From top: members of Masi (Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland) in Roosky yesterday; Bryan Wall

Yet another attack on a proposed direct provision centre in Roosky is indicative of the hate and fear bubbling under the surface of Irish society. It is one thing to feel upset at having a direct provision centre placed in your town or village.

The tendency seems to be that this is done without any consultation with the local population. But it is an entirely different matter to want to firebomb a building that is due to house asylum seekers. This is especially so given that the building had a number of staff in it at the time.

There has been a noticeable uptick in the far right here. Their talking heads are appearing more and more frequently on social media and their talking points are appearing more and more often in the comments sections of websites.

And, what’s more, they appear to be having some success. Anger at government idiocy and greed is being redirected by these same proliferators of hate. Some are likely only opportunists.

Climbing aboard a far-right political movement is just a ladder on the way to social and political influence; at least that’s how they see it from their optimistic point of view.

But others do indeed have nothing but contempt and hate for any person whose skin is not the appropriate shade of white. There is also an overlap in their beliefs between this racial essentialism and the idea that the world is under siege from a malign communist conspiracy.

Asylum seekers, in their minds, are the demographic foot soldiers here to wipe out the white race. Anything to the left of Mussolini is considered “Marxist” is some shape or form.

Marxism appears in scare quotes given the consistent misunderstanding, likely intentional, of Marxism and its various offshoots. Somehow, in their world, Ireland has become a dictatorship of the communist Cultural Marxists.

The same people who will tell you that Leo Varadkar and pals are planning to eliminate the native Irish by means of mass immigration are the very same people who likely think Habermas is a kind of sausage.

Often unspoken, but obvious to anyone who understands the history of Marx and Marxism, in the conspiracy theory surrounding Cultural Marxism is that it is really about anti-Semitism.

It is not simply that the Frankfurt School was just made up of neo-Marxists like Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer. They were also Jewish. And with that in mind, we are simply rehashing the 19th century conspiracy theory about Jewish plans to rule the world.

Now, though, it has been updated to include anything which involves fighting for equality and offering refuge to people desperately in need of it. It has become unfashionable (thankfully) to be anti-Semitic.

More insidious forms have to be used. Hence we get the conspiracy of Cultural Marxism. The anti-Semitism is not blatant, but it is there as soon as you understand the history of Marxism.

What does this have to do with Roosky? It is the same playbook.

Insist that there is a conspiracy. One is to colonise the physical landscape of Ireland; the other a move to colonise the minds of people with Cultural Marxism. The solution is simple. Both forms of colonisation can and must be stopped. One by aggressive reeducation and the other by sheer aggression.

What happened in Moville and Roosky is a case of the latter. Any person who does not adhere to this strict dichotomy is a Marxist of some shape or form and can therefore be dealt with accordingly.

The faux Yellow Vests who have emerged here perfectly illustrated that point in the last few weeks. At one of their protests some anti-fascist activists appeared. A number of the Yellow Vest protestors, none too pleasedabout this, made it quite clear that anything anti-fascist was not welcome at their protest.

This, of course, is in keeping with their active support of Ben Gilroy and the support given them by various far-right YouTube personalities. The same personalities who believe that a single figurehead is needed for people to rally around in order to restore Ireland to

Elsewhere a spokesperson for the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) told me that asylum seekers in direct provision are afraid.

MASI believe that it is possible that direct provision centres with asylum seekers already living there will be targeted eventually. This would seem to be the next step in the actions of the arsonists.

As MASI bluntly put it, “They might be plotting more because they are getting away with it.” MASI, of course, are correct. So far no arrests have been made and the Gardaí have not named any suspects.

In the meantime, asylum seekers will have to live in fear as the far right continues its rise throughout Europe. Anti-racism rallies, as uplifting as they may be, are ineffectual against true believers.

The people who are convinced that the world is engulfed by a conspiracy to eliminate white people will not be swayed or frightened by a rally or march. Liberals in Europe and the US have a particular disdain for anti-fascist activists, often calling them just as bad as fascists.

This, of course, is nonsense as well as being profoundly ignorant of history. Presumably these same critics of Antifa could be found in 1923 telling their contemporaries to ignore the loudmouth in the local Bavarian beer halls.

What they fail to understand is that fascism, whether it is nascent or fully formed, does not wince before a well-thought-out criticism.

In fact, it welcomes it as it offers the veneer of respectability to be able to engage in debate. After all, aren’t those who choose violence over debate clearly savages?

Fascism was not smashed with the use of harsh language. It was smashed by those willing to take on fascism directly. It is no accident that our current far right are so terrified of the spectre of anything red. It was the Red Army who largely crushed the German war machine in 1945.

Asylum seekers are a minority of a minority in this country. They want do nothing more than to live in peace. And that is impossible given both the tyranny of the direct provision system, and the fear of an upsurge of far-right violence.

The fire of the far right can only be put out by direct action Until that time has come to pass, none of should sleep peacefully.

Bryan Wall is an independent journalist based in Cork. His column appears here every Monday. Read more of his work here and follow Bryan on twitter:  @Bryan_Wall

Pic: MASI

Earlier: You’re Not From Around Here, Are You?