Hermann Kelly facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hermann Kelly
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Kelly in 2019
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| President of the Irish Freedom Party | |
| Assumed office 8 September 2018 |
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| Director of Communications for Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy | |
| In office August 2009 – 2019 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 December 1968 Bogside, Derry, Northern Ireland |
| Political party | Irish Freedom Party (since 2018) |
| Other political affiliations |
UK Independence Party (UKIP) |
| Education | St Columb's College |
| Alma mater | St Patrick's College, Maynooth |
| Occupation | Press officer |
Hermann Patrick Kelly (born 1968) is an Irish anti-immigration activist, politician, press officer and former journalist, serving as president of the far-right Irish Freedom Party since its foundation in September 2018. As of late 2021, Kelly was employed in the European Parliament as an assistant to Romanian MEP Cristian Terheș.
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Early life and education
Kelly was born on Christmas Day, 1968 and is originally from the Bogside in Derry. His father was a headmaster of a primary school in Creggan, his mother was a nurse and he has three siblings.
His Secondary education was at St Columb's College, Derry. He then studied marine biology in Edinburgh before studying theology as a lay student at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth. He briefly worked as a teacher in Dublin.
Writer
Journalism
As a journalist, Kelly was a contributing columnist to the Irish Examiner, and also wrote for the Irish Mail on Sunday. Following the resignation of editor Simon Rowe in mid-2004, Kelly was briefly acting editor (and later deputy editor) of The Irish Catholic.
Politics
European Union
Kelly was formerly a press officer for Nigel Farage, and the director of communications for Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD), of which Farage was co-president. The EFDD dissolved in mid-2019. In a 2023 Irish Times article, Farage described Kelly as a "big strong strapping Paddy".
Kelly supports Ireland leaving the European Union (an 'Irexit'), and is the president of the far-right Irish Freedom Party, which advocates the same position. He contested the 2019 European Parliament election in the Dublin constituency, receiving 2,441 (0.67%) first preference votes and was eliminated on the fourth count.
As of 2021 Kelly was press officer to Romanian MEP Cristian Terheș of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, who has consistently declined to show an EU Digital COVID Certificate or proof of COVID-19 testing upon entering the European Parliament.
Kelly unsuccessfully contested the Midlands–North-West constituency at the 2024 European Parliament elections. He was eliminated on the thirteenth count, with 13,904 (2.04%) first-preference votes.
National politics
Kelly was a candidate for the Irish Freedom Party in the Louth constituency at the 2024 general election. He was eliminated on the fourteenth count, having polled 2,546 first-preferences (4.0%).
Political views
Kelly advocates for Ireland to leave the European Union and for a united Ireland. Kelly is economically liberal, and has questioned the financial cost of Ireland's EU contributions.
Kelly has described his views as representing "Irish Catholic nationalism".
Some outlets have linked Kelly with alt-right ideologies, pointing to a YouTube interview in which Kelly appeared alongside far-right British Loyalist and former British National Party member Jim Dowson. In the video Kelly stated that "[they want to] kill Irish kids and [..] replace them with every nationality who wants to come into our country", a statement which several news outlets associated with the white nationalist "great replacement" conspiracy theory. This followed a similar interview, in January 2019 with LifeSiteNews, in which Kelly denounced what he called the "great replacement of our children". In a 2019 Twitter post, Kelly stated that "those talking about a Great Replacement in Ireland have a point". Later in 2019, Kelly stated that, before an Irish government could make policy changes which result in "population increases [..] immigration or otherwise, it must first consult the people of Ireland". In interviews and Twitter posts, Kelly has stated that he does not support the idea of separate races or racial superiority, while also advocating for a "mono cultural society".
