Clout, kicks and clicks: Analysing the surge in anti-migrant harassment and violence in Ireland

25 September 2024

By: Aoife Gallagher 

The Dublin riots in November 2023 brought the violent backbone of the Irish anti-immigration movement to widespread public attention as the city descended into chaos and violence following a stabbing incident involving children. Since then, violence, intimidation and harassment directed at migrants, refugees and asylum seekers has increased and shows no signs of abating. In this Dispatch, ISD analyses 61 incidents of such activity recorded by analysts from 6 May to 16 August 2024.     

In March 2024, a group of young Irish men viciously assaulted and killed Croatian national Josip Strok in Clondalkin, Dublin. According to Strok’s childhood friend David Druzinec who was also brutally beaten, the two were targeted and followed for not speaking English.  

Strok’s murder came 15 months after a wave of protests against the housing of asylum seekers and refugees began to spread across the country, beginning in the East Wall area of Dublin city in November 2022. This mobilisation, coupled with the increased use of inflammatory and hateful language, triggered aggressive and violent confrontations targeting migrants. These attacks are often driven by rumours, falsehoods and racist tropes spread online, as covered in previous ISD analysis. These trends have continued and increased in frequency and severity, especially after the November 2023 Dublin riots.   

Between 6 May and 16 August 2024, ISD analysts documented 61 incidents of racist intimidation, verbal abuse or violence carried out against asylum seekers, refugees and migrants and people perceived to belong to these groups. These figures are based on recorded evidence posted online or in news reports; they likely underestimate the total number of such attacks around the country. In total, 70% of the incidents recorded by ISD were filmed by the person engaging in the abusive behaviour. 

Those engaging in this activity do so with perceived impunity; they often post their evidence online under their real name, apparently with little fear that they will face prosecution. Social media platforms are failing to take effective action against the promotion of content that clearly breaches their terms of service by inciting violence against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. Many offenders repeatedly evade platform bans by creating new accounts and continue to post online with ease in clear breach of platform policies.  

Violent attacks 

In late June 2024, a video believed to be filmed in Blessington, County Wicklow, circulated online. In it, two men film themselves driving a car at speed towards men in a field, while laughing and shouting “Get out, youse bastards. Get out!”; the men in the field, supposedly migrants, flee. After the video went viral online, Gardaí said they were “making enquiries to establish further details” about the incident.  

Figure 1: Categories (inner circle) and subcategories (outer circle) of abuse.

Figure 1 outlines the categories and subcategories of abuse, intimidation and/or violence documented for each incident. For each incident, the most severe form of abuse, violence and/or intimidation was first recorded (such as physical violence, property damage or racist abuse), followed by a secondary category. 83% of incidents involved overt racist abuse or intimidation being directed at the victim.  

In total, 31% of the incidents recorded by ISD involved acts of physical violence towards individuals or damage to their property. In three such instances, a vigilante mob attacked an individual after they were accused of serious crimes against children (including sexual assault and attempted kidnapping). As documented in previous analysis by ISD on these trends, the evidence supporting these attacks is often flimsy or non-existent. In one such example, a migrant man sustained a prolonged, brutal beating by multiple individuals on Dublin’s O’Connell Street after he was accused of attempting to kidnap children. Following video of the assault going viral online, Gardaí stated that they were not investigating an attempted abduction but were looking into the assault on the man.  

In another violent incident, Santia Osula, a young woman of colour who was born and raised in Waterford, was punched in the face on the Luas (the local tram system) in Dublin; her attacker told to her “go back to [her] country”. This assault happened just two weeks after Chinonyerem Okeke, an Irish citizen who has been in the country since she was 15 years old, was punched in an unprovoked racially-motivated attack on Dublin’s O’Connell Street. On the same day, the man who attacked Okeke was seen in a video posted online intimidating and shoving members of a group of Bangladeshi protesters taking part in a demonstration in the area. 

Targeting of asylum seeker accommodation and homeless encampments 

A common tactic for those engaging in these interactions is to wait at the entrance to International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centres to target those entering or leaving. Residents have been confronted, filmed without consent, asked provocative questions, accused of being criminals and racially abused.  

In total, 19 incidents documented by ISD took place in the vicinity of IPAS centres. In one such incident, a man entering the IPAS accommodation in Dundrum in Dublin is accosted by two individuals who ask him where he is from. When he says that he is from Palestine, the men accuse him of lying and call him a “bitch” for not staying to “fight for [his] country”.   

Figure 2: Breakdown of the locations where incidents took place.

A further 17 incidents took place at or near encampments where homeless asylum seekers were living. Since the state ran out of accommodation to provide to newly arrived asylum seekers, new arrivals have been provided with tents to live in. Many have chosen to pitch them by the Grand Canal, close to the International Protection Office on Dublin’s Mount Street; 6 of the 17 incidents recorded by ISD close to encampments took place around this location.  

Councillor Gavin Pepper, who has espoused various far-right^[1] perspectives in his long-running anti-immigrant campaigning, frequently posts videos from Grand Canal. He has repeatedly claimed that those living there are criminals and that housing asylum seekers is a “scam”. In one video, he is accompanied by a group of people who threaten and berate the people living at the canal.  

The remaining 11 incidents were recorded from encampments in other areas of Dublin including Phoenix Park, Phibsborough, City Quay and Saggart. Those seeking shelter have been intimidated while attackers often destroy their tents and possessions. ISD recorded two instances (one in Kilmacud, south Dublin, and another in Coolock, north Dublin) where sites were destroyed or set on fire shortly after videos were posted online identifying the locations of tents and confronting those living there. 

Platform failures 

These deeply disturbing trends highlight the role that social media plays in enabling this activity to be both encouraged and popularised. Far-right and anti-immigrant actors instruct their followers to engage in the harassment of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community, politicians, journalists, NGO workers and many others. Far-right influencers tell their supporters to record their interactions and then post them online where they are rewarded with online “clout” and further encouragement. Comments and replies on posts are commonly supportive of the practice and incite further harassment, abuse and violence.   

Figure 3: Participation of person recording the incident.

Video footage was posted online in 90% of the incidents recorded by ISD. In total, 70% of the incidents were filmed by the person engaging in the abusive behaviour (see figure 3). These videos quickly get absorbed by the global online far-right ecosystem where they are shared and retweeted by domestic and international figures on the far right and used as part of propaganda efforts to demonise migrants across the Western world.   

Image 1: UK far-right figure Tommy Robinson shares a video of a migrant being beaten in Dublin based on false claims of attempted kidnapping.

It is also clear that social media platforms are failing to take action against those who breach their terms of service around incitement to violence by posting videos of their encounters online, often under their own name.  

These platform failures can be clearly seen in the activities of Paul Nolan, who is responsible for more than 40% per cent of all incidents recorded by ISD. In one incident, Nolan approaches two men drinking beers in a park in Sandyford and tells them to “get the fuck out of here” before kicking their beer bottles. He then aggressively chases the men out of the park and threatens to “cut” them if he sees them again. Nolan posted the video on X with the caption, “don’t let these animals near you’re [sic] kids”. On YouTube, the video received over 225,000 views and attracted thousands of hateful comments against asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants.  

Nolan posted the video that initially identified the homeless camp in Kilmacud, mentioned above. He appears to admit to the destruction of the camp in a subsequent video posted the following day, saying “now, we’re after ripping the whole thing down.”  

Despite repeated bans, Nolan has continued setting up new accounts on TikTok for his content. In many cases, he appears to have avoided detection using simple changes such as changing a single letter or number in his username. According to ISD’s analysis, at the time of writing, Nolan is currently on his 16th TikTok account.  

On X (formerly Twitter), Nolan’s first account was banned in July 2024 after he doxxed a man and posted a threatening video from outside his home in which the camera pans to show a bullet. Nolan was able to create a new account on X within three days, once again simply adding a digit to the end of his previous username. On 15 September, this account was also banned. Within hours, Nolan had set up a third account on the platform.  

On YouTube, videos on Nolan’s account had gained more than 6 million views in just five months often attracting comments that incite further violence against asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. On 10 September 2024, Nolan’s account on YouTube was no longer active, although it is unclear if he closed the account himself or if YouTube acted to enforce their policies. On 11 September, Nolan set up a new YouTube account where he continued to post his videos.   

On 6 September, posts online claimed that Nolan had been arrested. On the same day, Nolan appeared in a TikTok livestreamr^[2] where he talked about his arrest and the charges against him, which he called “fabricated”. From September 7, he was once again posting videos online showing him engaging in harassment.   

ISD put these claims to Nolan, who responded to our request for comment with an obscenity.  

Sitting ducks 

The current trends in violence and harassment show no signs of abating. Current government policy around the housing of asylum seekers, which is leaving thousands of people homeless on the streets, will continue to draw hostility to those seeking sanctuary in Ireland.   

The Department of Integration confirmed to the Irish Examiner that the practice of filming, identifying and harassing asylum seekers is illegal, saying: “People applying for international protection have a statutory right to anonymity under Section 26 of the International Protection Act 2015. The department also asks that members of the public respect the privacy of people seeking international protection, and to refrain from sharing images or information on any platform that may compromise their right to anonymity under the International Protection Act.” 

A lack of action from the Gardaí to prosecute people engaging in this kind of behaviour, even when they are posting evidence of their crimes online under their real names, is creating an atmosphere of vigilantism. Far-right agitators and their followers seem to believe they can act as judge, jury and executioner based on hateful and false narratives about asylum seekers and other migrants. While Gardaí have been present at IPAS centres during planned protests, a lack of ongoing presence at centres that are repeatedly targeted in this way means that residents are sitting ducks. 

All the while, social media platforms are adding fuel to the fire by creating an online environment in which those engaging in this activity can be rewarded with online clout and encouragement. The exceptionalism that, only a few short years ago, allowed people to believe that Ireland was not susceptible to the far right is now very much dead. Instead, extremists are increasingly emboldened and more than willing to engage in criminal activity and violence to achieve their goals.  

End notes

[1] In line with Dutch political scientist and far-right expert Cas Mudde, ISD defines the far-right as groups and individuals exhibiting at least three of the following five features: nationalism, racism, xenophobia, antidemocracy or strong state advocacy. 

[2] This video is no longer available to view on TikTok. ISD has a copy on file.