The campaign has sparked fears a new wave of migrants could flee from Ireland to the UK
Protests erupted in Belfast in June 2026 (Image: Getty)
The new IRA is plotting a campaign of violence aimed at driving migrants out of Ireland, intelligence officials have warned. There are fears that the group has been exploiting “tensions” in pursuit of a “united Ireland”.
Security sources told the Daily Mail that the group is capitalising on people’s concerns after Stephen Oilvie was stabbed last month, allegedly by a Sudanese asylum seeker. The stabbing led to riots in Belfast.
Last week, a video was posted to social media of an unidentifed man warning the IRA would threaten migrants with violence if they did not leave Ireland. He said: “They will take control, and they will give an ultimatum, not to politicians but to the illegal migrants who are in the country.”
He added that the British Army “respected” the IRA during the Troubles due to their effectiveness and “professionalism”.
The man said: “It is now going to be time for civil war, and that is exactly what these guys are going to be doing and can you blame them?
“This will be a major wake-up call for the authorities. These guys will show them how it’s done and give them 24 hours to leave.”
A source told the Daily Mail: “The New IRA have been very active this year in the North in attacks against the Police Service of Northern Ireland, at Lurgan police station and a car bomb at Dunmurry.
“They have two aims: Irish independence and all migrants out.
“We believe it is part of a power struggle going on between factions within the group of the old IRA, the Real and the New IRA, with the new incarnations advocating a campaign of violent intimidation.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “We have a close and collaborative working relationship with Ireland on migration and border security.
“This includes a mutual commitment to protect the Common Travel Area from abuse, delivered through joint work to identify and tackle migration trends as they emerge.”