Shopkeeper Michael Mulligan, 65, stands behind the counter of his hardware shop, ahead of a general election, in Ballaghaderreen, Ireland November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
BALLAGHADERREEN, Ireland (Reuters) - In the small Irish market town of Ballaghaderreen, a long-standing welcome to immigrants is fraying badly ahead of a general election this week, the first to see the country's main political parties competing to be toughest on migrants.
A country that has long prided itself on being welcoming to migrants, Ireland has been shaken in the past two years by anti-immigrant riots in Dublin and grass-roots protests against refugee accommodation around the country.
