Links between Irish anti-immigrant groups and foreign organisations with similar aims are now a cause for grave concern.
As reported here yesterday, Irish organisations are now linked to groups such as the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM), which has been formally declared a terrorist organisation by the US State Department.
The fear is that links with such groups in the US, Britain, and Europe will facilitate the growth of the far right in Ireland through sharing information and funding, leading to more confrontations and more violence.
The ideological inconsistency in Irish groups attacking people from another country while utilising the money and expertise of people from other countries is obvious, but recent events in the North show the true colours of those who are ‘protesting’. reported this week that some far-right protesters from Dublin who went to an anti-immigration rally in Belfast spent the night drinking with members of the Ulster Defence Association — a loyalist paramilitary organisation responsible for hundreds of deaths during the Troubles.
If Irish organisations are benefitting financially from the support of groups such as NRM or the Ku Klux Klan, it is incumbent on the State to combat this threat to the rule of law.
This requires more proactive decision-making than we have seen so far: The laissez-faire approach to smaller-scale protests around the country in the last couple of years emboldened Irish bigots and racists who are now making common cause with mass murderers in the North.
In that sense, it was underwhelming to see the Government suggest a ban this week on the use of balaclavas designed to intimidate, a provision which could be tricky to implement in any case.
The energy put into such legislation might be better employed in amending the Proceeds of Crime Act to target the overseas resources being made available to the far right here.
That could be a more powerful deterrent than banning headwear.
Although it was a formality, such formalities still need to be observed.
US vice president Kamala Harris secured the Democratic presidential nomination late on Monday evening to become the first woman of colour to contest the presidential election. Her nomination became official after a five-day round of online balloting by Democratic National Convention delegates, with the party releasing a statement that 99% of its delegates had cast their ballots in favour of Harris.
The late withdrawal of Joe Biden from the race gives Harris just a few weeks in which to position herself as a viable alternative to challenger Donald Trump, but her entry has already changed the dynamic of the election campaign.
Harris is a former attorney general of California, and her energy and legal training would certainly make for an intriguing televised debate with Trump. Her nomination has also thrown up a different challenge to the Trump camp, which had been preparing until recently to confront Biden, who is three years older than Trump. In contrast, Harris is almost 20 years younger than Trump and, as an experienced lawyer, may prove a formidable opponent in open debate.
Yesterday, she selected Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, as her running mate. It can be easy to overstate the significance of such selections, but Walz looks a sensible pick.
He is a former teacher who once coached his school’s football team to win a state championship, and his unforced authenticity may be a significant plus in the election campaign —along with his experience in winning over Republican voters.
Walz certainly makes for an interesting contrast with JD Vance, Trump’s pick. Vance once described Trump as an “idiot” and “reprehensible” but is now happy to serve as his running mate. Expect that contrast to be pointed out plenty of times in the coming weeks.
As Ireland basks in the glow of Olympic success, it can only be a matter of time before a particular call is made.
Not for more funding for a specific sport, or for more facilities, but a far more ambitious call — for the Olympics to be held here in Ireland.
We have been here before, of course. When Gay Mitchell was lord mayor of Dublin back in 1992, he commissioned a feasibility study into the possibility of the capital city hosting the Games, with the Dublin International Sports Committee studying the matter in great detail.
It is generally forgotten now that the study was generally positive about Dublin’s ability to host the Games, though serious questions were also asked about the sporting facilities and general infrastructure in Ireland at the time.
Winning the honour of hosting the Games is a considerable achievement in itself, even if the history of how such decisions are made is not always an edifying one, with questions remaining about the selection of certain locations for the Olympics. Ireland would need to consider the legacy of the Olympics, as the Games are not always the shining beacon of transformation we hear about in the run-up to the event, when vast investment is necessary.
The Olympic Games of Montreal in 1976 remain the ultimate cautionary tale in this regard. When the flame moved on, the Canadian was left with a debt 13 times greater than the original bill, and it took Montreal 30 years to pay off that debt.
No wonder natives called the Olympic stadium there the Big Owe.
