In the shadow of Ireland’s emerald hills and historic struggles, a new and disturbing spectre has emerged: the New Republican Movement Ireland, an armed faction issuing death threats to politicians over mass immigration and the so-called “sexual indoctrination” of children.
But is this a genuine revival of militant republicanism, or a carefully staged operation that bears all the hallmarks of state entrapment?
As videos of masked, armed men circulate online under the banners of both the New Republican Movement Ireland and ICA Ireland, serious questions are being asked about Garda and PSNI involvement, the origins of the weapons, and the eerie parallels with past scandals.
The Ghosts of Liberty Hall: The Original Irish Citizens Army
The Irish Citizens Army (ICA) was born in November 1913 during the great Dublin Lockout. Founded by James Connolly and Jim Larkin to protect striking workers from police brutality, it was the world’s first socialist citizens’ militia. Armed initially with hurley sticks, the ICA later acquired rifles and drilled openly in the heart of Dublin.
Its iconic Starry Plough flag and its participation in the 1916 Easter Rising cemented its place in Irish revolutionary history.
Connolly’s vision was explicitly internationalist and working-class. The ICA fought not just for national independence but for a Workers’ Republic in which the Irish people – regardless of background – would own Ireland.
The idea that this same organisation’s name and symbolism is now being used to threaten violence over immigration would have horrified Connolly himself.
The Viral Threat: The New Republican Movement Ireland Emerges
On 28 November 2025, a video surfaced showing three balaclava-clad men seated in front of a tricolour. One read a prepared statement in a southern Irish accent:
“To the people of Newry, Mourne and Down: we, the New Republican Movement, have watched our councillors and MLAs… The level of disrespect shown to the people who put you into power cannot be ignored any longer… Your policies flooding our communities with undocumented military-aged men is not acceptable… The sexual indoctrination of our children in schools has not gone unnoticed… We have your addresses and know your movements. Every one of you are legitimate targets as of today.”
The video was rapidly amplified by prominent anti-immigration accounts including @real_eire (93k followers), Radio Genoa (1.4m), and Tommy Robinson (1.7m). Weeks earlier, a near-identical video had appeared claiming to be from ICA Ireland. Both used the same tricolour backdrop, similar weapons, and almost identical rhetoric.
Politicians from every party condemned the threats. PSNI launched a criminal investigation, and an online poll by @real_eire showed 62% of respondents believing the video was fake or staged.
Key Details of the New Republican Movement Video
- Date: 28 November 2025
- Weapons displayed: semi-automatic pistol, double-barrelled shotgun
- Targets: elected representatives in Newry, Mourne and Down
- Core grievances: mass immigration, “sexual indoctrination” in schools
- Spread by major international far-right accounts
- 62% of public poll respondents believe it is fake
ICA Ireland: A Perverted Legacy?
The use of the ICA Ireland name by anti-immigration hardliners is a deliberate and grotesque distortion of history. James Connolly’s ICA fought for the rights of the dispossessed – including migrants and the poor. To see its symbols and name repurposed for nativist violence is an insult to every striker who marched behind the Starry Plough.
Yet the tactic is clever: by wrapping themselves in the tricolour and invoking revered republican icons, these groups attempt to legitimise their threats and position themselves as the “true defenders” of Ireland. It is a playbook seen across Europe, where far-right movements hijack national symbols for exclusionary ends.
The Irish Defence Army (IDA) – Another Convenient “Far-Right Plot”?
Earlier in 2025, the so-called Irish Defence Army (IDA) dominated headlines after joint Garda–PSNI raids allegedly uncovered plans to bomb Galway Mosque and asylum centres. Explosive precursors (hydrogen peroxide, fuses, pipe fittings) were found, along with a manifesto and a video of masked men in front of a tricolour.
But the cracks in the official story were immediate:
- Arrests were carried out by a local drugs unit, not the Special Detective Unit that normally handles terrorism.
- No detonators or finished devices were ever found.
- Detailed leaks of the manifesto and video appeared in the media within hours of an in-camera hearing.
- PSNI involvement was announced after the fact, suggesting the “all-island” angle was retrofitted for political effect.
As one observer noted: “If this was Ireland’s great far-right terror conspiracy, it revealed far more about the appetite of the state and its media allies for manufacturing ghosts to hunt than it did about any actual extremists.”
Evan Fitzgerald: The Case That Should Alarm Every Irish Citizen
Perhaps the most chilling precedent is the tragic case of Evan Fitzgerald. In 2025, it emerged during an Oireachtas committee hearing that undercover Gardaí had supplied guns and ammunition to the 22-year-old Carlow man as part of a “controlled delivery”. He was then charged with possession of those very same firearms.
While on bail awaiting trial for 13 firearms and explosives offences, Fitzgerald stole another weapon, fired shots in a Carlow shopping centre, and took his own life.
Labour TD Alan Kelly directly challenged Garda Commissioner Drew Harris:
“Did undercover gardaí engage with this young man face-to-face prior to this delivery of guns and ammunition? … They knew they were not dealing with dissidents or organised crime gangs but a young man with some issues.”
The Commissioner refused to answer, citing “sensitive methodology”. The Garda ombudsman cleared the operation in less than three weeks.
This is not intelligence-led policing. This is the state actively arming a vulnerable individual and then prosecuting him – a textbook example of entrapment.
Connecting the Dots: A Pattern of State-Facilitated “Threats”
When viewed together, a disturbing pattern emerges:
- Undercover Gardaí supply real firearms to troubled individuals (Fitzgerald case)
- Local drugs units suddenly stumble upon “terror plots” involving only precursors (IDA)
- Perfectly filmed, professionally lit videos of masked gunmen appear at politically convenient moments (ICA Ireland & New Republican Movement)
- The videos are immediately amplified by international far-right networks, ensuring maximum fear
- Politicians and media rush to declare a “far-right terror wave”
This is not organic dissent. This is managed chaos – the deliberate creation of bogeymen to discredit legitimate concerns about uncontrolled mass immigration, to justify increased surveillance powers, and to silence criticism of government policy.
Conclusion: Reclaiming the True Spirit of Irish Republicanism
James Connolly and the original Irish Citizens Army fought for a Ireland that belonged to its people – all of its people. They did not fight for a narrow, exclusionary ethno-state. Anyone waving a tricolour while issuing death threats over immigration is not continuing Connolly’s legacy; they are defecating on it.
But we must remain vigilant. When the state has a documented history of supplying guns to vulnerable citizens, when “terror plots” conveniently lack bombs, and when masked gunmen videos appear with suspicious regularity, the public has every right to ask: Who really benefits from all of this fear?
The New Republican Movement Ireland and the so-called ICA Ireland may turn out to be little more than the latest act in a long-running security-theatre production. The real threat to Irish democracy is not a handful of balaclava-wearing fantasists – it is a state and media apparatus that appears willing to manufacture monsters in order to keep the people afraid and compliant.
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