Identity Ireland


Identity Ireland is a minor political party in Ireland. The party has no representation at local or national level. It was launched in Dublin on 22 July 2015. Its founders are Gary Allen, Peter O'Loughlin and Alan Tighe. O'Loughlin, the party's national spokesperson, contested the 2016 Irish general election and 2019 European Parliament election.

Policy

Identity Ireland states that it favours Irish sovereignty and a return to the Irish pound. The party supports a controlled border policy in order to curtail the immigration that, it says, is putting strain on the Irish welfare system. It also supports more careful vetting of incoming asylum seekers. It supports the Irish branch of Pegida, and has joined the Fortress Europe coalition. It advocates the introduction of a two strike law for serious offences, as well as the re-introduction of penal labour. It supports keeping Ireland's neutrality. It is in favour of Brexit.

Elections

Before founding Identity Ireland, Peter O'Loughlin unsuccessfully contested the 2014 European Parliament election for the South constituency, with 1.0% of the first preference votes. He also unsuccessfully contested the 2015 Carlow-Kilkenny by-election, receiving 1.4% of the first preference votes.
O'Loughlin also ran in the 2016 Irish general election in the Cork North-Central constituency as an independent, where he came last with only 0.36% of first preference votes. O'Loughlin later contested the 2019 European Parliament election in Ireland, receiving 0.5% of first preference votes in the Ireland South constituency.
Another party member, Ted Neville, was unsuccessful as an independent candidate in four previous elections in the Cork South-Central constituency. He has appeared on television to discuss immigration, both as a member of Identity Ireland and as a member of the Immigration Control Platform group.

Status

, Identity Ireland was recorded in the Oireachtas Register of Political Parties, though as an organisation that had "not yet responded to commission's enquiries" by the Standards in Public Office Commission.
In November 2017, the Standards in Public Office Commission stated that no statements of accounts had been received from Identity Ireland, in breach of the Electoral Act.

Reception

Identity Ireland has been accused of being racist. Some of its press conferences and meetings, and its launch, have been disrupted by protesters.
However, the party claims that after its launch, membership went up by 25%, and that before the launch it had 115 members. Party leader Peter O'Loughlin was invited to speak at the first Pegida rally of 2016 in Dresden, Germany. In January 2016, the party was criticized for suggesting a local Muslim community leader be thrown into the Irish Sea. A spokesperson for Identity Ireland subsequently stated that it did not intend to advocate violence, and that the phrase "f@ck him into the Irish sea" was intended as a euphemism.

Election results

European Parliament