It is being argued that the tricolour has been erected across Irish communities as part of an anti-immigration campaign.

Labour Councillor for Dublin South Central Darragh Moriarty said that he has sought clarity from Dublin City Council about its policy towards “flags that are being erected, in my view, with hateful intent”.

“In recent months, particularly over the summer period, there has been a proliferation of the tricolour across some of our communities in Dublin,” he told The Hard Shoulder.

“I first became aware of it in the sort of Ballymun Finglas area, and then it started to creep into the North Inner City.

“It’s now in my area which I represent, which is the South Inner City, and I suppose it’s been creeping around our city and becoming more present.

“I think what’s notable about the flags is not the fact that people are putting up tricolours, they’re not looking, in my view, to celebrate our country and they’re very much looking to put up these flags to mark territory, in my view.”

A large Irish flag is waved by the crowd of anti immigration protesters at the former Crown Paints Site, which has grown this afternoon with masked youths in attendance. Photograph: RollingNews.ie

According to Cllr Moriarty, he believes these flags are being put up to “intimidate and harass people who aren’t Irish but who do live in this country”.

He said that if this is the case, action must be taken to prevent the Irish flag being used as a part of an anti-immigrant campaign.

“This is not a straightforward issue by any stretch,” Cllr Moriarty said.

“I’m not pretending that it is; it’s complex and it needs, from Dublin City Council, to be dealt with very very sensitively.

“How do you police intent? How do you police motivation?

“I think you’d start by watching the videos of the people putting them up and listening to what they’re saying.

“They’re talking about reclaiming Ireland, they’re talking about stopping the invasion; these are the messages that they’re sending when they are taking videos of these flags [being put] up.”

Main image: Thousands of protestors with Irish tricolour flags gather outside the Custom House during the National Protest for Ireland anti-immigration policy march in Dublin city Credit: Brendan Donnelly/Alamy Live News. 26th April 2025