Far right in Ireland and England in an “unholy alliance” says Gerry Adams

The former Sinn Fein leader says people who have been neglected by government are being groomed by the far right.

"I think we all have to have a very assertive opposition to the far right - Or against racism. I mean, let's call it for what it is," he said.

"I know the dyed in the wool racists, and it's interesting the alliances made between loyalists and some folks in in Dublin, carrying a tricolor and carrying a Union Jack. It's an unholy alliance.

"We need to be very assertive that we're all human beings, that we all have rights and we should not be attacking anyone on the basis of religion, race, color, gender, or any other mark that you can measure by."

Adams says the Irish government's lack of investment in housing and working class communities has driven people to more racist views.

"It is understandable that if you are poor, if your children don't have a home, if you have sons and daughters living in the box room, if they don't have a job, if they have very little prospects... if you're on the receiving end of the inequality, if you have been reared in one of the wealthiest states in Europe, and you have no real prospects..then it's easy for others to wind you up," he said.

"That the reason you have no home, the reason you don't have enough houses, is because these other people are taking them. The reason why you can't have a better quality of life is because these other people are availing of all the benefits, and that is not the case."

In Ireland in 2024, there were 732 hate discriminatory motives recorded across 676 incidents, of which 592 were hate crimes. It is expected the real number is much higher.

In the north, four race hate crimes a day were reported to PSNI this year, in twelve months up to 31 March 2026, 1,507 incidents.

The Belfast man says that "sectarianism is the first cousin of racism".

"If you have a political ideology which sees people who are Catholics as being inferior or not worthy of being treated properly, then translates over to people of a different skin color or people from another another place," he added.

Adams echoed criticisms of the PSNI amid the racist pogrom that took place in Belfast this summer, which saw medical staff instructed to show ID to masked men and families were escorted from their homes.

"I don't think the PSNI handled those recent race riots well," he said.

"Social media messages went out asking people to mobilize, and the police then encouraged people to leave work, while busses were stopped.

"In the Crumlin Road, where a number of people were burned out of their homes, a mob of 80 did that, and the PSNI made no effort to interfere, to stop, to prevent, to take preventative action."

For the full interview visit youtube.com/politicsJOE.