THE English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson arrived in Dublin this week to a warm welcome from far-right campaigners.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is understood to be making a documentary about a surge of anti-immigration protests in Ireland.
Having served multiple jail terms for crimes including the assault of an off-duty police officer, he also lost a high-profile libel case in 2021.
Banned from many social media platforms, he updated his followers on the Telegram website to say he was visiting Dublin as a journalist.
“Just a quick message to Irish politicians, left wing nutcase activists and ‘journalists’ in mainstream media,” he posted.
“I invited myself to Ireland. I’m a journalist. I’ll go where I want. Just to set the record straight.”
Among the Irish supporters of Robinson is the far right activist Dee Wall, who has organised several anti-immigration protests in recent weeks, and said she would be proud to have him as a son.
It’s reported that gardaí are aware of his arrival and there are concerns his presence will further inflame anti-immigration protestors.
It follows a number of recent violent incidents in recent weeks, including the arson of a Dublin building that was wrongly believed to be intended for asylum seekers, as well as an attack on a camp used by migrants in Ashtown, Dublin.
Paul Murphy, a People Before Profit TD for Dublin Southwest, called for a protest on Saturday against the "British Fascist Tommy Robinson" arriving in Ireland "to support his allies".
