Inside the Protests

As public anti-immigration protests reached boiling point this summer, RTÉ Investigates has been filming for a new feature length documentary announced to air this Thursday 19th September. RTÉ Investigates has been on the ground at the protests that have made the headlines, consumed massive garda resources and sent shockwaves across the political establishment in 2024.   

There has been an increasingly organised and aggressive anti-immigrant movement inflaming and taking over these protests, often led by highly vocal, media savvy operators. With greater frequence, locations designated for International Protection Applicant Sites, known as IPAS, are being attacked and torched.  

Across Ireland, local communities have publicly protested the prospect of hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers receiving state accommodation in their hometowns. For the past six months RTÉ Investigates has been filming at the protests and has spoken to many people with genuine concerns. 

However, RTÉ Investigates has also found that there is a small but influential element within the protest movement who have their own agendas who are spreading fear and division. 

The documentary highlights the use of disinformation to initiate violence, features first hand footage and expert analysis showing the extent of how the state has, at times, struggled to respond when these protests have gotten out of control, and raises questions around freedom of speech and intimidation of journalists, activists, business people and volunteers in this area.