The alleged theft of an estimated €400,000 worth of gold bullion from the safety deposit box of a small right-wing nationalist party in Ireland has prompted media intrigue as well as an investigation from Irish police (An Garda Síochána) amid what appears to be a very public schism in the group.
Authorities were first alerted last week when the gold was removed from the Dublin safety deposit box of ‘The National Party’ (An Páirtí Náisiúnta). The party’s leader, Justin Barrett, blamed the withdrawal on senior party members, including the party’s deputy leader, James Reynolds, in what appears to be an attempted heave against him.
A minor right-wing political party founded in 2016, The National Party has no elected representatives and received 0.2% of the national vote share in the last Irish general election in 2020.
In a statement, broadcast from an unverified social media account, leader Justin Barrett stated that the gold reserve “formed the main part of the party’s reserves” in preparation for what he believed to be a global economic collapse and impending hyperinflation.
Irish police confirmed to the state broadcaster RTÉ that despite claims by Mr. Barrett, no criminal investigation had been launched. In the meantime, there has been online speculation indicating that Mr. Barrett was ousted by disgruntled party activists. No official statement has so far been issued by the party.
The National Party had previously been reported as non-compliant with existing party financing legislation, and the gold bullion is now believed to be in the possession of police pending legal review.
A peripheral figure in Irish politics, Mr. Barrett earned national notoriety for his links to German and Italian neo-fascist groups during a 2002 referendum on the acceptance of the EU-Nice Treaty in Ireland, and has recently been documented as quoting Adolf Hitler on his personal social media account. In 2021, Mr. Barrett stood in a Dublin by-election where he received less than 0.7% of the vote.
The National Party campaigns on a vociferously pro-life and anti-immigration platform and came to international prominence when their party conference was violently attacked by leftists.
While small, the party has featured prominently in recent demonstrations against asylum seekers in Ireland, including leading street blockades against buses of refugees. The Irish government has been heavily criticised for accepting approximately 80,000 refugees last year amid a worsening housing crisis, and for its policy of co-opting hotels and other community facilities to house asylum seekers.
Despite a rise in populist sentiment across Ireland, this has so far failed to translate into populist electoral gains as many pundits predict that conservative independents will be the primary beneficiaries of a potential lurch to the Right.
