Election 2024: Fractured far-right candidates fizzle out
Count Far Right At Lazarov Picture: Wicklow Sasko Philip Dwyer The Centre Activist
Back in June, the man behind many of the large anti-immigrant protests in Dublin, Malachy Steenson, boasted the “revolution has begun”.
That was the “very clear message” he said of the results of the local elections — or at least of his election as councillor in Dublin’s North Inner City.
He had attracted 915 first-preference votes.
He told RTÉ: “It’s a fabulous result for the nationalist movement in Ireland, it’s a fabulous result for the people of Ireland. We are taking our nation back.”
He was one of two independents — the other Gavin Pepper — trumpeting an anti-immigrant and far-right cause that got elected in Dublin.
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Pepper, standing in the Ballymun-Finglas constituency, secured 1,126 first preferences.
He attracted a further 1,300 on transfers, including 930 votes from National Party candidate Stephen Redmond, and 293 from Leon Bradley, prominent in ‘Finglas Says No’.
The Ballymun-Finglas constituency saw a total of 2,875 first preferences for those three far-right candidates — almost 20% of the votes cast.
Two other seats went to far-right political parties — the Irish Freedom Party (IFP) and the National Party (NP).
Glen Moore of the IFP took a seat in Palmerstown-Fonthill, South Dublin County Council, and Patrick Quinlan of the NP took a seat in Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart, Fingal County Council.
Four far-right/anti-immigrant candidates got elected.
Another of the main characters in the fractured far-right in Ireland, Derek Blighe, almost got elected in the local elections in Cork.
He secured 915 first-preference votes and only fell at the last hurdle, just 120 votes behind the candidates above him.
While hardly a revolution, it was a start for the far-right and there was much talk in certain online forums that they could gain on that in the general election.
But looking at the main candidates and the various constituencies, their efforts failed to get very far.
Steenson got 1,602 first preferences in the Dublin Central constituency, or 4.9% of the vote.
It is possible, if not likely, that the decision of Gerry Hutch to stand in the constituency may have taken a good chunk of his potential voters.
When Steenson was eliminated, 1,200 of his transfers went to Hutch.
In the Dublin North West constituency, Pepper got 3,087 first preferences or 6% of votes. In the same constituency, Stephen Redmond (who transferred heavily to Pepper in the local elections) got 1,243.
Between the two, they made up 10% of the vote. But neither got far.
In Dublin South Central, four far-right/anti-immigrant candidates attracted 2,636 votes, around 7.5% of the total.
Barry Ward of the IFP got 849 first preferences, while Philip Sutcliffe of Independent Ireland received 801. Sutcliffe, a friend of Conor McGregor, was recently seen by his side going to court for his civil assault case.
In Dublin Bay North, which includes Coolock, which saw disorder and violence outside the old Crown Paints factory, set to house asylum seekers, four far-right candidates attracted around 3,500 votes — or 4% of the total.
Paul Fitzsimons of the IFP scored the most of them, with 1,865.
Elsewhere in Dublin, far-right candidates only scored in the 100s.
In Cork North Central, Blighe got 2,475 votes or 4.19% and lasted until count 7 before being eliminated with 2,915 votes.
In Cork East and Cork South West, far right candidates scored in the 100s.
In Clare Michael Leahy of the IFP got 1,282 votes or 2.10%, while in Limerick City, Dean Quinn of the Irish People party got 965 first-preference votes, or 2.29% of the vote.
Elsewhere in Munster, far-right candidates scored only in the 100s.
The leader of the IFP, Hermann Kelly stood in the Louth constituency. He attracted 2,546 first preferences, 3.9% of the total.
The fortunes of the far-right were reflected in how live-streamer and high-profile agitator Philip Dwyer did in Wicklow.
This constituency takes in Newtownmountkennedy, the site of tensions over the housing of asylum seekers, which bled over into disorder and violence last April.
Dwyer only got 435 first preferences.
While immigration was a major issue during the local elections, it did not feature in the general election campaign, with RTÉ exit polls showing that just 6% of people interviewed cited it as the main issue.
Sinn Féin councillor Daithí Doolan, who stood in the Dublin South Central constituency, said the far-right created a “toxic” atmosphere during the local election, but they did not succeed in whipping up the same division and hatred this time round.