Áine Ní Chonaill

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Áine Ní Chonaill is an Irish anti-immigration activist who founded and serves as the public relations officer for the Immigration Control Platform (ICP). She was born in Cork, Ireland, studied at University College Cork, and worked as a school teacher in County Cork before taking on her ICP role. Her political background isn’t well documented, but she was involved in the early days of the Progressive Democrats.

In 1998, Ní Chonaill described herself as a Europhobe and a libertarian. She first ran for national office in the 1997 general election in Cork South-West, receiving 293 votes. She helped establish the Immigration Control Platform in 1998, an anti-immigration group often described as far-right. She ran again in the 2002 general election in Dublin South-Central, winning 926 votes.

Ní Chonaill has faced controversy. In 2005 she was accused of being a neo-Nazi after being invited to a debate at University College Dublin, an accusation she denied. As ICP spokesperson, she has spoken out against immigration and asylum policies, including opposing the Charter of Fundamental Rights and asylum claims by homosexuals fleeing persecution. She stated: “If the choice is between having homosexuals from these countries having to act discreetly and us being swamped with alleged homosexual claims from 80 countries around the world then they will just have to act discreetly.” She has also criticized the Irish government’s response to the 1990 Fajujonu court case, calling it a betrayal of Irish citizens.