Ireland is 'crammed': Priest says non-Christian migrants shouldn't enter country

Darragh Mc Donagh

A priest has called for the introduction of “discriminatory” immigration policies in Ireland, claiming that the country is “crammed” and non-Christian migrants should not be allowed to move here.

Fr Brendan Kilcoyne, who is a parish priest in Balla, Co Mayo, said immigration was being “badly managed” and the country was being “crammed” with people who had no sympathy for Irish culture.

He complained that migrants who “turn up” in Ireland were being “looked after” instead of “being promptly sent back where [they] came from and told to apply by a legal method to come into the country”.

“I am in favour of what I would openly call discriminatory immigration, and I mean discrimination in a positive, constructive sense,” said Fr Kilcoyne.

“If it were up to me, I would only permit Christian immigration into Europe… I would only permit Christian immigration into Ireland. I think you can justify that on any number of grounds.”

He said the far right in Ireland was “minimal” but there were a lot of people who seem to feel enormously threatened by immigration.

Many of these are working class and most seem to be “perfectly decent people”, he added.

Fr Kilcoyne said the consequences of non-Christian immigration were “not an issue in Ireland yet” but claimed that whole sections of British cities had become “no-go areas” for the civil authorities.

This claim is widely regarded as a far-right myth, and featured in the manifesto of neo-Nazi terrorist and mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik. A British MP, Paul Scully, was criticised and forced to apologise for referring to such “no-go” zones last year.

Fr Kilcoyne, speaking on an episode of his podcast The Brendan Option titled ‘Immigration or Invasion’, said people should be “worried” about the situation. He said they were not being stirred by the far right, but rather could see “demonstrable evidence” of a problem.

He said all that was missing was a “charismatic leader” to ignite the “tinder box” of immigration.

“If that happens, I would strongly advise the mainstream political parties… to grip both sides of the armchair and pour themselves a stiff whiskey,” he added. “Let’s grasp the nettle and deal with the situation and manage it before it gets completely out of control.”

In a recent episode of his podcast, Fr Kilcoyne asked followers to pray for the organisers of the controversial Mise Éire festival after more than 2,000 people signed a petition calling for it to be cancelled. He said he was praying that it goes ahead.