Ireland faces the danger that the government has allowed the Muslim Brotherhood to “flourish unchecked,” Senator Sharon Keogan this afternoon told the Seanad. The Senator called for an investigation into the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Ireland.
The Muslim Brotherhood is considered a terrorist organisation by several governments; it is widely considered to hold the aim of remaking society along Islamist lines. Independent Co Meath Senator said that the organisation had a “concerning footprint” here.
It was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna with the explicit goal of re-creating a unified state for all Muslims – the Caliphate – governed by sharia law. Its Palestinian branch is the terror group, Hamas.
Senator Keogan today claimed that the government had failed “to acknowledge, let alone, address” its impact in Ireland.
Her comments follow the closure of Ireland’s largest mosque, based in Clonskeagh, Co Dublin. It has been shut since April due to concerns over alleged links between some at the centre to a more extreme and hardline interpretation of Sunni Islam, as well as alleged financial irregularities. The centre’s restaurant and grocery shop remain open, with a protest taking place at the weekend calling for a full reopening, with those including families holding signs which read: ‘Re-open our mosque.”
In a statement, the ICCI said the facility had shut “as a preventive measure to ensure the safety and security of the property, staff, children and members of the public”.
Meanwhile, the Irish Times reported in May that a senior official at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI) had been asked to step down over alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Senator told the Seanad on Tuesday: “The cause of my concern was last Spring’s closure of the Clonskeagh Islamic Cultural Centre. What appears to be a management dispute bears the hallmarks of a struggle between a leadership accused of brotherhood ties and their financial backers from the United Arab Emirates, who banned the organisation in 2013 following accusations of a coup plot.
“Indeed, the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council has raised concerns about Brotherhood ties at Clonskeagh. Let me be clear, this is not about religion. This is about transparency, governance and the ideological influence of a movement that is banned in many Eastern countries, most recently Jordan, where it is outlawed following a sabotage plot,” she said.
She continued: “Across Europe, it is heavily restricted and monitored. Yet, here in Ireland we face the serious danger that our government has allowed this ideological network to flourish unchecked. Before we can discuss prescribing or even restricting this organisation and its affiliates, we must know the truth – and currently, we are operating blind.”
Calling on the government to open a probe, Senator Keogan added: “I therefore call on our Government and our Minister for Justice to initiate a full investigation into Muslim Brotherhood influence in Ireland. We cannot afford to be naive. The safety, cohesion, and even the sovereignty of our Republic depends on it.”
Action from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which in January 2025 designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group, added eight UK-based organisations to its “local terror list” due to alleged links with the movement – prompting discussions in Britain about the nature of the Muslim Brotherhood’s network.
A UK government review into the organisation took place in Britain in 2015, but then Prime Minister David Cameron made the decision not to ban it. Mr Cameron told parliament, however, that membership of the group could be considered an indicator of extremism, and that aspects of its ideology and tactics were contrary to British values.