The recent troubles in Northern Ireland, and what they say about being a foreigner in Europe in 2025 

About two week ago, news of xenophobic riots in Northern Ireland flooded social media. The town of Ballymena became synonymous with burned cars, besieged homes, and terrified migrants hanging Filipino flags on their doors—a desperate plea to avoid being mistaken for the “wrong kind of foreigner.” The trigger for these riots was two 14-year-old boys being accused of sexually-assaulting a 13-year-old girl, and needing a Romanian translator in their dealings with the police. 

To outsiders, the violence might seem sudden. But for those familiar with Northern Ireland’s history, the tactics are chillingly familiar: house burnings, vigilante intimidation, and communal fear-mongering. The only surprise? This time, the targets weren’t Catholics—but migrants.

From sectarianism to xenophobia: a new target in Northern Ireland

Indeed, Northern Ireland’s Protestant Loyalists ¹ has a history of burning houses as a message that someone is not welcome in the neighbourhood. Usually, this was geared towards the Catholic community during the Troubles ², or more recently in the 2000s towards people suspected of being involved in drug trafficking ³. 

But Ireland and Northern Ireland have usually been welcoming to foreigners. This can be explained by two factors. Firstly, the anti-colonial struggle of the island makes it so that the Catholic population has usually sided with the oppressed — be it the formerly-enslaved African American community during the early 20th century, the South African anti-Apartheid struggle, or with the Palestinian cause more recently (see murals below). 

Moreover, Ireland’s history of emigration since the Famine means that almost everyone on the island — particularly those of Catholic religion — have at least one member of their family abroad (mostly in the US, but also in the rest of the UK). Therefore, being a migrant or a foreigner is a lived experience of many people from Ireland. 

The Loyalist tradition: bonfires, parades, and exclusion

The explanation for these events is also two-fold. Firstly, the riots happened in Ballymena, a Protestant borough (71.4%). The Protestant paramilitaries involved during the Troubles are vigilante-like groups that take over a neighbourhood by planting their flags ⁴, with a long-history of terrorising their Catholic rivals. In Protestant neighbourhoods in Northern Ireland, locals tend to put Union Jack flags in their windows and memorabilia with the Royal family to show their allegiance to the Loyalist cause (see photo below). 

Moreover, during the months after Easter and through to September, dozens of (usually peaceful) marches take place, with marching bands drumming, kids dancing and adults drinking beer, as a way to show their pride in being Loyalists. The Orange Order — an organisation named after William of Orange, the British king (of Dutch origin) who colonised Ireland that only accepts Protestant members — is usually organising these marches. The most important event — Bonfire Night — takes place on 11th July each year, when they commemorate the victory of Protestant King William III over Catholic King James II in 1690. After a day-long parade throughout the city (it takes place in every Protestant-majority city or town and in Belfast), people gather in their neighbourhoods and lit up huge bonfires where they hang effigies representing the Catholic community (it could be an icon of the Virgin Mary, or the Irish flag, a Pope doll, or anything that represents the Catholic community). During that day, most Catholic Irish people leave Belfast or their town and go to Catholic-majority areas in order to avoid any confrontations.

The first time one sees a parade and a Bonfire Night, they may think it’s a happy event, maybe similar to the Catholic St. Patrick’s Day parade; but when one understands that it’s literally burning anything Catholic, one understands that this a very hostile-type of celebration, unlike the St. Patrick’s Day parade which is welcoming to everyone. Therefore, the Protestant Loyalist community has a long history of exclusion and hostility to outsiders. But up until very recently, it used to be turned only against the Catholic community. 

Something happened in the past few years and this is going to provide the second source of explanation for the events in Ballymena.

The far-right’s arrival: how English extremism infiltrated Northern Ireland

Indeed, in the past 3-4 years, far-right ideas and tactics have made their way into the island from England, through the person of Tommy Robinson. A member of the British fascist political party British National Party (BNP) from 2004 to 2005, he co-founded the English Defence League (EDL) in 2009 and led it until October 2013. He is one of the UK’s most prominent far-right agitators, and although not directly involved in any anti-migrant activities in Ireland and Northern Ireland, he has expressed support for them and has travelled to the Republic of Ireland in 2023, raising suspicions that he may be one of the brains behind them. His notoriety — alongside that of the Tate brothers — among the far-right groups in Ireland (both South and North of the border) is well-known by the authorities, and their ideas spread like wildfire through Telegram group-chats. 

Northern Ireland’s politics are not about left-right divisions

What is surprising though, is that Northern Irish politics has never really had a left-and-right divide. Even if some political parties have declared themselves as “non-sectarian” (Alliance, PBP, Greens) in the end it was always about the Catholic (Nationalist or Republican)/Protestant (Unionist) sectarian division since the Northern Irish Assembly is headed by a duo from the two communities (in theory). And while the Nationalist/Republican-leaning parties tend to be more left-leaning (Sinn Fein, Social Democratic and Labour Party SDLP) whereas the Unionist parties tend to be more conservative and to the right of the political spectrum (DUP, UUP, PUP, etc.⁵), the “classic” left-right division of politics never really mattered in Northern Ireland. 

The Good Friday agreement: an incidentally anti-austerity policy

This is because the economy of the country was — until very recently — very “protected” from the global trends such as austerity and neoliberalism. In order for the Good Friday Agreement ⁶ to hold, the economy of Northern Ireland has been more social than its British counterpart. For instance, the public healthcare service, Health and Social Care Northern Ireland, is separate from the NHS (which has been suffering from austerity measures), and has benefitted from more public funding than its British counterpart. Large amounts of public funds have been injected into the economy of Northern Ireland in order to help it recover from the Troubles — with money flowing not just from Westminster but also from the US who had a major role in brokering the peace agreements. 

Unlike much of Europe, Northern Ireland’s distinct political economy—sustained by post-Good Friday Agreement investments—buffered it against the neoliberal austerity cycles that typically breed far-right extremism. But in the past few years, owing to Brexit and to the southern neighbour’s absorption into the global economy ⁷, Northern Ireland has been exposed to the same afflictions as the rest of Europe. 

Yet, the racist riots in Ballymena haven’t taken place in poor neighbourhoods affected by austerity. This reflects a long history of violence against the Catholic community, now redirected at a new target. Indeed, more than 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement, hostility towards the Catholic community has dwindled, owing to the fact that many young people never really lived through the Troubles, they’ve been socialised with friends from across the sectarian divide, and thus there is less reason to hate on your Catholic neighbour. But coupled with an influx of immigrants from both Europe and outside Europe in the past decade, and the spread of far-right ideas from England, it was only a matter of time before xenophobic riots would flare up in Northern Ireland.

The Romanian parallel: when victims become perpetrators

The riots in Ballymena did not happen in a vacuum—they reflect a Europe-wide shift in how societies choose their scapegoats. Romania’s reaction to the attacks on its migrants exposes uncomfortable truths about how easily the oppressed can become oppressors.

Romania’s migration paradox

Romania is a nation built on emigration. Since the 1990s, over 5 million Romanians have left to work abroad—many in the UK, where they face xenophobia themselves. British tabloids once demonized them as “benefit scroungers,” while politicians blamed them for “stealing jobs.”

Yet today, as Romania becomes a destination for South Asian migrants, the same prejudice is taking root at home. Far-right groups like AUR stoke fears of “invasion,” while social media spreads conspiracy theories about “ethnic replacement.” The same Romanians who protested Brexit-era discrimination now write racist comments on social media.

The Roma factor: a society in denial

The Ballymena riots forced Romania to confront its deepest racial wound: anti-Roma racism. Online, commentators rushed to dissociate “hard-working Romanians” (i.e. white) from the alleged-perpetrators who are thought to be of Roma origin.

This reflexive distancing reveals a society unwilling to reckon with its own marginalized minority. Romania has Europe’s largest Roma population (1.85 million), yet systemic discrimination persists: segregated schools, employment barriers, and violent evictions. When the far-right targets Roma abroad, Romania’s silence is complicity.

State cowardice: a pattern of abandonment

The Romanian government’s tepid response fits a decades-long trend of failing diaspora communities. In Italy in 2008, Romanian workers were blamed for crime waves—Bucharest offered no protection. In the UK in 2016, post-Brexit hate crimes spiked—Romanian diplomats downplayed reports. Now in Ballymena, local police advised against embassy visits to “avoid escalation”—effectively sacrificing victims to appease rioters. 

This isn’t neutrality—it’s institutionalized indifference. By refusing to stand with all Romanians (including Roma), the state legitimizes the idea that some citizens are “less worthy” of protection.

Lessons for Europe: scapegoats, austerity, and the far-right playbook

The main lesson to be learned from this event — for Romanians but also for everyone else — is that any community can become a victim of xenophobia. There will always be a scapegoat, no matter their skin colour or their accent or their religion. As Romania is now going through a period of increased immigration, its politicians and population should never forget that we are still a nation of migrants, and that we should treat our guests as we would like to be treated when we emigrate. There is a risk of xenophobic incidents happening in Romania with new austerity measures on the horizon which inevitably lead to a rise of the far-right. Solidarity cannot be selective. Romania—like all of Europe—must choose: will it protect all its people, or keep recycling old hatreds for new targets?

With regards to what triggered the riots in Ballymena — two 14-year-old boys being accused of sexually-assaulting a 13-year-old girl — this matter should be treated with utmost seriousness by the Northern Irish authorities and justice system. The principle of “innocent until proven guilty” should be upheld, no matter the case. And should these two boys be found guilty, the authorities must investigate the rise of the misogynistic manosphere and the influence of the likes of the Tate brothers on young boys, first and foremost. 

Photo: The new riots in Northern Ireland (source: YouTube)

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About The Author

1. Loyalists, as in wanting to belong to the UK, as opposed to the Catholic Republicans (also termed Nationalists), who demand independence from the UK.
2. For example, in 1969, a Protestant mob attacked and set fire to more than 40 Catholic homes in Bombay Street in Belfast.
3. For an interesting account about the links between the Unionist (Protestant) paramilitaries and drug-dealing, see here.
4. For example, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), along with its associated group, the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).
5.  Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Progressive Unionist Party (PUP).
6. The Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998 and effectively ended the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, a period known as The Troubles.
7.  Silicon Valley and Big Pharma chose Ireland as their corporate HQs in order to pay less tax in Europe