Fr Peter O’Reilly, a 90-year-old native of Co Longford, says he felt it was important to stand amongst the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protesters in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday, June 8.
The protests materialized in Los Angeles on Friday as ICE raided several locations in the city. Some of the protests turned violent.
The ICE raids in Los Angeles continued on Saturday, as did the protests. In a controversial move on Saturday, US President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles, which CBS News notes is the first time a president has sent troops into a state without a state request in decades. Governor of California Gavin Newsom has slammed Trump's action.
On Sunday, the protests continued, including one staged at City Hall, which was attended by Fr O'Reilly.
"I'm here because I believe in freedom of speech and being able to come together peacefully, and to bear witness to that," Fr O'Reilly told Sergio Olmos of CalMatters in a clip that was posted to social media on Sunday.
"I'm an immigrant myself," Fr O'Reilly said.
"I was born in Ireland, and had suffered through many years of discrimination.
"And so, to me, it's a very personal thing.
"And a very beautiful thing about this country, is that wherever you come from, you have the right to protest, if needs be, peacefully.
"So, that's why I'm here."
Father Peter O’Riley says is standing calm as LAPD fire less lethal rounds all around him.
O’Riley says he’s here because he’s an immigrant and he supports free speech and the right to peacefully protest. pic.twitter.com/lA8v44g4t1
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) June 9, 2025
Olmos shared another clip that showed Fr O'Reilly walking calmly through the crowd.
Father Peter O’Riley walks calmly as LAPD fire less lethal rounds into crowd pic.twitter.com/I64jqscsIu
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) June 9, 2025
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Speaking with RTÉ's News At One from Los Angeles on Tuesday, Fr O'Reilly explained that he had gotten a notice from the Diocese about a group of interfaith ministers who were due to have a prayer vigil on the steps of City Hall.
However, the interfaith vigil was cancelled because of "the fear of violence," Fr O'Reilly said.
He continued: "I felt, maybe the thing to do was just mingle with the people and, wearing my Roman collar, I thought that would be the best thing to do, to bear witness, to say 'we stand with you.'"
In the clips on social media, loud bangs can be heard, which Fr O'Reilly said were rubber bullets.
"I felt - I was not near the front, maybe about 15, 20 yards away from the barriers - that the police were firing them as just a warning, 'do not riot,'" the Irish priest said on Tuesday.
"I had a feeling too because of what the Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, had said, 'this is not an insurrection. This is a manufactured thing from Washington to create confusion and to bring about violence rather than peace."
Speaking with RTÉ News on Tuesday, Fr O'Reilly reiterated his sentiments regarding discrimination toward the Irish: "With the Irish experience of being discriminated against for so many years and knowing the discrimination here in this country against the Irish, I felt there was something personal about that.
"Out of my own personal experience, where I was in some of these communities and knowing how many of them were marginalized because of the color of their skin. They're hard-working, family-oriented people that we needed to stand with and to let them know we were with them and for them."
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