to house immigrants in an equestrian centre lead to several protests, following one of which there was a fire. Similar protests were held later in the month in East Wall, Dublin over the housing of approximately 80 refugee men in a converted office block in the area. Days after, a protest and subsequent counter-protest was organised in Fermoy, County Cork over the housing of 62–70 refugees in a local convent.

The protests raised similar concerns over refugee selection discrimination and the lack of provision of prior information to the original residents of the areas. Some protestors have questioned the lack of women and children among the first asylum seekers to arrive in each area.

The presence of anti-immigrant protestors and members of the far-right at these protests been highlighted online and in the media. It has received much discussion by politicians, including debates in Seanad Éireann as well as a joint committee with Dáil Éireann. The protests in East Wall have been commended by Irish UFC star and celebrity Conor McGregor in a since-deleted Tweet, in which he criticised politicians' responses to the issue.

East Wall protests

The converted office block at the Two Gateway Building that is now being used to house refugees was formerly used by the ESB Group; it is to be managed by Gateway Integration Ltd for at least 12 months starting from December 2022. The DCEDIY cited the urgency of the situation as the reason why local consultation was not conducted in advance. A leaflet was subsequently sent out to residents providing further information.

Various reasons for the protest have been cited including: the lack of prior consultation with residents about the arrivals, the potential overcrowding of children's facilities, that the building is reportedly not fit for purpose, and the lack of women and children in the initial group, though local residents have described the protests as embarrassing. However, a North African refugee reported to ''The Irish Mirror'' that there is respect for the protestors within the refugee group and that they agree with them.

The only people staying at the building were around 100 single males who had arrived from Citywest and Athlone, or who were previously living in tents, but the DCEDIY said that the next group to move in would be families. Others have complained the government did not provide similar accommodation for people affected by the Dublin homelessness crisis.

The protests also quickly became used by far-right groups such as the National Party and Irish Freedom Party to promote their ideologies, including Euroscepticism and Irish ultra-nationalism. After videos of refugees arriving by bus spread online, it was used to promote racist and pro-Russian ideologies online, as well as at the protest itself, with shouts of " hang them" and chants of "get them out" directed at the refugees. Protestors and politicians have frequently mentioned that the refugees comprise Ukrainian refugees of the Russo-Ukrainian War when referencing the event, but the Department of Justice says that it has yet to determine the status of asylum seekers in the building and would ultimately deport any non-genuine refugees. ''The Irish Independent'' said that some refugees are Afghan, Somali, and Nigerian. The DCEDIY has said that they are not economic migrants, despite a claim made by the activist Ben Gilroy. One refugee has identified themselves as being Afghan and had fled from the Taliban.

East Wall Protest Committee

On 28 November and 5 December protesters blocked access to the Dublin Port Tunnel, leading to diversions, and a group of the protesters identifying as the East Wall Protest Committee have held further regular protests at the tunnel and on the East Wall Road, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays . On the night of 18 December, they also blocked traffic accessing the East-Link toll bridge, Samuel Beckett Bridge and Busáras. It is led by the solicitor, former Workers' Party member, and Irish Freedom Party associate, Malachy Steenson, who describes himself as a republican socialist. It includes far-right activists and not all residents support it. During protests at Amiens Street, a spokesperson for the committee, Nigel Murphy, said that the protests organised by the group are not against asylum seekers in the area, but they are about "treating them suitably and giving them accommodation which is suitable." The committee has told their activists not to have any political banners as they would be "rejected by residents".

The Committee paused their protests to meet with Roderic O'Gorman (the minister leading the DCEDIY), Paschal Donohoe (the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform), and another committee but Steenson said prior to the meeting that he had no intention of ceasing the protest, which resumed after the meeting, blocking traffic again on 2 December. A news report described Steenson and Hermann Kelly, leader of the Irish Freedom Party, also using the protest to speak out against the provision of tampons in the male toilets of Dáil Éireann, LGBT flags, the alternate anthem used by the Irish Rugby Football Union, Sinn Féin and its leader Mary Lou McDonald, local Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon, the EU, The Late Late Toy Show, and the " super woke".

Fermoy demonstrations

On 29 November, videos similar to those taken in East Wall were taken by local soccer team owner Anthony Cody showing more refugees exiting a bus in Fermoy, County Cork. Smaller protests on 26 November were instigated by Derek Blighe of "Ireland First" (a Telegram group with just over 3,100 subscribers) and attended by 70 people in the town over housing refugees in St. Joseph's Convent and he commended the East Wall protests in his address. He claims that the 62–70 Ukrainians were not from Ukraine and that the Russo-Ukrainian War is not a war. Concerns were again raised that there were only single men refugees, but all men were part of a family group.

In response to this, up to 300 people from Fermoy held a counter-demonstration '''Rally against Racism organised by ''Fermoy and Mallow Against Racism'' with music and banners to show support for the refugees and to discredit the first protest. At the demonstration, local musician Mo O'Connor performed his own composition, ''Homeland'', about Mexicans who had migrated to the United States, people in the community that run services supporting refugees gave speeches (like the local Sanctuary Runners, also available for refugees in East Wall), and local Cork politicians were there to support the event. Blighe said the counter-demonstrators from Fermoy were not from Fermoy and the counter-demonstrators similarly claim that the initial protesters are not from Fermoy and do not represent Fermoy.

The convent had been derelict for 50 years and refugees are also staying at the old Grand Hotel and in a separate church property as well.

Kill protests

From 7p.m. on 6 November 2022, protests and a meeting in a local GAA club were held by a group of locals of Kill, County Kildare over an equestrian centre earmarked for development as a transitional shelter for 350 refugees. It had been sold in 2017 after a major flood in 2011, being identified as a floodplain. Kildare County Council has also said the site is unsuitable and Mayor of Kildare, Fintan Brett, supports the protests, saying there is no lighting, ventilation and possibly without a sewerage system.

Concerns were also raised over lack of information, the possible lack of women and children (as there were no family units), and overcrowding, due to it increasing the local population by 10%. The protests passed without incident, but shortly after 8pm that day, a fire broke out in a shed in the rear of the centre and the incident was investigated by the Garda Síochána.

On the morning of Sunday 20 November 2022, a protest at Leinster House and an organised motorcade protest of between 100 and 200 vehicles from Kill to Naas and back was held by Kill locals. Roderic O'Gorman held a meeting with Kill residents over the site after the two protests that day.

One week later, on 27 November, further organised motorcades and other protests were held at the entrance. Fiona Forkan of the ''Kill Residents Action Group'' told '' KildareNow'' that she "spent three days ��trying to get a GP appointment" and said that there were fears about overcrowding for schools in the area. Forkan also says that she was told that it would only be Ukrainians being housed at the centre for a period of 12 months to three years.

"Ireland is full"

The phrase "''Ireland is full''" is a slogan that has trended on Twitter (as the hashtag "''#IrelandIsFull''") prior to these protests. It purports to suggest that Ireland does not have any more accommodation or supports for additional refugees. The DCEDIY projected a shortfall of 15,000 beds for refugees in December 2022 and admitted that there was mounting pressure to house 65,000 people. Despite this, in Fermoy there are only 19 families, 25 children and eight single women refugees, yet St. Joseph's Convent, where most are staying, can house 77 people with additional capacity allowing 150 people by the end of the year, according to spokesperson for the DCEDIY.

Similarly, while East Wall began housing around 80 asylum seekers, a spokesperson for the DCEDIY said "The capacity of the building at East Wall is 380 persons, made up of families and single adults seeking International Protection, on separate access-controlled floors." and that single refugees will not have access to the family floors. Residents have stated that this is not the case, that families and single guests are mixed, even for shower facilities.

Opponents of the "Ireland is full" hashtag have pointed to the 2022 census of Ireland, which showed that there were over 166,000 vacant dwellings in Ireland (not counting holiday homes).

External links

Joint committee debate on the "Refugee Accommodation Crisis"
on 22 November 2022

Ireland First

Fermoy and Mallow Against Racism
on Facebook

Kill Residents Action Group
on Facebook (Application required)

#IrelandIsFull
on Twitter

References

{{reflist

Refugees in Ireland
Right of asylum in the Republic of Ireland
Immigration to the Republic of Ireland
Protests in the Republic of Ireland
2022 in Ireland
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Humanitarian aid
Ukrainian refugees
Anti-immigration politics in Europe