NRM Threatens Irish Politicians Promoting Immigration
Diplomat Foreign Desk
Dablin: The New Republican Movement is a “dissident” republican group that appeared prominently in late 2025 – a new and volatile element emerged in the landscape of Northern Irish politics unlike other traditional republican groups solely focused on Irish reunification.
Contrary, the New Republican Movement has combined militant republicanism with a fierce anti-immigration agenda.
Shadows of Newry:
While its specific founding hierarchy remains covered by masks and pen-names to evade the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), it is composed of individuals who have broken away from mainstream republicanism (like Sinn – Féin), accusing them of “selling out” the working class.
Why Anger: The NRM’s anger is fueled by a volatile cocktail of traditional nationalism and modern economic anxiety:
Challenging Immigration: They claim that “uncontrolled immigration” is a tool used by the Govt to suppress wages and dilute the native Irish identity that has compromised the job market, and identity of the nation.
Believe Irish Politician Betrayed Nation: The organization is hostile especially towards Sinn – Féin and other nationalist politicians, while accusing them of prioritizing globalist agendas and asylum seekers that has given rise to the local housing crisis and the needs of impoverished Irish communities.
Divisive Narrative: the NRM has declared that any politician supporting current immigration policies is a “legitimate target” for their movement, and they have tracked their identity, and movements. Hence, it has unnerved the politicians (MLAs, Councillors etc) in Newry, Mourne, and Down areas. And, the security has been increased around the politicians, who have been threatened.
The group gained international notoriety in December – 2025 when they released a chilling video featuring three masked men – at least two of whom were brandishing firearms – sitting in front of an Irish tricolour.
Who was threatened? The group issued direct death threats to MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) and local councillors in the Newry, Mourne, and Down areas.
Police Action: The PSNI and An Garda Síochána – the Republic of Ireland’s Police – have launched a massive cross-border investigation.
Intelligence Operations: Superintendent Lynne Corbett stated that police are using cyber-forensics to track the IP addresses used to upload the threatening videos.
Meanwhile, the police with other agencies have conducted joint operations that have led to several arrests under the Terrorism Act, aiming to dismantle the group’s nascent infrastructure before they can carry out a “spectacular” act of violence.
Boiling Point: On the walls of the council estates, the old slogans of “Brits Out” were being spray – painted over with new, harsher mandates: “Local Homes for Local People” and “NRM: The Real Voice.”
The three masked figures didn’t talk about the border at-least not the one with the UK. They talked about the “open borders” of the EU. They called the local Sinn Féin representative a “traitor to the soil” for supporting a new asylum center nearby.
The NRM had become the first group to successfully bridge the gap between paramilitary violence and the far-right anti-migrant movement sweeping Europe. By framing immigration as a “new plantation” – a term historically used to describe British colonization of Ireland), they had found a way to make xenophobia sound like traditional Irish patriotism.
As the PSNI Land Rovers rumbled through the narrow streets of South Down, the question wasn’t if the NRM was a threat to immigration – it was whether the fragile peace of the island could survive this new, “New” Republicanism.
Is it a threat to European immigration?
While the NRM is a small, localized group, security experts view it as a significant ideological threat. They represent a growing trend of “cross-ideological” extremism where traditional separatist groups adopt far-right tactics. This creates a “perfect storm” for civil unrest, potentially inspiring similar radicalization in other European regions with strong nationalist or separatist histories.
