Many will have been shocked at the violent turn taken by anti-immigration protests in Ireland in recent years, with calls to ‘burn them out’ of their emergency accommodation. Indeed, there have been several cases of arson. But, this is not the first time these tactics have been used by the far-right here. Assault, arson and even murder were all part of the toolkit of the Blueshirts in the 1930s.
While it may have lain relatively dormant since the mid-20th century, Ireland has a long history of far-right agitation, including by more-or-less explicit adherents to fascist ideology. This history is the subject of ‘Burn them out!’, a new book by Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc.
*** A version of this book review was first published in The Irish Times on 12 April 2025 ***
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