I Am Mic’d

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Last night, RTÉ Two’s documentary I Am Immigrant featured Peter O’Loughlin, of Identity Ireland.

The programme included footage of Mr O’Loughlin launching anti-Islamic group Pegida Ireland in Cork city on January 29.

At the launch, Mr O’Loughlin was accompanied by Ian Peake, from England but living in Kilkenny, and Tommy Robinson, the former leader of the English Defence League and a leading member of Pegida UK.

One of the aims of the Cork launch was to announce that they would be holding a Pegida demonstration in Dublin the following week, on Saturday, February 6 – as part of simultaneous demonstrations that were to be held across Europe.

A counter anti-racism demonstration – in response to the Pegida Ireland launch – was also organised to take place on O’Connell Street on February 6.

Before the meeting in Cork appeared to begin, Mr Peake is filmed saying:

We’re perfectly reasonable people, you know, we’re not facist, we’re not violent, we’re not trying to, we don’t go to meetings and shut people down like they try and do. That’s not how freedom of speech really works or democracy should work really, should it.”

Then a man, identified by the documentary’s narrator as a ‘protester’, arrives to attend the launch and the following exchange occurs.

Man: “I’m a member of the public, I’d like to see what’s going on. Is that ok?”

Ian Peake:No, because it’s a private meeting, now fuck off.”

Man: “Excuse me.”

Peake: “Yeah.”

Man: “Don’t get aggressive with me.”

Peake: “I’m not getting aggressive with you, I’m just telling you how it is. You’re not welcome, sit down and shut up then.”

Man: “Don’t speak to me like that.

Peake: “I’ll speak to you how I want.”

Man: “Ok.”

Peake:If you don’t like it, stop me. Mope.”

Immediately after this exchange, Peter O’Loughlin and Tommy Robinson shared a conversation which was recorded off camera but on the microphone.

This is what was said:

Peter O’Loughlin: “Ah, Ian. I know they’re gonna pick up on that.”

Tommy Robinson: “They got all that on camera.”

O’Loughlin: “Oh god, I know.”

Robinson: “Stay calm all the time. If the camera’s not there, fucking punch the geezers ’round the head.

Later in the documentary, a transcript of a short conversation between Mr Robinson and Mr O’Loughlin is subtitled on the screen. It’s unclear when and where this was recorded, but this is what was said:

Robinson:You wanna be seen as the victims. You want people viewing you like, fucking hell, look at how they’re getting treated. Give them a chance, do you know what I mean?”

O’Loughlin:They’re going to say that they attack us and then they attack us, so we’ll catch them.”

Robinson: “Everyone likes an underdog.”

O’Loughlin: “Of course. And we’re the ultimate underdog throughout history. As long as the gardai are there ’cause it’ll help drive the gardai into our camp.”

The documentary then jumps to a week later when Mr O’Loughlin, Mr Peake, and a handful of supporters are in Dublin for the Pegida rally.

They were on the Luas, with the documentary’s camera crew, when several people appeared to attack Mr O’Loughlin and his supporters with Mr O’Loughlin emerging with a bleeding forehead.

On camera, one of Mr O’Loughlin’s supporters claimed up to 20 or 30 people attacked them but it’s impossible to judge from the footage. The faces of the attackers, as they leave the Luas, were blurred out – as were the faces of the other passengers.

Following this incident, the documentary returned to the Pegida rally and the anti-racist counter demonstration on O’Connell Street – where there was a large Garda presence.

The documentary then showed a clash between the Pegida supporters, the anti-racist protesters and gardaí on North Earl Street.

The narrator explains:

“A group of Polish Pegida supporters have come to the rally. As they wait for Peter O’Loughlin, they are spotted by counter protesters. After being barricaded into a shop by the counter protest, the Pegida supporters are taken away by police.”

The footage showed some of those people taken away by gardaí in handcuffs.

The documentary didn’t mention a garda had injured an RTÉ cameraman.

Watch I Am Immigrant in full here.

Related: Fascists coming over here and stealing our racists – eyewitness Pegida by Bairbre Flood (The Bogman’s Cannon)

Previously: A Day At The Racists

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41 thoughts on “I Am Mic’d

  1. Medium Sized C

    White christian western-european males.
    The ultimate underdog…… throughout history.

    1. Ivor

      Slight sidenote, but I’m always curious to see Irish people talking to Irish people about how white people are historically privileged. Within the context of the history of this island, for those of us whose ancestors did not leave, being white provided no privileges whatsoever because the vast, vast, vast majority of people we’d meet were all white as well. I think I was about 15 before I met a non-white person and that was an African missionary.

      Point being, there’s a tendency for liberal Irish folk to import the language and ideas of other countries (UK, USA etc) without actually seeing if it’s useful in an Irish context. Only 1.5% of the population is black, about 2% of people are Asian and over 95% are white. Talking about white privilege within that context is puzzling.

      1. MoyestWithExcitement

        Because you’re not importing language and ideas from other countries by using the term ‘liberal’?

        1. edalicious

          But, in fairness, “liberal” is useful in the context he used it. Which is kinda the point he was making, which you appear to have missed.

    1. classter

      Exactly.

      Also, worried about foreign influences impacting upon our culture.

      Yet are happy to import a strain of ugly, right-wing activism from the UK which we have (largely) managed to avoid thus far.

      I am a lot happier to see burkas/ipeles/dreadlocks/kippahs than I am see tight Fred Perry & Ben Sherman.

  2. rotide

    This show is basically broadsheet porn.

    and people say RTE don’t make anything worthwhile….

      1. rotide

        Do you condemn the violence used aga…….. hahahaha, wait who I am kidding asking you that question.

  3. Tish Mahorey

    The relationship between Robinson and O’Loughlin is like a microcosm of how mainstream political parties work with foreign backers (merchant banks, US diplomat missions, large corporations, etc).

    The local yokel is guided and financed in their role as a facilitator for an unseen interest.

      1. Tish Mahorey

        No.

        Like Michael Noonan doing the bidding of IMF and ECB to protect bond holders instead of Irish citizens.

        Like Fine Gael MEPs backing TTIP and defending its entirely undemocratic attack on sovereignty.

        Like Senator Ronan Mullen engaging with American Catholic extremists trying to influence our laws.

        Like Alan Kelly and other Labour and Fine Gael TDs pushing through water charges in preparation for privatisation financed by merchant banks.

        Like Fine Gael introducing a Capital Gains Tax exemption for US Vulture Funds on the sale of properties they hold for seven years – which also benefits Irish property speculators.

        1. DubLoony

          “Like Alan Kelly and other Labour and Fine Gael TDs pushing through water charges in preparation for privatisation financed by merchant banks.”

          Water charges concept were introduced by FF as part of the IMF deal.
          The idea was that it was about “cost recovery” of providing water services.
          Phil Hogan of FG made a complete b**ls of it with his attitude.
          Alan Kelly in water services act 2014 enacted the need for a plebiscite to change ownership of it.
          Right now, the people own Irish Water and it will the people who decide if its every sold or abolished.

          1. jungleman

            That legislative amendment is useless and can easily be amended by parliament. You’re such a labour-head! Tish needs to be called out for the SF bias but you are also completely biased in favour of labour.

        2. Rob_G

          Like the $12m that SF got from the States? Not to mention all the free eye surgeries, etc.

  4. Owen

    Brits out.

    And before you remove that BS, I could potentially be making a reference to Brexit…….

  5. Eoin

    It reminds me of the skinheads and the brown shirts. Thugs and the brains behind them. These anti-Islamic organisations are all headed up by scumbags and thugs. But the more bad press Islam gets the more these groups will get peopled by regular, albeit fearful people. Then what? What happens when smart, law abiding, mainstream people start joining these groups? Won’t be so easy to demonize them then. And will there be left wing mobs attacking these people at protests? Is it right to attack people for being scared? And this is all about fear of Islam. We just had a poll the other day with over 50% saying anti-Islamic protest should NOT be banned. This is not a black and white, racist scumbag versus regular Joe issue anymore. There’s a lot of grey in this.

    1. Tish Mahorey

      Sounds like you support the racists Eoin and you’re doing a bad job of blurring the issue to hide the fact.

      There IS a lot of grey in this. Grey haired men over 40 who can’t cope with seeing other races living next to them.

    2. MoyestWithExcitement

      There’s no grey in it. It is your responsibility as a civilised adult to think rationally and not lazily indulge your primal instincts. Every action is a decision. People do bad things because they have bad thoughts, especially when those bad thoughts are validated by the mainsteam. People should feel too ashamed to utter racism and bigotry in public.

  6. Joss

    Surely the title should have been #iamirishandofnoncaucasianethnicityand/oraracistsleeveenwhohangsaroundwiththugs. Although that would have only left 51 characters in yer tweet for comments, spaces, and emoticons.

  7. Nigel

    Robinson: “Stay calm all the time. If the camera’s not there, f**king punch the geezers ’round the head.”

    Solid media strategy, in fairness.

  8. Gary

    The Irish left wouldn’t bate eggs. As for the hardcore right …hahahahaha. Both groups equally pathetic.

    1. Rob_G

      Agreed. A bunch of intolerant gobsh1tes attacking another bunch of intolerant gobsh1tes.

  9. kingo

    I often partake of a libation in the ale house where the polish pegida boys sought sanctuary. I arrived a few minutes after I left. glad I wasn’t there.

  10. Owen C

    “They were on the Luas, with the documentary’s camera crew, when several people appeared to attack Mr O’Loughlin and his supporters with Mr O’Loughlin emerging with a bleeding forehead.”

    Appeared? No, it did actually happen. Left wing thugs beat up Right wing thugs. The world is ultimately a better place when X-wing thugs beat up Y-wing thugs, but only when the beating up is balanced out against each other. Lets not downplay it’s occurrence (“appeared”) just because we seem to have some sympathy for one side over the other.

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