FUEL PRICE PROTESTERS have called for a national strike today, following the removal of blockades in Dublin and at the Whitegate oil refinery by gardaí over the weekend.

The proposal has been promoted heavily online by far-right and anti-immigrant groups, who have sought to enmesh themselves with the protests over the past week.

Christopher Duffy, one of the spokespeople for protesters in Dublin, called for a “national day of strike and protest” on social media yesterday afternoon, saying the government “went too far”. He said the strike should take place today.

A national strike is a form of action where a substantial number of workers across different sectors organise to stop working for a certain amount of time to achieve a political aim.

In Ireland, a unionist-led strike in Northern Ireland led by the Ulster Workers’ Council brought about the collapse of the first power-sharing agreement in 1974.

Duffy’s post came after six days of protests were largely cleared by yesterday afternoon and ahead of an emergency Cabinet meeting that sought to sign off on measures to appease protesters. 

The Journal reported at the weekend how Duffy has built a following on social media by leaning heavily into far-right narratives.

His Facebook page shows he has shared images claiming Ursula von der Leyen believes free speech is a “virus” and that censorship is a “vaccine”; he has also called for the Irish tricolour to be protected by the constitution and said that Muslims “want to take over the world”.

Last week’s protests were not organised by far-right groups, with many of those blocking roads and motorways motivated only by their frustrations about the price of fuel.

However, far-right groups and personalities in Ireland and abroad became involved and used the protests to further their talking points about the government, the European Union and immigrants, particularly on social media.

Duffy’s original post has been seen more than half a million times and has clocked up hundreds of thousands of views from other pages that have re-shared it on Facebook.

The proposal was soon picked up by prominent figures within Ireland’s far-right and anti-immigrant movement, including Conor McGregor and Derek Blighe, as well as international figures like conspiracy theorist Liz Churchill and Russell Brand.

The call has also been promoted on far-right social media channels with AI-generated posters.

Despite some continued disruption around the country as a result of the protests, the strike did not appear to have materialised into widespread action on Monday morning.

A handful of businesses around the country have announced on social media that they would remain closed for today.