Justin Barrett

This article is about the Irish politician Justin Barrett. For the psychologist, see Justin L. Barrett.

Justin Barrett (born April 13, 1971 in County Tipperary) is an Irish nationalist politician and pro-life and anti-immigration activist who has been the leader of the National Party since 2016.

Barrett was involved in the Constitutional Rights Campaign, which unsuccessfully campaigned to prevent the ratification of the Single European Act in 1986. In 1987 he became involved in Family Solidarity, a movement established to oppose liberalisation on social issues such as abortion, contraception, gay rights and divorce. Lack of success in this area led him to the conviction that political involvement was necessary for results - he was subsequently involved in Young Fine Gael until 1991. From 1992 he became actively involved in the Irish pro-life movement, becoming the lead spokesperson of Youth Defence, and as a student in Athlone RTC he unsuccessfully contested the election for the Presidency of Union of Students in Ireland. During the 1995 divorce referendum, he was spokesman for the Youth Against Divorce campaign. He was also involved in the campaign against the 2002 abortion referendum.

Nice Treaty

In 2001, Barrett campaigned against the Nice Treaty referendum - a vote which was subsequently held again and was approved. During the second Nice campaign, Barrett became the centre of a controversy over links to alleged "neo-Nazi" movements in Germany. Barrett admitted he had spoken at a NPD rally, but denied he had any sympathy with their policies and said that he had addressed the rally only in his capacity as a pro-life campaigner.

European Parliament elections 2004

In the European Parliament election, 2004, Barrett ran for a seat in the 'East' constituency, but only managed 2.4% of the vote (a total of 10,997 first-preference votes). Later that year, while attending a debate in University College Dublin, Barrett claimed he was the victim of an assault by members of the Irish Anti-Fascist Action group.

Personal life

Justin Barrett is married with three children.

Book

He published a book putting forth his political principles, entitled The National Way Forward! In the book he described immigration as "genocidal" and said that he was influenced by Hilaire Belloc, G. K. Chesterton and Arthur Penty. He also promoted the work of Father Denis Fahey.

Áine Ní Chonaill said that his agenda was broader than hers and that there had been no contact between them.

In March 2004, he accompanied Gerry McGeough on a speaking tour.