Dublin City Council has said it is currently assessing how to deal with the placing of Irish flags on lampposts throughout the city, which are believed to be part of an anti-immigration campaign.
The move comes after several councillors and residents’ groups requested that the local authority take action, describing the activity as an effort to intimidate and stake territorial claims, reports RTE.
Throughout the summer, lines of Irish tricolours have been put up along streets in several Dublin areas, including Ballyfermot, Coolock, Finglas, and both the north and south inner city.
Some prominent figures known for anti-immigration views have shared online support for the flag placements, likening them to the ‘Operation Raise the Colours’ campaign currently active in the UK, reports RTE.
Council staff are said to be finding it difficult to determine how to respond, as there are no specific local rules in Dublin regarding the public display of the national flag, which is also commonly seen during major sports tournaments like the Olympics or World Cup.
There also appears to be some hesitation among council employees and contractors when it comes to taking down national flags that have been installed in different neighbourhoods, reports RTE.
In a statement to RTÉ News, Dublin City Council said it is “considering an appropriate response and is engaging with relevant stakeholders” about the issue.
It noted that it has received “some correspondence” regarding the matter and clarified that flags are not allowed to be erected on public lampposts without written permission from Dublin City Council’s Public Lighting Services, r r
As Dublin City Council prepares for its monthly meeting this evening, several councillors have already raised the matter with officials.
In a written question to the Council’s Chief Executive, Labour Councillor for Dublin South Central Darragh Moriarty asked what action the council is going to take against what he described as the “weaponisation of the tricolour by far-right and malicious agitators who seek to use our flag as a means to intimidate”, reports RTE.
He asked the council chief to outline what the policy is with regard to the erection of flags and bunting by “known anti-immigrant actors across city street lights and Dublin City Council social housing complexes”.
Cllr Moriarty said “this attempted capture of our flag for hateful intent must be faced head on by the country’s largest local authority”, r r
Fine Gael Councillor for the Artane-Whitehall area Declan Flanagan also submitted a written question asking if the Chief Executive can instruct staff to remove the flag from an area in his constituency where he said he believes it is being used “outside of the official means to mark territory and homogenise spaces”.
Residents of the North Strand in Dublin’s north inner city have also written to councillors asking for the removal of flags that have appeared in the area in recent weeks.
In a letter seen by RTÉ News, the residents said: “We object to the unauthorised erection of these decorations. They dishonour the Flag by flouting official protocol, are in breach of Dublin City Council’s rules of the decoration of lighting poles, and are an attempt by a minority to make a political statement outside of the normal democratic process.
“We ask that you direct the Chief Executive of the council to remove these decorations as soon as is practicable. We strongly oppose the attempted usurpation of our National Flag by a group which is not representative of the people of this area,” reports RTE.
In a video posted on Instagram last week, Cllr Malachy Steenson who represents the north inner city posted a video of the flags along the North Strand and commented: “Amazing work from our team getting our flag up all the way down the North Strand and Sheriff Street. We have taken our flag back from those who are intent on destroying our country and we are proud to fly it,” reports RTE.
RTÉ News attempted to contact Cllr Steenson for his reaction to calls for the removal of these flags but have not yet received a reply.
Councillor Gavin Pepper, who represents the Finglas-Ballymun area, said while he was not involved in the erection of flags in his area, he fully supports the flying of tricolours in the city and does not believe they should be removed.
“I think they should be all over the city and I don’t think they should be took down at all. I think people should be very proud of where they’re from,” he said, reports RTE.
“I’m proud of my country and there’s no need for anybody to be asking for our national flag to be took down. It should be in every street, on every lamppost, up high and that’s the way it should be. Irish flags everywhere,” reports RTE.
Angela Redmond, who belongs to a residents group in the North Strand, said the flags do not represent the majority of the community
“We’re a wonderfully diverse community and neighbourhood and that has really been added to , particularly over the past decade by all our new neighbours that have come in. The message is coming from a very tiny minority. They’re very vocal, but they are tiny, they don’t speak for the rest of us and the message seems to be one of intimidation, one of unwelcome-ness and of hate,” reports RTE.
Labour Councillor Darragh Moriarty said the practise of flying the flag for hateful purposes needs to be stamped out.
“The patriotism that those flying these flags is borrowing from is English nationalism and I think it’s rich to hear Irish patriots borrowing from their English cousins on this issue. We absolutely have to stamp this out. I’m calling on Dublin City Council to remove flags that have been put up with hateful intent. People are going around putting these flags up, videoing themselves, saying they are reclaiming our city, they’re taking it back and I think that kind of hateful rhetoric has to be stamped out,” reports RTE.
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