Céad míle fáilte: Tipperary's Racket Hall protests in 162 social media posts

Were the Roscrea protests about racism or lack of services?

Should the Government support people in Ireland over those seeking asylum?

And is Ireland still a country of céad míle fáilte?

These were just some of the questions people across the country have been trying to answer as the Racket Hall protests dominated the headlines.

But like most things, the answers are more complex than what you can fit in a tweet.

Roscrea is part of a larger pattern of discontent, community mobilisation and the spread of far-right ideology across the country that has experts worried.

And social media adds an added layer of action and expression that expands the number of people who become involved local issues.

At the Tipperary Star we decided to look a little closer at what people were saying online.

We analysed 162 social media posts from X (formally Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and Threads related to the protests in Roscrea and posted between January 12 and 25.

We excluded politicians, media organisations and campaign groups and only included posts from individuals who posted publicly.

Here is what we found.

Government

Many of the posts we reviewed were heavily critical of the Government. Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman was the minister most criticised by name, while Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and opposition leaders Mary Lou McDonald, Holly Cairns and Ivana Bacik also came under fire from posters.

There was less criticism of local representatives, TDs and councillors, but not none.

Clonmel TD Mattie McGrath was accused of spreading hate and misinformation.

Other posters criticised ‘local representatives’ for not doing enough to address loss of services and deprivation in Roscrea.

But most posters who criticised the Government took issue with policy.

One poster said on X wrote:

“The rubbish coming out of govt politicians regarding #Roscrea is actually an insult to everyone in this country. These politicians are very quiet when it comes to many pathetic failures by @HSELive senior mgt & other state bodies.”

Another wrote about the closure of the Racket Hall:

“Govt policies made it more profitable for owners to close it and reopen as an asylum seekers centre.”

There were only a couple of posts that referenced or criticised the owners of the hotel.

A Facebook user from Roscrea said:

“The government has let us down, they have not assessed the social or economic viability of the town to take in so many people, and we need to stand together as a town and county to voice this issue to the government and nation and to find a reasonable resolution.”

One of the most frequent comments posters made on social media was around elections.

Several posters suggested that the protest in Roscrea and the immigration-related demonstrations around the country would impact the Government’s chances of re-election.

One poster wrote on X:

“It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out in an Election year because I would imagine not one person in Roscrea and other places where protests have taken place will vote for the current government.

“Government backbenchers will be getting nervous.”

Another on X wrote: “The government has no care for their people, it's time for CHANGE”

Another again, on X said: “Whatever the facts are the government is losing their grip on immigration because they need the people to vote them back in for their political career to continue, and I could be wrong, but I doubt not many in Roscrea will be voting for any government TDs in the next election”

Very few posters defended the Government, but one poster on Facebook, did comment that the refugee crisis is not one that could have been foreseen.

“Is it the government’s fault? Buck stops here and all that, but at the same time no government could have reasonably foreseen and planned for a major European war and ensuing Refugee crisis.”

The refugee crisis was not the only social issue discussed in the posts. Homelessness and an unfair distribution of resources were common threads.

Some posters shared images comparing accommodation given to foreign nationals as opposed to homeless people in Ireland.

Others suggested that government policies have created a social divide between classes, which has led to the recent spate of anti-immigration protests.

The Protesters

As part of our analysis, we looked at the reasons protesters said they were demonstrating.

Facebook seemed to have the most posts from people from Roscrea and those who attended the protests.

Some of those demonstrating said it was for their families, the future, and to protect Roscrea.

Others used social media to share images from the protests and rally support. Services mentioned as lacking included schools, GPs and dentist surgeries.

It should be noted that education representatives have clarified to RTE that Roscrea’s schools are not full.

However, most of the concern about services was about the hotel itself. Some people shared photos of events held at the Racket Hall, while others expressed sadness at its closure.

Some protesters wanted to make it clear that their demonstration was not about refugees or race.

They said it is about people and pride in themselves.

One protesters said in public Facebook group:

“We have sat around the fire pits where we analysed and debated what was happening, we talked, danced and sang with many generations, we met people from near and far people that popped in to support us from different towns, we heard very proud men & women giving speeches of inspiration doing it for our town ‘doing it for our children doing it for our grandchildren’ that was the words most spoken about, we done what we had to do we stood together and now we have made history!”

Another poster on Facebook said she was made to feel welcome at the protest.

“I went up to racket hall lads! I wasn’t two minutes there and I was invited for tea coffee soup and rolls!!!! What a welcome. Fairplay to each and every one of you.”

While most of the reasons given were positive, others did use language associated with far-right ideology.

One person posted in a public Facebook group: “All well here at Racket Hall this morning everyone ... no unwanted visitors yet.

Well done to the determined people who held the barricade all night Maybe see you later #JusticeForRoscreaPeople #Roscrea #EnoughIsEnough”

However, we saw very little of this language among protesters.

Criticism and Support

Most posts related to the protests came from people outside of its organisation.

Some posters supported the demonstrations, while others criticised them as racist, far-right or simply “taking things too far.”

One poster on X said: “Utterly disgusting and reprehensible move to protest outside the hotel with families inside now!!”

While another on X said : “I don’t care whether they have valid reasons for protesting. It’s obnoxious and cruel to protest where there are people seeking refuge through no fault of their own.”

On Threads, a poster wrote: “Feeling physically sick listening to the NIMBYism and smug, small-minded self-interest on display in Roscrea.

“Groupthink and disingenuous fearmongering, all the time ignoring the government policy decisions that have led us here.
“A real low point.”

Some posters said that while they understand why people are protesting, they wonder why action is only taken by communities when asylum seekers are moved to the area. Some questioned why it was necessary to protest outside the hotel.

Some posters who supported the protests emphasised that they were ‘peaceful’ and an exercise in “free-speech.”

The issue of vetting was prevalent in many of the posts.

Some posters described those seeking refuge as ‘unvetted,’ usually men.

Several posters pointed out the hypocrisy of requiring staff at the hotel to be vetted when those using the hotel have not yet gone through the process.

One poster on Facebook said: “Staff at the hotel in Roscrea have been told by the owners if they would like to keep their jobs they would have to be Garda vetted.

“Now bear in mind this is so that they can look after, wait for it, unvetted people!!”

It is important to note that it is usually required to work with children for staff to go through the garda vetting process.

The people of Roscrea were criticised heavily, while other posters defended the town, suggesting that the protests do not represent their whole community.

Racism and Far-Right Ideology

Throughout our analysis we viewed many posts that used racist language, media and far-right ideology.

While most could not be linked to protesters, they none-the-less formed a significant portion of the online commentary.

We will not share full quotes so as not to promote the poster or the ideas they spread.

However, some posters used language associated with far-right theories such as ‘plantation 2.0’ or eugenics.

Others referred to asylum seekers as ‘invaders,’ ‘illegals’ ‘violent’ or ‘criminal’.

Several posters used language associated with war, uprising and resistance. They described male asylum seekers as being undeserving of protection.

References were frequently made to policies of segregation and deportation or closing the borders.

And many insinuated ‘not vetted’ meant dangerous. Some posters shared images and videos of people in predominantly muslim and developing countries designed to be derogatory or suggest an invasion.

Media

Our analysis only included posts made by people and excluded media organisations.

But, many posters commented on various news articles written in both, the national and local press.

The most commented on media piece was the RTE Upfront programme from January 22.

That was followed by Fintan O’Toole’s opinion piece in the Irish Times titled: It is utterly absurd to say Roscrea is full.

And lastly Emma O’Kelly’s article, Education sources reject claims Roscrea schools are full, published by RTE.

Reactions from posters were mixed, with some criticising the media while others shared the article to comment on the protest.

Hashtags

Interestingly hashtags were only used in 41 of the 162 posts we reviewed. Predictably, #Roscrea was most used followed by #IrelandisFull and #Refugeeswelcome.