THIS week a major new audio documentary was launched by The Southern Star, available online to subscribers.
The SSPX Resistance in West Cork – pious priests or danger on our doorstep? is part of the newspaper’s The Big Story digital podcast series.
The 47-minute documentary, written and presented by Southern Star editor Siobhán Cronin, charts the arrival in West Cork of the controversial fundamentalist Christian community, SSPX Resistance, which was originally established by convicted holocaust denier and conspiracy theorist Richard Williamson.
The compound, at a former farmhouse near Reenascreena outside Dunmanway, regularly hosts Latin masses for locals and community members, but its British counterparts have been linked with far-right groups operating in the UK.
In this special podcast documentary, Ms Cronin investigates the secretive community which is based in a remote location, in the heart of West Cork. Contributors include Clonakilty Catholic parish priest Father Tom Hayes, investigative journalist Harry Shukman and activist Fiona O’Leary, with additional reporting by journalist Jackie Keogh and editing by Dylan Mangan.
‘As the general election results fade, and there was widespread relief that no far-right candidates were successful, there are some political observers who believe it’s only a matter of time before the hate-filled messages of some agitators start to resonate with elements of the electorate, as they have in other countries across Europe,’ said Ms Cronin.
‘We felt it was important to probe the existence of this secretive group in our community. This base, established by a group with links to far-right thinkers, comes about against the background of a rise in hate-fuelled crimes in this country and the increasing threat to our democracy by bad actors,’ she added. ‘We think this is an important story to tell.’
The SSPX Resistance in West Cork can be found under the podcast tab by subscribing at southernstar.ie or by clicking here.
