Thousands took to the streets of Cork over the weekend for two very different demonstrations – one a pro-Palestine march and the other described as a ‘national protest for Ireland’.

Some 3,000 people joined the latter, an anti-immigration rally organised by Ireland Says No – which attendees said signalled a feeling in the country that ‘enough is enough’. 

Protesters, describing themselves as Irish patriots and nationalists, said they have two main grievances – ‘mass migration’ and a belief that they have been forgotten by the government. 

Footage of the march shows a sea of tricolour flags raised above the crowds, with chants including ‘Ireland for the Irish’ and ‘Whose streets? Our streets!’.

The rally’s lead organiser, ultra-nationalist Dublin councillor Malachy Steenson, said that the size of the crowd would instill confidence in people who were concerned about airing their criticisms.

‘We don’t care what Brussels says,’ he told the crowd, ‘we are going to take this country and run it for the benefit of its people.’ 

Speaking before local elections in November, he stated his view on how he felt this could be achieved: ‘We need to close the borders and stop any more migrants coming in.’

Recent figures show that Ireland is housing more than 33,000 applicants for what is known as ‘international protection’, up from 7,244 in 2017.

Some 3,000 people joined the anti-immigration rally organised by Ireland Says No – which attendees said signalled a feeling in the country that ‘enough is enough’

Pictures of the two protests showed how they were separated by a barrier

Crowds gathered for a Gaza solidarity march in the city on Saturday at the same time as anti-immigrant protests

Footage of the march shows a sea of tricolour flags raised above the crowds

Around 4,500 people are estimated to have joined the pro-Palestine march in Cork on Saturday

According to official statistics, the number of Palestinians who applied in 2024 increased by more than 700 per cent from the previous year – when the conflict in Gaza erupted.

The Irish government has been vocal in its support of the Palestinian people, officially recognising the Palestinian state last year and formally intervening in South Africa’s International Court of Justice case alleging genocide by Israel in Gaza.

Both decisions drew condemnation from Israel. The Irish government was asked whether its show of support would strengthen Palestinian asylum claims, but refused to comment.

The protests in Cork passed peacefully on Saturday, with police dividing the two marches with a barrier and organisers of each encouraging marchers to behave responsibly. 

Speaker Derek Blighe, the former president of the Ireland First party who failed to get elected to the Dail in November, told crowds that young Irish people felt they had no choice but to leave the country.

He accused the government of putting ‘diversity and climate and foreigners first’ and said that nationalists wanted to give the Irish diaspora ‘a homeland to return to’.

As many as 150,000 people moved to Ireland in 2023-24, Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures revealed, the highest number in 17 years. Around 30,000 of these were returning Irish citizens.

In terms of asylum seekers, alongside arrivals from Africa and the Middle East, 100,000 refugees flocked to the country following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

More than a thousand people joined a march in County Donegal’s Letterkenny last month

Dublin was engulfed in chaos following an spill-over of anti-migrant sentiment in November 2023

Each costs the country nearly £70 a day, according to estimates – a figure that has increased by a third in two years.

Last month, around a thousand people joined a march in County Donegal’s Letterkenny, while several hundred organised a counter-protest. 

Local independent councillor Seamus Treanor said people living in his ward did not feel safe in their own homes due to heightened levels of anti-social behaviour.

‘I want to get one thing straight – the reason we have a housing problem in this county is because our government opened our borders, and invited the whole third world to come in.

‘They came in their tens of thousands, and communities like Carrickmacross are suffering the consequences.’

At the end of last year the Irish Refugee Council revealed there were a record 3,001 asylum seekers homeless in Ireland.

Pictures of encampments in Dublin and reports last year that a former paint factory was being turned into accommodation for 550 asylum seekers sparked fury among anti-immigration campaigners.  

Gardai clashed with hundreds of people at the former Crown Paints factory in Coolock last July. 

Gardai officers deploy pepper spray at a protester today after fires were started at the former site of the Crown Paints factory in Coolock, north Dublin in 2024

A number of fires were started at the site and dramatic photos showed a digger in flames.

The police force charged 15 people in relation to the public order incidents at the north Dublin site.

In November 2023, right wing figures including MMA star Conor McGregor ramped up fury over online misinformation and unsubstantiated rumours that a Algerian migrant had stabbed three children outside a kindergarten in Dublin. 

During the November 2023 riots, a bus was torched by rioters who scrawled the word ‘out’ across its rear as it burned

Riots exploded in the city, with a bus and tram torched and property destroyed as around 500 thugs rampaged across the city.

Some of the rioters started a fire on the ground floor of a Holiday Inn Express following rumours that migrants were staying there. 

Others reportedly petrol-bombed a nearby refugee centre, with fire crews who responded being ‘pelted with projectiles’ and beaten with iron rods.

Police officers were also attacked, with around 50 sustaining injuries, while one cab driver was punched and dragged from his taxi.

To date, 85 people have been arrested in connection with the November 2023 riots, with 66 charged. 

One of four properties that was set alight and attacked in Ballymena last night after the attempted rape of a local girl sparked protests in Northern Ireland

While anti-immigration protests in Ireland have been peaceful in recent weeks, Dublin saw another wave of violence in February, again seemingly fuelled by anger over migration levels.

Shocking videos showed Dublin descending into chaos – with knife fights on the streets and mass brawls erupting in residential roads.

There were similar scenes of violence in Northern Ireland on Monday night. 

Anti-immigration riots erupted in Ballymena after two teenagers of Romanian descent appeared in court accused of attempting to rape a local girl.

Social media footage showed homes in Co Antrim on fire after a masked mob lit curtains after windows and doors of terraced properties in the town were caved in.

Four houses were destroyed after 2,500 people gathered in the Harryville area. Two more properties were also damaged and 15 police officers hospitalised.

Police have said the violence is being investigated as racially-motivated hate attacks.