Derek Blighe

Derek Blighe (born 1980) is an Irish far-right anti-immigration political activist. A construction worker by trade, Blighe emigrated to Canada during the post-2008 Irish economic downturn. Following his return to Ireland in 2019, Blighe became politically active during the 2022–23 Irish anti-immigration protests, in which he acted as a self-described "citizen journalist". This involved him attending, filming and promoting anti-immigration protests across Ireland. As part of this activism, Blighe has promoted the great replacement conspiracy theory as explaining the basis for immigration into Ireland. In 2023, he became the leader of a registered political party Ireland First, with anti-immigration as the main plank of its platform.