Senator Sharon Keogan warned the Seanad this afternoon that Ireland risks allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to “flourish unchecked” due to government inaction, urging a formal investigation into the group’s influence in the country.
The Muslim Brotherhood, labeled a terrorist organization by multiple governments and viewed as seeking to reshape society under Islamist principles, has established a “concerning footprint” in Ireland, according to the independent Co Meath senator.
Established in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna to pursue a unified Muslim state—the Caliphate—under sharia law, the organization includes Hamas as its Palestinian offshoot, a designated terror group.
Keogan accused the government of failing “to acknowledge, let alone, address” the Brotherhood’s presence and impact.
Her remarks come amid the ongoing closure of Ireland’s largest mosque at the Clonskeagh Islamic Cultural Centre (ICCI) in Co Dublin, shuttered since April over allegations of ties among some individuals to a rigid, hardline Sunni ideology and financial misconduct. The site’s restaurant and shop continue operating, and a weekend protest featured families with signs reading: ‘Re-open our mosque.”
The ICCI stated the closure was implemented “as a preventive measure to ensure the safety and security of the property, staff, children and members of the public”.
In May, the Irish Times reported that a high-ranking ICCI official had resigned amid claims of Muslim Brotherhood connections.
Addressing the Seanad on Tuesday, Keogan said: “The cause of my concern was last Spring’s closure of the Clonskeagh Islamic Cultural Centre. What appears to be a management dispute bears the hallmarks of a struggle between a leadership accused of brotherhood ties and their financial backers from the United Arab Emirates, who banned the organisation in 2013 following accusations of a coup plot.
“Indeed, the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council has raised concerns about Brotherhood ties at Clonskeagh. Let me be clear, this is not about religion. This is about transparency, governance and the ideological influence of a movement that is banned in many Eastern countries, most recently Jordan, where it is outlawed following a sabotage plot,” she said.
She added: “Across Europe, it is heavily restricted and monitored. Yet, here in Ireland we face the serious danger that our government has allowed this ideological network to flourish unchecked. Before we can discuss prescribing or even restricting this organisation and its affiliates, we must know the truth – and currently, we are operating blind.”
Urging authorities to act, Keogan stated: “I therefore call on our Government and our Minister for Justice to initiate a full investigation into Muslim Brotherhood influence in Ireland. We cannot afford to be naive. The safety, cohesion, and even the sovereignty of our Republic depends on it.”
The United Arab Emirates designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group in January 2025 and added eight UK-based entities to its domestic terror list over alleged affiliations, sparking UK debates on the group’s networks.
A 2015 UK government review under then-Prime Minister David Cameron opted against a ban, though he informed parliament that Brotherhood membership could signal extremism and that certain elements of its ideology and methods clashed with British values.
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