Several Irish politicians said they are facing intimidation and an “increased sense of threat” by far-right groups over their support for LGBTQ+ and immigrants’ rights, The Journal reports.

Councillors from different areas of Ireland spoke to The Journal about the threats and direct attacks they have faced in recent months amid growing anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-immigration protests. Some spoke about being called slurs such as “groomer” – a term often used in far-right rhetoric to equate LGBTQ+ people to paedophiles – or “baby killer”, while others reported experiencing growing intimidation and attempts to “make them afraid of speaking up”.

In the last week, there has been a sharp increase in the number of attacks on Irish politicians by far-right protesters. On July 17, a rock was thrown through a window in the house of independent Dublin Councillor Hugh Lewis, with a message urging him to stop supporting refugees and immigrants, reading, “This is your last warning”.

Similar incidents happened to other councillors as well, such as People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy, whose home was targeted by protesters late at night a few weeks ago. Cork City Councillor Brian McCarthy said that, despite only taking his seat a month ago, he had already witnessed a sharp increase in abuse on his social media channels.

“The issue is a few people could take the abuse that’s happening now a step further. We saw that with the rock thrown through Hugh Lewis’s window,” McCarthy said. He explained that the Socialist Party in Cork had to adopt “security procedures to prevent the far-right from being able to disrupt” its stalls, canvasses and meetings in order to guarantee the safety of its members.

McCarthy also spoke about finding some comfort in the recent march that took place in Cork in support of library staff, after they were harassed by anti-LGBTQ+ protesters. He said that the large crowd that turned up at the march outnumbered the far-right protesters, despite the fact that “they shout very loud”.

People Before Profit Councillor Hazel de Nortúin also spoke about the need for increased security measures for canvassers, after some were confronted with aggressive far-right agitators in a recent incident.

“There have been instances where canvassers are told they’re ‘groomers’ by people,” de Nortúin said, adding that they now have a rule that activists are not to canvass alone.

Green Party member Janet Horner shared that she feels an “increased sense of threat” which is most often felt by marginalised communities, and cited the examples of “gay couples no longer holding hands in public” and people of colour feeling uneasy when in the streets.

Her party colleague Hazel Smyth also spoke out, saying: “Some of the rhetoric is very aggressive and very hateful, and as a public rep you have to consider your own safety and the safety of your loved ones. But we need to prevent this from taking a foothold in the country because it can have devastating consequences.”