A new anti-racism organisation has been formed to provide what is being described as 'a coordinated, community led response to far-right hatred'.

Communities Against Racism Ireland believes genuine community concerns over housing shortages are being hijacked by far-right activists.

CARI spokesperson Helena McCann said the new group is following in the footsteps of Dublin Communities Against Racism.

“We’re here from different communities to link people together and say, ‘You’re not on your own,’” she said. 

“We had so many people come in and say, ‘I feel so isolated, I feel like I’m a voice of one; when these protests happened in my town, I spoke out against them and I was on my own.’”

Ms McCann said many “brilliant” people want to stand up for refugees in their area but feel unable to say so. 

“Unfortunately, when it’s happening in your town and you’re saying, ‘No, this is wrong, this can’t be happening, we shouldn’t be doing this’, sometimes it can take the attention away from whatever the protest is and it can turn quite nasty,” she said. 

“So, we’re offering a support network throughout the country, so people aren’t feeling isolated.” 

There are roughly 80,000 Ukrainians who have fled to Ireland since the invasion of their country and a further 26,000 people lodged international protection applications in 2023.

Main image: A pro-refugee rally in 2023. Picture by: Photo Leon Farrell/Rollingnews.ie