History is a nightmare from which Northern Ireland is trying to awake.

The hundreds-of-years-old rift between nationalist Catholics -- who want a united Ireland -- and Protestant Unionists -- who wish to remain part of the United Kingdom -- has its origins in the Ulster Plantation when England divvied up land in the northeast of the island to loyal subjects from northern England and Scotland to help mollify the historically quarrelsome region. Most are familiar with the most recent flareup in the region, the 30 years of conflict known as The Troubles, which formally ended in the late nineties, but the conflict continues to smolder, with traditions passing down the tales of turmoil on both sides of the issue.

On August 3 in Belfast, that long-standing tension took a symbolic pause when anti-migration activists gathered across the UK to protest the stabbing deaths of three little girls in Southport, England.

Interestingly, for pro-immigration globalists, the event was an unwelcome détente.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend

That day in Belfast, anti-immigration protestors from the Republic of Ireland flew the Irish tricolor flag alongside local loyalists flying the Union Jack flag of the United Kingdom; in fact, the nationalists from the Republic of Ireland at the rally were also said to have been the most virulent. What started as a largely peaceful gathering eventually devolved into attacks on foreign-owned shops and migrant hotels. Later that day, the nationalist flagbearers were seen drinking with loyalists in a downtown pub.

According to a BBC article, one bystander at the protest summed up the gathering of nationalists and loyalists as: “Divided by politics, united by racism.”

On finding out about the banners, Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Simon Harris said “Leave our flag alone.”

For John Barry, a Catholic professor at Queens University Belfast writing in New Lines magazine, the provisional alliance was too much as well:

People who wanted the reunification of Ireland, who had traveled from Dublin to express their strong anti-immigrant feelings, were standing shoulder to shoulder with people with anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiments, including a convicted loyalist paramilitary killer, and were later that evening feted as heroes in a local loyalist pub, after the pogroms and violence.

While a loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson was quoted in an article in the Belfast Telegraph saying:

“It strikes me therefore as somewhat of an absurdity that some of those from within unionism and loyalism, who are legitimately concerned about the traditional fabric of areas and communities being eroded, appear to see it as fruitful to make common alliances with those who are aggressively and passionately devoted to Irish nationalism.”

On the other hand, an article in Unherd presented a contrary opinion:

‘This is the best thing that ever happened in this country,’ one protestor from Drogheda, in the Republic, draped in an Irish tricolour told me, ‘Now we can come together against the real enemy.’ Indeed, protestors from the Republic, at the front of the crowd, were by far the most vigorous and aggressive in confronting the counter-protestors on the other side of police lines, themselves seemingly mostly drawn from Northern Ireland’s Catholic community. ‘Look at you all,’ one Dubliner, standing in front of a ‘Coolock Says No’ banner, shouted at the pro-migration protestors, who were waving Palestinian, LGBTQ+ and trade union flags, ‘you don’t even have one fucking tricolour, no Union Jack, nothing from this island.’

Much has been made of the root cause of the anti-migration protests in the UK and Ireland, the incident in late July when the 17-year-old son of a Kenyan immigrant stabbed three little girls to death, injuring others. Before the details of the killer were release, online rumors were rife with accusations that the killer was a Muslim migrant just off the boat.

In fact, he is a natural-born Brit and a Christian -- while still one could argue that he is in fact a product of Britain’s immigration policies.

Xenophobia or Common Sense? What the Numbers Say

Despite Brexit and ongoing voter sentiment against unfettered migration, consecutive prime ministers have lacked the political will and follow through to crack down on migration. This has led to an influx of non-UK and non-EU migrants who have proven difficult to assimilate into society, with many bringing hegemonic (e.g., jihadist) and violent beliefs and taboo sexual practices with them from Islamic countries, leading to racial tension, knifings, and other crimes as well as “grooming gangs” that have been systemically molesting young British girls.

The year ending June 2023 saw 1.2 million migrants to the UK. Of those, 968,000 were non-EU nationals.

The Republic of Ireland, known for its lily-white population, quaint rural villages, and great craic, is experiencing similar anti-migration sentiment. For example, the attempt of the Irish government to house so-called asylum seekers in the Coolock suburb of Dublin led to recent anti-migration riots.

In fact, cross-border activities are on the rise. Further anti-migration activities are expected to further culminate in a “Dundalk Says No” rally in the Irish border town of Dundalk.

For the year ending April 2023, the Republic of Ireland saw 141,600 immigrants -- a 16-year high -- of which 81,100 were from countries other than the UK or EU countries.

Conversely, the numbers for Northern Ireland are surprisingly low.

As Barry also reported in New Lines magazine:

It is plain to see that the riots in Belfast were based on lies, because the focus of the anger was immigration, while Northern Ireland actually has very little: 3.4% of the 1.8 million inhabitants in the north of Ireland belong to ethnic minority groups, and as of March 31 this year, 2,748 people were in receipt of asylum support -- the lowest number of any U.K. region and down from 3.030 in March 2024. It’s a nonissue and yet it fueled attacks on people and property.

According to the 2021 census, approximately 6 percent of the population was born outside the UK or Ireland; and 97 percent identified as white.

It Ain’t Much, But It’s Something

Globalist and progressive outrage at the mixing of the flags in Belfast underscores the presence of two different worldviews at work in the UK and Ireland. For one, the liberal elite dismiss the riots as “far-right” racism and hooliganism. For example, an op-ed in the Economist asked how to deal with the uprising. Their conclusion: “Punish the thugs. Stand up for immigration. And improve local services.” And politicians have been calling for summary trials, long sentences, and draconian crackdowns on social media posts, including prison terms.

Meanwhile, the largely working-class anti-immigration protestors are fed up with being labelled racist thugs when all they want, arguably, are good jobs and safe neighborhoods and kids. The people of Northern Ireland have enough to deal with. Still reeling from 30 years of The Troubles, many are trying to do whatever they can to integrate the Catholic nationalist and Protestant loyalist communities to keep the nightmare of history at bay. Of course, violence and hooliganism are tough to defend -- and we’re not defending them here. But if speaking out against migration brings the two sides together, so be it. Trying to make the best of the situation instead of outright dismissing the participants are racist thugs might be a move in the right direction.

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