“Last month, Leinster House hosted a presentation by the Hope & Courage Collective (H&CC), the entity formerly known as the Far Right Observatory. The event, which was based around the H&CC’s new report Greater Than Fear, was organised by Green Party TD Patrick Costello and was attended by numerous political figures including Labour Party Senator Marie Sherlock and Fianna Fail TD James Lawless. Kerry TD Pa Daly and Senator Fintan Warfield, both of Sinn Fein, were also in attendance.
The meeting saw: politicians advised on how to deal with constituents opposing immigration into the area; a named feminist accused of working with “the violent far right thugs that we’ve seen burning down direct provision centres;” politicians lobbied to tighten regulations for social media; a claim that the H&CC is currently researching an election toolkit for politicians; and accusations that freedom of information requests and GDPR had been “weaponised” by individuals reaching out to schools requesting information on the new sexual education curriculum.
The presentation was given by Niamh McDonald and Helen Lowry of the H&CC. McDonald is a member of the Independent Left and was Chair of the Dublin Bay North Repeal the 8th Group. She previously ran unsuccessfully in Donaghmede as an Independent Left electoral candidate. Helen Lowry is a researcher for the H&CC, a part-time lecturer in Maynooth University, and a former Deputy Director of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland.
Deputy Lawless said that he “really welcomed” the presentation and that he was dealing with anti-immigration protests in his own constituency.
McDonald opened the presentation by claiming that the far-right in Ireland is defined by the presence of the following three characteristics: (1) Christian fundamentalism, (2) anti-science belief and (3) ethno-nationalism.
A major point of discussion was social media’s alleged role in propagating far-right ideologies. McDonald critiqued these platforms, stating, “If it wasn’t for social media these would be a bunch of lads, bigots in the pub, having a pint talking amongst each other.”
McDonald claimed that Twitter had become an unregulated site since its takeover by Elon Musk, saying that the group used to have a privileged relationship with Twitter, and all the other social media companies, when it wanted the social media site to remove material.
In closing the presentation, McDonald said that they are working closely with the CEO of Educate Together, Emer Nowlan, and various trade unions to support teachers when they receive criticism or protests regarding changes to the sex education curriculum.
McDonald described such criticism as “openly anti-LGBT” and “openly homophobic,” and that those involved were trying to “create a “moral panic…. it’s about creating fear, it’s about creating panic, and it’s about creating confusion.”
McDonald specifically named the Natural Women’s Council, Irish Education Alliance, Lawyers for Justice, Parent’s Alliance, and Hold the line as groups motivated by “a mix of Christian fundamentalism and conspiracy.” McDonald decried what she called a “very concerted campaign against BeLongTo and the National Curriculum Council” as purely designed to drum up fear. McDonald claimed that “what we are seeing is the weaponizing of freedom of information and the weaponizing of GDPR.”
Gript recently reported that BelongTo – an NGO which receives substantial funding from the Irish state – produced a handbook for teachers and youth workers which specifically instructs those professionals to lie to parents/guardians about their children.McDonald claimed that there is “a fear in BeLongTo…that they [schools] will just remove LGBT education” due to the intensity of opposition that is coming at schools from parents. She added that she is trying to create resources for principals to “talk to parents”.
McDonald, then displayed an image of feminist Jana Lunden. McDonald noted that Lunden was the founder of the Natural Women’s Council, before saying that Lunden “comes across as very middle class, extraordinarily respectable… that person will work with TDs and Senators, which I have seen her do, and work with the violent far right thugs that we’ve seen burning down direct provision centres.”
McDonald went on to describe Lunden as “the connective tissue between so-called respectability and the violent far-right on the ground”, adding “we’ve seen her stand on far-right platforms.”
McDonald went on to refer to Lunden as “a person who is a Christian fundamentalist.”
When McDonald’s claims were put to Jana Lunden she described them as “false and unsubstantiated…defamatory and scurrilous,” before stating that she had “instructed my solicitor in relation to same and I am assured they will be addressing the matter in early course.”
The Greater Than Fear report itself was based on interviews conducted in Oughterard, Ballymun, Newbridge, Westport, and Fermoy. Lowry shared insights from these interviews, quoting a participant: “Once you know their antics, you can see them coming,” to highlight perceived predictability in far-right activities.
She added that, “A small number of organized individuals have the capacity to mobilize and make it look like there are larger numbers involved.”McDonald said that the bulk of far-right content in Ireland came from a group of “about twenty-five to forty influencers, overwhelmingly male.”
She labelled them as “hate influencers” who exploit the internet for spreading their ideologies. Lowry claimed these influencers are only interested in “creating fear and absolute chaos.”
Whilst the About Us section of the H&CC website notes Uplift, the progressive petition site, as just one of multiple “partner(s)” of the H&CC it is Gript’s understanding that the H&CC is legally a part of Uplift.
The Privacy Policy page of the H&CC website is titled “Uplift Data Protection & Privacy Policy” and reads “The Hope and Courage Collective is managed by Uplift.” Siobhan O’Donoghue, who is the Executive Director of Uplift, is listed as the “H&CC Board Director” in the Greater Than Fear report.
The H&CC receives public money through Rethink Ireland and the Dormant Accounts Fund operated by the Department of Rural and Community Development. Its recent report lists the following funders: Katharine Howard Foundation; St. Stephen’s Green Trust; The One Foundation; and the Rowan Trust.”
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