Anti-Traveller Racism: Irish Senator targeted by the far-right with vile abuse and threats
29 April 2026
“I’ve never experienced hate like it.”
Independent Senator Eileen Flynn, the first woman from the Traveller community to sit in Ireland’s Seanad (Senate), is no stranger to online racist abuse. But she said that the latest wave of abuse and threats, that appeared on X in the wake of her comments about the fuel protests and far-right infiltration, was the worst she has ever experienced.
The series of nationwide protests and blockades which swept Ireland recently, mainly led by farmers, hauliers and transport-dependent workers, were hugely disruptive and overwhelmingly peaceful. However, from the outset, far-right actors sought to hijack this loose and leaderless movement.
In her contribution to the Seanad debate, Flynn had said she would not attend any protests where the Irish tricolour was being flown, because it has become a symbol exploited by members of the far right:
“I will not stand by when our flag is being used to promote hatred, division and anti-migrant remarks. For me, the flag means peace, unity and justice and equality.”
A video of her remarks went viral on far-right social media, prompting a wave of hateful comments. When asked by The Journal how such abuse affected her, Senator Flynn said she was not afraid of the far right or others who have been abusing her online, but that she has referred some directly threatening messages to An Garda Síochána (the police). Flynn said that since becoming a senator she has received thousands of abusive messages, most of which come from Irish men.
The Irish Traveller Movement (ITM), in response to the abuse against Senator Flynn, issued a statement describing her as a lifelong and courageous Traveller activist who has “faced exclusion, racism, and hostility on this island, yet she has continued to stand for justice, equality, and human rights including the rights of LGBTQ+ , women, and other minorities.”
The ITM condemned the “vile commentary, racist slurs, and attempts to normalise hatred (as) deeply disturbing and completely unacceptable, and that personal attacks, racism, and misogyny have no place in public discourse.” And also called for safeguarding measures to “ensure that the Ireland we shape is one where voices like Eileen’s and those of other women are respected, protected, and valued, not targeted, silenced, or undermined.”
In another message of solidarity, the feminist, socialist organisation ROSA condemned the ‘barrage of racist, misogynistic hate by far-right agitators’ targeting the Senator. They described her as a strong voice for working class and oppressed people, the kind the far right would love to drive out of public life and stated:
“Senator Flynn spoke honestly about the heavy influence of the far right and fascist elements within the leadership of the fuel protests. She is not wrong and evidence is emerging that from the outset they sought to usurp and control it. Many genuine people in the movement concerned with the brutal cost of living and their inability to make a living were being used by these far right actors.”
Eileen Flynn, made history when she became the first woman from the Traveller community to sit in the upper house in 2020. She made history again in February 2025 as the first Traveller ever elected to the Oireachtas (the bicameral parliament of Ireland), winning a seat on the Administrative Panel in the 27th Seanad. Flynn grew up on a halting site in Dublin, and her background and ethnicity has been the focus of those posting racist and derogatory comments about her online.
An investigation by The Journal confirmed what Ms Flynn said about the activities of the far-right around the recent protests. As soon as details of protests emerged, Facebook pages linked to extremist groups that post anti-immigrant and far-right content also began calling for mobilisation, and maintained a steady stream of inflammatory content that went way beyond fuel prices, spreading inflammatory rhetoric and anti-immigrant views.
English extreme-right grifter and ex-con Tommy Robinson was posting incessantly about the events, claimed that the government was “now at war with the Irish people” and calling on Irish people to “take their country back” and describing the government as “traitors”. MMA fighter Conor McGregor, recently found guilty of sexual assault in a civil case, joined in on social media platform X, where he initially offered to feed the protesters at his pub, before sharing videos of his workers handing out food on O’Connell Street.
Much of the abuse directly targeting Ms. Flynn came from Irish accounts run by people who benefit from algorithmic amplification (so called blue tick accounts), and content monetisation, and a significant amount was generated by international social media influencers who were already paying attention to Ireland since the fuel protests.
The National Women’s Council, in a solidarity statement noted that Senator Flynn has been the target of sustained online abuse since she was first appointed, and this latest piling-on raises questions not just about the limited challenge and lack of consequence to such hate speech, but a deeper question about the extent to which this kind of racism is still tolerated:
“The attacks on Senator Flynn demonstrate that women and minority political figures continue to be targets of abuse, and that such discrimination discourages participation in our representative system. If Ireland is serious about equality in public life, then anti-Traveller racism and misogyny cannot continue to go unchallenged, whether online or offline.”
