Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist-Leninist)
Encyclopedia
Anti-Revisionist
In the Marxist–Leninist movement, anti-revisionism refers to a doctrine which upholds the line of theory and practice associated with Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, and usually either Mao Zedong or Enver Hoxha as well...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
based in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, it had strong links with Party of Labour of Albania, Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist)
The Communist Party of Canada is a Canadian federal Marxist–Leninist political party.The party is registered with Elections Canada as the Marxist–Leninist Party of Canada...
and Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)
Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)
The Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain is a British communist political party. It was originally named the Communist Party of England , until it was reorganised after rejecting Maoism. The party's thinking is based on the politics of Hardial Bains, who died in 1997...
.
CPI(ML) originated from the "Internationalists in Ireland", a group started on 9 December 1965 by Hardial Bains
Hardial Bains
Hardial Bains was the founder of the Communist Party of Canada and its leader until his death...
, while he was working as a microbiologist
Microbiologist
A microbiologist is a scientist who works in the field of microbiology. Microbiologists study organisms called microbes. Microbes can take the form of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protists...
at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
. His efforts culminated in the "Necessity for Change" conference, at which delegates from Canada, India, Ireland and Britain pledged to build Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
parties in their countries. They rejected Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's policies, which they regarded as revisionist, and followed a Marxist-Leninist course. In 1969, they renamed themselves the Irish Communist Movement (Marxist-Leninist). On 4 July 1970 they relaunched themselves as the CPI(ML), with Michael Hehir named as the 'leading national spokesman.'.
The ICM opposed the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
On the night of 20–21 August 1968, the Soviet Union and her main satellite states in the Warsaw Pact – Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic , Hungary and Poland – invaded the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in order to halt Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring political liberalization...
.
CPI(ML) participated in the 1974 UK parliamentary election
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
. It had candidates in three constituencies in Northern Ireland. In total they got 540 votes, between 0.2%-0.5% in each constituency. CPI(ML) member David Vipond stood in the 1973 Monaghan by-election, receiving 157 first preference votes. Vipond later stood for election in Dublin along with other CPI(ML) members.
CPI(ML) ran a bookstore in Dublin called Progressive Books and Periodicals at 25 Essex St, Dublin 8. At various times CPI(ML) had bookshops in Limerick and Cork. In the early 1970s, the group's General Secretary was Carole Reakes.
CPI(ML) originally upheld Mao Zedong Thought - particularly in the 1970-71 period during which entire issues of Red Patriot were dedicated to Mao Zedong but they flatly rejected Mao Zedong after the Sino-Albanian split
Sino-Albanian split
The Sino-Albanian split in 1978 saw the parting of the People's Republic of China and People's Socialist Republic of Albania, which was the only Eastern European nation to side with the PRC in the Sino–Soviet split of the early 1960s.-History:...
of 1978, after which they upheld the writings of Albanian leader Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
.
The CPI(ML) organised several delegations to Albania, beginning
in June 1979, (when the delegation met Ramiz Alia
Ramiz Alia
was the second and last communist leader of Albania from 1985-91, and the President of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1991 to 1992, and also the first President of the post communist Albania elected in 1991-92. He had been designated as successor by Enver Hoxha and took power after...
); CPI(ML) delegations there continued during the 80s. The CPI also supported the communist movements of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
.. They also expressed some support for the Gang of Four
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
faction in China.
The CPI(ML) were strongly critical of other Irish left-wing parties, including the Workers' Party of Ireland
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
, Irish Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
and the Communist Party of Ireland
Communist Party of Ireland
The Communist Party of Ireland is a small all-Ireland Marxist party, founded in 1933. An earlier party, the Socialist Party of Ireland, was renamed the Communist Party of Ireland in 1921 on its affiliation to the Communist International but was dissolved in 1924. The present-day CPI was founded in...
. They were especially hostile to Brendan Clifford
Brendan Clifford
- Brendan Clifford :Brendan Clifford is an Irish historian and political activist.-Career:Clifford was born in the Sliabh Luachra area of Ireland. As a young man, he emigrated to...
and his British and Irish Communist Organisation
British and Irish Communist Organisation
The British and Irish Communist Organisation was a small but highly influential group based in London, Belfast, Cork, and Dublin. Its leader was Brendan Clifford. The group produced a great number of pamphlets, and many regular publications including, The Irish Communist and Workers Weekly in...
, whose support for the Partition of Ireland
Partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland was the division of the island of Ireland into two distinct territories, now Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Partition occurred when the British Parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920...
and the British Army in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
the CPI(ML) regarded as a complete betrayal of Maoism.
The CPI(ML) supported armed struggle for the reunification of Ireland and initiated the Spirit of Freedom Committee to work with Irish republicans. Other groups created by the party were the Workers and Unemployed Movement and the Communist Youth Union of Ireland (Marxist-Leninist). With the collapse of socialism in Albania, the CPI(ML) opened up relations with the Workers Party of Korea and signed the 1992 Pyongyang Declaration
Pyongyang Declaration
Pyongyang Declaration was a declaration signed by communist, workers, socialist and progressive parties, on the occasion of the 80th birthday of Kim Il-Sung in April 1992. It is entitled 'Let Us Defend and Advance the Cause of Socialism...
. General Secretary Rod Eley visited North Korea in 1999.
In the early 1980s, the CPI(ML) was a major force in the students' union movement, with member Brendan Doris becoming president of the Union of Students in Ireland
Union of Students in Ireland
The Union of Students in Ireland is the national representative body for third-level students' unions in Ireland. The Union of Students in Ireland is the sole national representative body for students in Ireland but does not represent students from two of the seven Irish Universities, namely...
(USI), while members Tommy Graham and Brian Stone became president of the College of Technology (Bolton Street) Students' Union in successive years. Tommy Graham is the current editor of History Ireland
History Ireland
History Ireland is a magazine about the history of Ireland published every two months. It features articles by a range of writers and book reviews. The focus is on history rather than archaeology.The magazine's editor isTommy Graham....
.
In 2003 CPI(ML) was disbanded, following a long period of passivity. Upon dissolution, the general secretary of CPI(ML) was Rod Eley
Rod Eley
Rod Eley was a leader of the Communist Party of Ireland . He was the general secretary in 2003, when the CPI was disbanded.He wrote a history of Cornelius Cardew's Scratch Orchestra.-External links:**...
. Following the group's dissolution, leading member Brendan Doris stood in the Dublin West by-election in 2011 achieving 95 first preference votes.