Latest news with #Blighe
The Journal
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Derek Blighe's appeal against public order conviction allowed after paying €500 to Irish Red Cross
ANTI-IMMIGRATION ACTIVIST Derek Blighe, who was convicted of a public order offence last year after he refused to make a donation to the Irish Refugee Council, has now been given the benefit of the Probation of the Offenders Act after the money was allocated to another charity. Blighe, of Croughevoe, Mitchelstown, Co Cork, was last year given the opportunity at Fermoy District Court to avail of the act by making a donation to the Irish Refugee Council. A conviction followed when he failed to donate the money. At a sitting of Cork Circuit Appeals Court in March of this year, his then-barrister Alan O'Dwyer said that it was 'purely a religious matter.' He said that his client's difficulty was with the position taken by the Irish Refugee Council on the repeal of the 8th amendment to the Irish Constitution in relation to abortion. Judge Helen Boyle told Mr Blighe that instead of paying €400 to the Irish Refugee Council, Blighe could pay €500 to Nasc. Nasc is an advocacy service which links migrants and refugees to their rights. Blighe indicated his willingness to make the contribution. However, Cork Circuit Appeals Court today heard that the money had not been paid to Nasc. When the case was first mentioned this morning, Blighe told Judge Boyle that his faith didn't permit him to donate the money to Nasc arising out of their stance on the unborn child. When the case came back before Judge Boyle this afternoon, she asked Blighe if he had the money in court. The 44-year-old said that he did and she directed that he hand over €500 to the sergeant. Advertisement Judge Boyle then directed that the funds be allocated to the Irish Red Cross. Blighe represented himself in court. Meanwhile, at a previous court sitting, Insp Jason Wallace said it was alleged that Blighe had engaged in threatening and abusive behaviour during an incident at Abbeyville House, Fermoy, on 22 December 2023. Witness Christopher Gomez said he was duty manager at Abbeyville when it was being prepared as accommodation for migrants and a protest by people opposing its use for this purpose had been taking place for several months outside. Gomez said he had ordered an oil delivery from a local company. When the delivery truck arrived at about 11am, he said Blighe approached the driver and spoke to him. He said Blighe then told him 'the driver's not going to give you oil' and the truck left. Gomez contacted the oil company and a second truck was dispatched. He opened the gates when it arrived and the driver began making the delivery. Blighe then began recording Gomez with his phone and the court was shown footage he uploaded to Facebook in which he castigated Gomez. In the video, Blighe can be heard telling Gomez: 'You are a guest in this country. Shame on you. You should be ashamed. You will go down in the history books, you will go down in the sewers of Irish history. Go back to where you came from.' Gomez said Blighe live-streamed the incident which 'really traumatised me'. He later downloaded the footage and provided it to gardaí when making a complaint. He said he had been an Irish citizen for 20 years and had 'never experienced anything like this before'. Garda Dane Murphy said he visited the protest at Abbeyville later that day and the atmosphere was 'borderline volatile'. He said Blighe made a cautioned statement regarding the incident on 9 January last, but replied 'no comment' to every question he was asked. Judge Roberts said he found the 'black and white' attitude towards immigration 'hard to understand' especially from an Irish perspective where generations of Irish people had emigrated and 'the vast majority of them illegally'.
Irish Independent
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Anti-immigration campaigner Derek Blighe given Probation Act after €500 payment to Irish Red Cross
Derek Blighe (44) of Croughevoe, Mitchelstown, Co Cork had objected to making a donation, as part of the Probation Act process, to specific charities on religious grounds after citing his faith and issues surrounding abortion. He was afforded the opportunity at Fermoy District Court last year to avail of the Probation Act by making a donation to the Irish Refugee Council. A conviction followed when he failed to donate the money. At a sitting of Cork Circuit Appeals Court last March, defence counsel Alan O'Dwyer BL explained that it was 'purely a religious matter.' He said that his client's difficulty was with the position taken by the Irish Refugee Council on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the Irish constitution in relation to abortion. Judge Helen Boyle told Mr Blighe that instead of paying €400 to the Irish Refugee Council he could instead pay €500 to Nasc. Nasc is an advocacy service which links migrants and refugees to their rights. Mr Blighe indicated his willingness at the time to make the contribution. However, Cork Circuit Appeals Court heard that the money had not been paid to Nasc. When the case was first mentioned, Mr Blighe told Judge Boyle that his faith did not permit him to donate the money to Nasc arising out of their stance on the unborn child. When the case came back before Judge Boyle, she asked Mr Blighe if he had the stipulated amount in court. The 44 year old said that he did and she directed that he hand over €500 to Gardaí. Judge Boyle then directed that the funds be allocated to the Irish Red Cross. Mr Blighe represented himself in court. At a previous court sitting, Inspector Jason Wallace said it was alleged that Mr Blighe had engaged in threatening and abusive behaviour during an incident at Abbeyville House, Fermoy, on December 22, 2023. Witness Christopher Gomez said he was duty manager at Abbeyville when it was being prepared as accommodation for migrants and a protest by people opposing its use for this purpose had been taking place for several months outside. Mr Gomez said he had ordered an oil delivery from a local company. When the delivery truck arrived at about 11am, he said Blighe approached the driver and spoke to him. He said Blighe then told him 'the driver's not going to give you oil' and the truck left. Mr Gomez contacted the oil company and a second truck was dispatched. He opened the gates when it arrived and the driver began making the delivery. Mr Blighe then began recording Mr Gomez with his phone and the court was shown footage he uploaded to Facebook in which he castigated Mr Gomez. In the video, Blighe can be heard telling Mr Gomez: 'You are a guest in this country. Shame on you. You should be ashamed. You will go down in the history books, you will go down in the sewers of Irish history. Go back to where you came from.' Mr Gomez said Mr Blighe live-streamed the incident which 'really traumatised me'. He later downloaded the footage and provided it to Gardaí when making a complaint. He said he had been an Irish citizen for 20 years and had 'never experienced anything like this before'. Garda Dane Murphy said he visited the protest at Abbeyville later that day and the atmosphere was 'borderline volatile'. He said Mr Blighe made a statement regarding the incident on January 9 but replied 'no comment' to every question he was asked. Judge Roberts said he found the 'black and white' attitude towards immigration 'hard to understand'. He noted that, from an Irish perspective, generations of Irish people had emigrated and 'the vast majority of them illegally'.
Irish Examiner
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Anti-immigration activist Derek Blighe has appeal against public order conviction allowed
Anti-immigration activist Derek Blighe had his appeal against a public order conviction allowed on Tuesday on payment of €500 to the Irish Red Cross. He was convicted originally at Fermoy District Court following his failure to make a €350 contribution to the Irish Refugee Council. In March, when the matter came up at Cork Circuit Appeals Court, his then barrister Alan O'Dwyer said: 'It is purely a religious matter.' He explained Mr Blighe's difficulty was with the position taken by the Irish Refugee Council on the repeal of the 8th amendment to the Irish Constitution in relation to abortion. Judge Helen Boyle adjourned the appeal until Tuesday for the appellant to pay €500 to Nasc, the organisation that advises migrants and refugees on their rights. And Mr O'Dwyer said the appellant would make this contribution. However, when the appeal was mentioned on Tuesday, Mr Blighe, who represented himself in court, said paying this contribution to NASC was against his faith because they had taken the same position on the abortion amendment. Judge Boyle let the matter stand at 11.30am and said she would return to the case later. When the case was called again at about 4pm, Judge Boyle asked Mr Blighe if he had the €500 in court. He said he had. The judge then directed him to hand it over to An Garda Síochána, which he did. Judge Boyle said: 'I am going to direct the sergeant to pay it to the Red Cross and thereafter to allow the appeal.' Mr Blighe said: 'Thank you, your honour.' 44-year-old Derek Blighe, Croughevoe, Mitchelstown, Co Cork, had, according to the evidence of Inspector Jason Wallace at Fermoy District Court, engaged in threatening and abusive behaviour during an incident at Abbeyville House, Fermoy, on December 22, 2023. Witness Christopher Gomez said he was duty manager at Abbeyville when it was being prepared as accommodation for migrants, and a protest by people opposing its use for this purpose had been taking place for several months outside. Mr Gomez said Mr Blighe obstructed an oil delivery to the premises and told him: 'You are a guest in this country. Shame on you. You should be ashamed. You will go down in the history books, you will go down in the sewers of Irish history. Go back to where you came from.' Video of these comments was live-streamed. As an Irish citizen for 20 years, Mr Gomez said he had 'never experienced anything like this before'.
Irish Examiner
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Blighe asks Electoral Commission to examine process to replace him as Ireland First leader
The anti-migrant campaigner Derek Blighe has asked the Electoral Commission to examine the process to replace him as leader of the far-right Ireland First group. Mr Blighe resigned from the Ireland First party in April, saying he wants to 'resume other ambitions' and 'cannot be involved in party politics at the moment'. Mr Blighe, a construction worker from Mitchelstown, Co Cork, said the past few years have taken a large toll on both his family and work life, adding: 'I must take this step now to focus on those closest to me and work on some new exciting ventures.' He ran for Ireland First in both the local and European elections last June, and also ran in the Cork North Central constituency in the November general election. He was eliminated in the latter on the seventh count. Mr Blighe was replaced as president of the group by Anthony Casey, one of the key figures in the Sinne na Daoine, an anti-immigrant 'patrol group'. Mr Casey had been a candidate in last year's local elections for the Irish Freedom Party, whose leader Hermann Kelly has described Sinne Na Daoine as a 'vigilante group'. In a social media post on Tuesday, Mr Blighe claimed that the election to replace him was invalid. He said the election of Mr Casey had only been attended by two committee members, including himself, meaning it was invalid. 'At that point, Ireland First had five committee members, and electing new leadership required a 61% majority — four out of five votes,' Mr Blighe wrote. 'When I asked where the other committee members were, I was told two had failed to renew their memberships, and the third had said he was too busy to attend. The vote proceeded, and both myself and the other committee member present voted in favour of Anthony Casey. In the weeks following the vote, it became clear something wasn't right. After speaking with two of the absent committee members, I learned that the memberships of two committee members had been cancelled by the party on February 13 — just three days before the vote — and that all three absent committee members were not informed of, or invited to the meeting. Mr Blighe said there had been attempts to resolve the matter in early May, but that the Electoral Commission had since undertaken an investigation and invited submissions from both sides. Mr Blighe said he has 'received a huge amount of abuse and attacks over the last few months' which had 'got more frequent and intense every time the question of the Ireland First leadership vote was brought up'. He said that he had made a criminal complaint in relation to this. In a subsequent post, Mr Casey said that he 'will be more than willing to attend the first sit down with Mr Blighe and relevant others'. A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said that an application to amend the party's register was being considered. 'The Registrar of Political Parties has received an application to amend the Register of Political Parties in respect of Ireland First. 'The application is under consideration and a decision will be published in due course.'
Extra.ie
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Extra.ie
Far-right campaigner uses photos of migrants to sell 'criminal identifier' spray
A far-right activist and former leader of an anti-immigration party is using images of immigrants in a bid to bolster demand for a self-defence spray he is selling online. The platform selling Farb Gel – a 'criminal identifier' spray – appears on a website set up by failed general election candidate Derek Blighe last month. He recently told his followers on Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, that the gel is a 'precursor to pepper spray legalisation in Ireland'. This is a reference to calls for pepper spray, which only gardaí are currently permitted to use, to be legalised. Mr Blighe has used images of immigrants in adverts for the spray that he has posted online. Pic: Defender 21 The Cork-based construction worker said: 'When carrying self-defence becomes normalised, they'll be forced to legislate to public demand.' Since launching the website, Defender 21, last month, Mr Blighe has used images of immigrants in adverts for the spray that he has posted online. The first advert he posted on the site – video stills from which we have included – shows a young woman walking down a street while being accosted by what appears to be three Irishmen. A young woman walking down a street while being accosted by what appears to be three Irishmen. Pic: Defender 21 In the video, the anti-immigration activist claims it is legal to carry Farb Gel in Ireland. He urges followers to buy the spray to protect themselves, 'because what's between you and your attacker could save your life'. But in later posts promoting the spray, Mr Blighe uses images and videos of men from other countries. Reposting a video from Italy, which purportedly showed a Moroccan man stabbing pedestrians, Mr Blighe comments: 'Knife attacks will become more commonplace in your future. I'm going to show you the best defence for a knife attacker, but deterrence is the best option. 'Get some Farb Gel self-defence spray at he urges his followers. Pic: Defender 21 In another post containing a still CCTV image of a black man carrying a barrel, he writes: 'Get yourself some high pressure self defence spray today, and put some distance between yourself and the dangerous threat!' Earlier that day, in a message beside a picture of the same man, he wrote: 'Naked foreign national caught on camera smashing up a dozen or more cars. Ireland needs mass deportations and remigration.' The former Ireland First leader, who is also advertising an anti-immigration protest in Cork next month, also used a post about a car being driven into a crowd in Germany to promote his spray. He tells followers: 'Terror attacks are becoming commonplace all over the western world. Defender 21 will offer you common sense strategies to keep you safe in today's world.' Mr Blighe reposted a video of an attack on a black man allegedly filmed in South Africa. Pic: Defender 21 In another social media message, Mr Blighe reposted a video of an attack on a black man allegedly filmed in South Africa. This post did not contain any promotion of his new product but was posted among his advertisements for Farb Gel and next month's planned anti-immigration protest. He wrote: 'If they can do this to their own, imagine what they would do to a white person! And does that level of violence suddenly disappear when they arrive in your country?' His website claims the Defender 21 'team' is 'passionate about your safety'. It states: 'Personal safety is becoming more challenging in today's world. From knife crime to sexually motivated assaults, kidnapping and home invasions, traditional self-defence methods need an update. We will bring you a range of solutions to deter potential attackers and keep you safe.' Derek Blighe. Pic: File Earlier this year, reported that Mr Blighe is under criminal investigation after he claimed – without providing any evidence – that a 15-year-old boy was allegedly 'gang raped' by a group of Roma men. The move to prosecute Blighe signalled the first move by gardaí to clamp down on widespread disinformation being peddled by well-known far-right agitators online. It came as senior sources revealed gardaí are being 'flooded' with referrals about potential breaches of the new EU Digital Services Act, whose main goal is to combat illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation. In recent months, gardaí have been forced to issue several misinformation notices after false claims were made by far-right provocateurs online. One of these notices was published the day after Mr Blighe posted on social media that a '15-year-old boy was allegedly gang-raped by a group of Roma Gypsy men' in Ballaghaderreen, Co. Mayo'. The subsequent Garda statement said there had been 'a significant degree of misinformation in circulation online'. Gardaí confirmed they did receive a report of an alleged assault in Ballaghaderreen, but said their probe did not involve foreign nationals. In February, Mr Blighe told his followers that 'armed detectives' turned up at his door because the post allegedly 'incited hatred against a group of people'. The failed general election candidate said he was invited to make a statement after a complaint was made 'about one of my alleged social media posts about an alleged rape of a child in Co. Mayo'. Mr Blighe claimed he told gardaí he had 'no interest in making a statement late at night when my two children are inside in bed'. He also said he was told by a detective that a file on the matter will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The far-right agitator previously told he would continue to post the addresses of proposed asylum centres online after several buildings linked with international protection accommodation were set on fire. He also said he wouldn't report arson threats made on his social media platforms to gardaí. According to the Incitement to Hatred Act 1989, it is an offence to communicate threatening, abusive or insulting material that is intended, or likely to 'stir up' hatred against a group of people because of their race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origins, membership of the travelling community or sexual orientation. The communication can be spoken, in writing, broadcast or part of a recording. However, as previously reported by there have been just 50 prosecutions in the 35 years since the law came into effect. In response to queries, Mr Blighe insisted the gel is 'a discreet self-defence product, which is completely legal in Ireland for self-defence purposes'.
