Peter Casey visits Cabra Bridge in Thurles, which was at the centre of a dispute with Travellers

Peter Casey, a candidate in the presidential election, has received the backing of alt-right supporters online.

He was widely criticised during the campaign for claiming that Travellers were not an ethnic group but people “camping on someone else’s land”. A number of users of 4chan, a notorious online forum where people can post anonymously, have praised Mr Casey for the comments and an earlier remark that Jewish people “basically live in the White House”.

There is also evidence of co-ordinated efforts to boost Mr Casey’s status online. A number of Twitter accounts have been activated in the past week to push his message. The former RTÉ Dragons’ Den investor tweeted yesterday: “I am the only candidate who says what he believes. There is far too