The chairman of Identity Ireland who was hospitalised after being hit in the head with a blunt object while travelling on the Luas has condemned the main Government parties for failing to be unequivocal in their disdain for the attack.

Speaking at an Identity Ireland launch in Cork, Peter O’Loughlin said he was startled by the ferocity of the attack which occurred in Dublin last week prior to the launch of Pegida Ireland. He had also planned to hold an anti-Islam rally.

“They were dressed in black masks and everything. They started to attack our members. One of them hit me in the head with a blunt object and I had to be taken to the Mater. They bandaged me up. Where I got hit, if it was slightly lower it would have taken out my eye, but I have quite a thick skull so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I got stitches afterwards.”

‘Scary’

Mr O’Loughlin said they expect opposition given their views. However, he described the violent element as “scary”.

He stressed the most worrying aspect of the attack was the “deafening silence” from most parties.

“In fairness, Leo Varadkar came out and commented and he said he condemned the attacks. I am still not sure if he is condemning it on behalf of Fine Gael.

“The most worrying aspect was some tweets sent out by some politicians. A Labour councillor, I think she was a councillor, sent out a tweet saying ‘ha ha ha…Karma is a bitch’.

“That is a Government party you are talking about. I haven’t heard anything from the likes of Joan Burton. Fianna Fáil nothing. Sinn Féin – nothing.”

Mr O’Loughlin said Identity Ireland would expel a member if he or she were to tweet in support of an attack on a person with opposing views to the group.

Working with gardaí

He is running as a candidate in Cork North Central in the forthcoming election and is hoping to hold a rally in the near future. He will be working with the gardaí to ensure it goes off peacefully.

“I still haven’t had a chance to make a speech in my own country. I got a chance to make a speech in Germany, but not in Ireland.

“If you don’t support us, at least condemn and stop this type of thing from happening, because it will spread.”

Pegida, which stands for Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West, began in Germany last year, largely in response to the European refugee crisis.