Dublin City Council will not remove Tricolour flags erected by anti-immigrant activists
Dublin City Council (DCC) will not be removing Tricolour flags erected around the city by anti-immigration activists, saying such a move would be “counterproductive”.
The issue has become a cultural flashpoint in recent months, with many anti-immigration activists encouraging their erection as a way of “reclaiming our country”, while opponents say they are weaponising the Tricolour as a tool of intimidation.
In response to residents and councillors who requested the flags be taken down, DCC consulted with stakeholders and Gardaí to give an appropriate response, “mindful of the feeling and opinions of communities across Dublin.”
A council spokesperson said the authority had concluded its deliberations and decided on a “positive and proactive approach” to the issue.
"Working with local communities and civic partners, Dublin City Council will promote a deeper understanding of the Irish flag — its history, its meaning, and its enduring message of inclusion, equality and respect,” they said.
The spokesperson said the Irish flag is a “unifying symbol” for all who call Dublin home, and that it represented “peace, togetherness, and the shared responsibility we each have in building an inclusive and welcoming city."
DCC would continue to remove flags deemed to be a risk to public safety or a hazard, as part of its normal course of operations, they added.
“Dublin is a city for everyone — a city where community, respect and belonging remain at the heart of all we do,” the statement concluded.
Labour councillor Dermot Lacey said he “really disliked” the way the flag was currently flying around the city, but that he understood the council’s view. Taking them down would just “whip up” a response, he said.
"I suppose what I’d like to see is an honest information service about the flag. How it should be flown, why it shouldn’t be displayed in a provocative manner, why it should be taken in at night.”
He said he’d like to see the council provide information about the symbol “so that the temperature can be lowered,” but that it was a “real pity” to see the flag “hijacked” in this way.
But independent councillor Malachy Steenson said the flags were not about intimidation, and were simply about national pride.
"We’re not marking out certain areas,” he said. “We’re mapping out the whole nation. We’ll have flags flying from Kerry to Donegal, to Antrim to Wexford.”
If flags were taken down by the council, he said they’d be replaced multiple times over.