My name is Derek Blighe.

I am a married father of three, a bricklayer, a political activist and an election candidate in the Republic of Ireland.

When I stood outside one of Ireland's first refugee centres in 2022, holding a sign that read "Shouldn't we house the Irish first?", I was pretty much alone.

At that point, speaking up against mass, uncontrolled immigration in this country was very much a taboo, but also drew me huge support which was evident in my first election run, where I finished with almost 40,000 votes, more than any other non establishment figure in Ireland south. This was the sign that they needed to take me down.

My activism drew me a huge amount of hatred and attacks, not only on myself but also on my young family. Hatred not only from Fringe members of the radical left but also from many sections of the Irish state.

My activism has seen me arrested, charged, imprisoned and robbed of my property on numerous different occasions.

In one instance I was arrested while holding a protest at a charity shop that donated goods only to foreign nationals, The homeless or needy Irish were not welcome.

My protest involved asking for an item of clothing for needy Irish people. When I was refused, I took the item of clothing and stood outside the door of the store and waited for the Irish police, An Garda Siochana, to arrive.

I was arrested and charged, not with theft initially, but burglary. Charged with burglary for walking into an open shop?

The reason I was charged with burglary became clear to me very quickly, An Garda Siochana needed a substantial charge like burglary to justify coming to my house within hours and seizing my legally held and stored firearms. Once they had the firearms in their possession they dropped the burglary charge. They knew it would not hold up in court and proceeded to charge me with theft, for which the Irish judiciary system was happy to convict me.

Since then I have had my bank accounts closed, been assaulted numerous times, had mine and my family's lives threatened, all while not one complaint I have filed has ended in a prosecution. At the same time I have been dragged through the Irish Court system numerous times for extremely spurious charges at every opportunity the Irish state could find.

I am currently facing trial for a charge that could see me imprisoned for up to 10 years. What is the charge? I'm not allowed to tell you because my bail conditions have ordered me not to speak about this case or I will be picked up within hours and thrown in prison.

We have all seen what has happened to British man Tommy Robinson. He has been persecuted by every arm of the British government and has been locked away numerous times. The Irish government is doing exactly the same thing to me.

I am strong and can take this. If there is anyone that the Irish government would relentlessly pursue, persecute and torture it's me. I am made for this. However my family is not. This is why I'm asking for your help.

The current case I'm dealing with could run into tens of thousands of Euros. I am a working man and the sole provider for my wife and children. I am the breadwinner but I do not have the financial firepower that the Irish government possess. This is why I'm asking for your help. I have created a crowd funding page where I'm asking for your help to fight the Irish government head on. The government knows that I am the soul provider for my family and that throwing me in prison will only make me stronger. They know that when they put me in prison, the day that I exit my support will have tripled around the world. But they want to break me financially. They know that my one weakness is my family and they hope that by continually laying criminal charges on me that the financial burden will become so much that I have to submit. No man wants to submit but when I look into the eyes of my wife and children, there is only so much that I can do.

So please, if it's only a dollar or a Euro to help me in my fight against what has been described as the most corrupt government on the face of the planet, The Irish government.

Thank you.