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In November 2023, the Dublin riots shocked Ireland and the wider world.
Sparked by an immigrant's knife attack on three children, inflammatory online rumours spread in minutes. Parts of the city were wrecked, cars and buses torched. In 2024, a proposed site for refugees in North Dublin was blockaded for months and subjected to repeated arson attacks, and many other sites were burnt out.
Until very recently, Ireland had prided itself on escaping the wave of far-right, xenophobic populism rampant throughout Europe. That complacency has been rudely challenged.
In Burn Them Out!, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc explores the long history that led to this moment. He uncovers the pervasive anti-Semitism of the Irish political elite in the 1920s and '30s, the energetic efforts of Oswald Mosley and other British fascists to extend their movement to the North of Ireland, the IRA's alliance with Nazi Germany in the 1940s and the many ultra-Catholic, anti-communist Irish movements that flirted with fascism. The openly-fascist Irish movement known as the Blueshirts, an integral part of the early Fine Gael party, is looked at with fresh eyes, and its supporters' statements about Jews now make for hair-raising reading. Many of its proponents went on to become pillars of the Irish political and cultural establishment.
Ó Ruairc also investigates carefully the recent history of the far right in Ireland, its equivocal relationship with arson and other violence and its chequered electoral history. This is an essential book about an aspect of Irish history all too often swept under the carpet.
Published | Apr 10 2025 |
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Format | Ebook (PDF) |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 336 |
ISBN | 9781035915262 |
Imprint | Apollo |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Start reading Ó Ruairc's excellent Burn Them Out and you'll quickly feel the cold breeze of yesterday's extremism and the fascist fanatics who tried and failed to pollute our country. By the time you finish reading, you'll freeze in realisation that fascism is back in Ireland with a vengeance and wonder did it ever go away?
Niall Quinn, former Republic of Ireland and Manchester City footballer
This timely and vital book illuminates the understudied topic of fascism in Ireland. Packed with fascinating stories, astute analysis and engaging prose, it is a valuable contribution to the history of fascism. Importantly, at a time when the international far right is once again on the rise, it is a reminder that fascism has always crossed borders with activists in one country learning from those in others. A fascinating and important lesson from history.
Dr Joe Mulhall, Director of Research at Hope Not Hate
Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc brings his customary level of scholarship and passion to this sordid tale of historic far-right attempts to undermine Irish democracy. Essential reading for anyone who might be tempted to underestimate similar threats today.
Myles Dungan, author of Land Is All That Matters
Essential reading for anyone who fears the rising tide of hatred and thuggery seen in recent years.
From the Foreword by Christy Moore
Burn Them Out is a meticulously researched and compelling examination of the history of fascism in Ireland, a subject often overshadowed by the country's broader political struggles. Ó Ruairc reconstructs the period's political climate, illustrating the tensions between authoritarian tendencies and Ireland's democratic institutions... If you want to understand the rise of the far right in Ireland, you need to read this book.
John Mooney, The Sunday Times
This book makes an extraordinary contribution to our understanding of fringe politics in Ireland, shining a light on overlooked and underexplored organisations and protagonists. Reading Burn Them Out! is vital to understanding the Irish dimensions of European extremism from the 1920s to the modern day.
Donal Fallon, historian, author and host of the Three Castles Burning podcast
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