Diverse Republic

The Republic of Ireland has changed much in the last few decades. It has become much more socially liberal, urban, secular, and wealthy. It has also experienced large-scale immigration during a period when the political parties in other Anglophone and European countries have seen the exploitation of anti-immigrant nativism by some political mainstream parties as well as by the far right.

Diverse Republic examines, as part of a wider focus on how immigration has changed Irish society, the emergence of anti-immigrant far-right groups through a focus on some key figures within these. It also considers the response of mainstream politics to immigration and examines efforts to encourage the integration of newcomers.

The first part of the book examines how Irish society and identity have changed since the foundation of the state. This is relevant to the second part, which examines how and to what extent far-right anti-immigration politics are likely to flourish or not in the Irish case.

The second part of the book examines the appeal of far-right political responses to immigration in a context where some Irish citizens no longer appear to be represented by the political mainstream, and where nativist populists lay claim to the symbols and heroes of the Republic.

Diverse Republic makes the case for proactive measures to promote immigrant integration and social cohesion through citizenship, social policy, and community development. It engages with shifting nationalist understandings of Irishness and makes the case for taking these seriously, even if anti-immigrant nativist nationalism has found only fringe support in Irish politics to date.

The symbols and history of what has become a diverse Republic should not become the property of those who would exclude some of its citizens.