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Burn Them Out!

A History of Fascism and the Far Right in Ireland

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Burn Them Out!

By: Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc
Narrated by: Enda Oates
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Bloomsbury presents Burn Them Out! by Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc, read by Enda Oates.

In November 2023, the Dublin riots shocked Ireland and the wider world. They were sparked by a knife attack by an immigrant on three children. Inflammatory online rumours spread in minutes. Part of the north inner city were wrecked, cars and buses torched, and protestors wreaked havoc on the streets for hours.

Until very recently, Ireland had prided itself on having escaped the wave of far-right, xenophobic populism now rampant throughout Europe. That complacency has been rudely challenged.

In Burn Them Out!, Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc explores the long history that has led to this pivotal moment. He uncovers the pervasive anti-Semitism of the Irish political elite in the 1920s and 30s, the energetic efforts of Mosley and other British fascists to extend their movement to the North of Ireland, the IRA’s alliance with Nazi Germany in the 40s and the many ultra-Catholic, anti-communist Irish movements that were millimetres away from fascism. He tells the story of exotic entities like the Fascio di Dublino, the Dublin branch of Mussolini's Fascist Party, and the Irish wing of Miss Rotha Lintorn-Orman's ‘British Fascisti’.

The openly-fascist Irish movement known as the Blueshirts, an offshoot and ally of the early Fine Gael, is looked at with fresh eyes, and its supporters’ statements about Jews now make for hair-raising reading. Many of its proponents went on to become pillars of the Irish political and cultural establishment. And the Catholic and nationalist Ailtirí na hAiséirghe (Architects of the Resurrection), a post-war sect, was in many ways a precursor of today’s Irish far right.

This is an essential book about an aspect of Irish history all too often swept under the carpet.©2025 Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Europe Political Science Politics & Government War
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Critic reviews

Start reading Ó Ruairc's excellent Burn Them Out and you’ll quickly feel the cold breeze of yesterday's extremism and the fascist fanatics who tried and failed to pollute our country. By the time you finish reading, you'll freeze in realisation that fascism is back in Ireland with a vengeance and wonder did it ever go away?
This timely and vital book illuminates the understudied topic of fascism in Ireland. Packed with fascinating stories, astute analysis and engaging prose, it is a valuable contribution to the history of fascism. Importantly, at a time when the international far right is once again on the rise, it is a reminder that fascism has always crossed borders with activists in one country learning from those in others. A fascinating and important lesson from history.
Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc brings his customary level of scholarship and passion to this sordid tale of historic far-right attempts to undermine Irish democracy. Essential reading for anyone who might be tempted to underestimate similar threats today.
Essential reading for anyone who fears the rising tide of hatred and thuggery seen in recent years.
Burn Them Out is a meticulously researched and compelling examination of the history of fascism in Ireland, a subject often overshadowed by the country’s broader political struggles. Ó Ruairc reconstructs the period’s political climate, illustrating the tensions between authoritarian tendencies and Ireland’s democratic institutions... If you want to understand the rise of the far right in Ireland, you need to read this book.
This book makes an extraordinary contribution to our understanding of fringe politics in Ireland, shining a light on overlooked and underexplored organisations and protagonists. Reading Burn Them Out! is vital to understanding the Irish dimensions of European extremism from the 1920s to the modern day.
Timely, deeply researched and consistently illuminating. (Fintan O'Toole)
A riveting and comprehensive telling of a subject too often written out of Irish history.
[A] valuable book (Jack Power)
Comprehensive
All stars
Most relevant
Wish I had access the devices for books like this back in 2005, would have been a great supplemental book for my 2005 leaving cert Irish history section.

History glanced over in school texts, out loud in this publication.

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This is VERY hard and necessary listening for almost any UK 🇬🇧 citizen. Ambivalent attitudes towards Churchill become much more understandable. We all need to hear this. A lot of things about our recent National history become much more understandable. Those of us who remember a twinkly old lady called Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, will blench. Maybe remember her brother was the last Duke of Saxe Coburg & Gotha and fervent Nazi, SS Officer etc. For me with Great Aunts who thought, in common with many others in the UK, that Hitler had the right idea. Something they had the grace to shut up about once the concentration camps had been so thoroughly exposed even the UK Foreign Office couldn't pretend they didn't exist. Altogether a salutory and I would say essential piece of listening and/or reading.

Necessary Listening.

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