A prominent anti-immigrant activist trespassed at a direct provision centre for International Protection applicants at Inch in Co Clare where residents were being besieged by protesters outside the property, a court has heard.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford upheld the trespass conviction imposed on Philip Dwyer at Magowna House on 18 May 2023.
Described in court by his counsel Anne Doyle BL as a 'citizen journalist', 56-year-old Mr Dwyer of Tallaght Cross West, Tallaght, Dublin 24 was appealing the district court trespass conviction imposed in March and Judge Comerford also affirmed the district court fine of €500.
Mr Dwyer told the court that he was at Magowna House to ask questions in his role as a journalist.
Judge Comerford said that Mr Dwyer "might be entitled to make inquiries and go to someone's door, but he went well beyond it here."
At the time, there were protests at Magowna House where 29 international protection applicants were being accommodated and there were blockades on local roads which were attracting media attention.
Judge Comerford said that a group of people here came to seek refuge "and were brought by the State to a relatively isolated, rural location where they were alone and away from a lot of resources and facilities".
He said: "And in effect they were besieged in the premises they were brought to. It was made absolutely clear to them that they weren’t welcome and there were protesters outside the property and there were bales of hay blocking access to prevent others joining them."
He said that there were 30 or 40 people protesting against their presence.
Judge Comerford said that the big difference between Mr Dwyer and protesters outside was that he did come inside the property where the other protesters did not.
Judge Comerford said that he accepted the evidence of the manager of Magowna House at the time, Ahlam Salman, who said that Mr Dwyer's presence on the property made her feel "afraid".
Video footage played in court
Video footage made by Mr Dwyer was played to the court where he can be heard saying that he has arrived at a "people trafficking centre".
In the footage shown in court, Mr Dwyer can be heard saying: "These are all foreign people telling me what I can’t do in my own country."
Mr Dwyer can be seen addressing a Ukrainian man wearing a fluorescent jacket asking: "Do you think Irish people are stupid? Do you think we are all idiots? I wouldn't blame you to be honest with you."
He asks later: "What is your problem? You are not in Ukraine, this is my country…What are you hiding? I am just asking questions on behalf of the people of Ireland…. The people in this country are very concerned about this."
After seeing some men believed to be international protection applicants staying at the centre, Mr Dwyer asks: "Why are these people covering their faces….This is Ireland. This is my country."
Counsel for the State, Sarah Jane Comerford BL said to Mr Dwyer that his words "had a menacing undertone" to those he spoke on the property.
In response, Mr Dwyer said: "I wasn’t menacing to anybody."
He said: "I 100% stand over those comments. We all have to respect one another. I tried to be respectful when I went in there.
"I was treated very badly. I was treated with hostility…I felt quite intimidated as well. That is part of the job."
He went on to tell the court: "I have thousands of viewers, sometimes hundreds of thousands."
Counsel for Mr Dwyer, Anne Doyle BL, said that she was not instructed by her client not to enter any mitigation concerning penalty "as my client stands by his actions".
Ms Doyle said that "he maintains that he was working in the course of his duties and does not accept the verdict".
