Irish Republican Socialist Party
Encyclopedia
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican
socialist party active in Ireland
. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly
, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party
in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising
of 1916.
The Irish Republican Socialist Party was founded on 8 December 1974 by former members of the Official Republican Movement, independent socialists, and trade unionists headed by Seamus Costello
. A paramilitary
wing, the Irish National Liberation Army
(INLA), was founded the same day, although its existence was intended to be kept hidden until such a time that the INLA could operate effectively. Seamus Costello
was elected as the party's first chairperson and the army's first chief of staff. Together, the IRSP and the INLA refer to themselves as the Irish Republican Socialist Movement
(IRSM).
Former MP for Mid-Ulster Bernadette McAliskey
served on the executive of the IRSP. She resigned following the failure of a motion to be passed which would have brought the INLA under the control of the IRSP Ard Cohmairle. This led to the resignation of half the Ard Comhairle which weakened the party. The future TD Tony Gregory
was also a member for a short time. Its poor showing in the 1977 Irish General Election and the assassination of Seamus Costello
also hampered the organisation.
Costello was expelled from the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) following a court-martial
, and from Official Sinn Féin on the same basis. Along with other activists he was dissatisfied with the group's tactics and policies especially on the issues surrounding the 1972 OIRA ceasefire and the arising belief that the emerging conflict was sectarian. In 1977 he was shot dead in his car by a man armed with a shotgun. His supporters blame the Official IRA for the killing.
Although a truce was eventually reached following meetings between the INLA and OIRA leadership in Dublin, in one of the first of the INLA's armed operations, Billy McMillen
, Belfast Battalion OIRA Officer Commanding in Belfast, was murdered by Gerard Steenson
. In the following years the IRSP and INLA saw many members killed in attacks from state forces and loyalist
paramilitaries including leading members Miriam Daly
, Ronnie Bunting
and Noel Little.
Three members of the INLA died in the 1981 Hunger Strikes
in HM Prison
Maze
(aka Long Kesh). They were Patsy O'Hara
, Kevin Lynch, and Michael Devine.
In 1981
, party members Gerry Kelly and Sean Flynn won two seats on Belfast City Council
in a joint campaign with People's Democracy
, although neither councillor served a full term with one going on the run after being implicated during the Supergrass trials and another resigning his seat citing disillusionment with the IRSP and later claiming in the Irish News that he had received threats from his former colleagues.
, viewing both as simply cementing British rule in Ireland. As of 11 October 2009 the INLA has ordered an end to the armed struggle.
.
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
socialist party active 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 claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly
James Connolly
James Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...
, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party
Irish Socialist Republican Party
The Irish Socialist Republican Party was a pivotal Irish political party founded in 1896 by James Connolly. Its aim was to establish an Irish workers' republic...
in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
of 1916.
History
Seamus Costello
Seamus Costello was a leader of Official Sinn Féin and the Official Irish Republican Army and latterly of the Irish Republican Socialist Party and the Irish National Liberation Army ....
. A paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
wing, the Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
(INLA), was founded the same day, although its existence was intended to be kept hidden until such a time that the INLA could operate effectively. Seamus Costello
Seamus Costello
Seamus Costello was a leader of Official Sinn Féin and the Official Irish Republican Army and latterly of the Irish Republican Socialist Party and the Irish National Liberation Army ....
was elected as the party's first chairperson and the army's first chief of staff. Together, the IRSP and the INLA refer to themselves as the Irish Republican Socialist Movement
Irish Republican Socialist Movement
The Irish Republican Socialist Movement is an umbrella term for the political-paramilitary grouping of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the Irish National Liberation Army, prisoners who belong to either the IRSP or the INLA, the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America, and the...
(IRSM).
Former MP for Mid-Ulster Bernadette McAliskey
Bernadette Devlin McAliskey
Josephine Bernadette Devlin McAliskey , also known as Bernadette Devlin and Bernadette McAliskey, is a socialist republican political activist...
served on the executive of the IRSP. She resigned following the failure of a motion to be passed which would have brought the INLA under the control of the IRSP Ard Cohmairle. This led to the resignation of half the Ard Comhairle which weakened the party. The future TD Tony Gregory
Tony Gregory
Tony Gregory was an Irish Independent politician and a Teachta Dála for the Dublin Central constituency from 1982 to 2009.-Early life:...
was also a member for a short time. Its poor showing in the 1977 Irish General Election and the assassination of Seamus Costello
Seamus Costello
Seamus Costello was a leader of Official Sinn Féin and the Official Irish Republican Army and latterly of the Irish Republican Socialist Party and the Irish National Liberation Army ....
also hampered the organisation.
Costello was expelled from the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) following a court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
, and from Official Sinn Féin on the same basis. Along with other activists he was dissatisfied with the group's tactics and policies especially on the issues surrounding the 1972 OIRA ceasefire and the arising belief that the emerging conflict was sectarian. In 1977 he was shot dead in his car by a man armed with a shotgun. His supporters blame the Official IRA for the killing.
Although a truce was eventually reached following meetings between the INLA and OIRA leadership in Dublin, in one of the first of the INLA's armed operations, Billy McMillen
Billy McMillen
Billy McMillen was an Irish republican activist and an officer of the Official Irish Republican Army...
, Belfast Battalion OIRA Officer Commanding in Belfast, was murdered by Gerard Steenson
Gerard Steenson
Gerard Steenson was an Irish republican socialist paramilitary activist. He was a member of the Irish National Liberation Army group during the Troubles in Northern Ireland....
. In the following years the IRSP and INLA saw many members killed in attacks from state forces and loyalist
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
paramilitaries including leading members Miriam Daly
Miriam Daly
Miriam Daly was an Irish republican activist and university lecturer who was assassinated by loyalist paramilitaries.She was born in the Curragh army camp, Kildare, Ireland. Her father had been active in the Irish War of Independence alongside Michael Collins, but favoured the Anglo-Irish Treaty...
, Ronnie Bunting
Ronnie Bunting
Ronnie Bunting was an Irish republican and socialist activist in Ireland. He became a member of the Official IRA in the early 1970s and was a founder member of the Irish National Liberation Army in 1974. He became leader of the INLA in 1978 and was assassinated in 1980.-Background:Bunting came...
and Noel Little.
Three members of the INLA died in the 1981 Hunger Strikes
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
in HM Prison
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...
Maze
Maze (HM Prison)
Her Majesty's Prison Maze was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from mid-1971 to mid-2000....
(aka Long Kesh). They were Patsy O'Hara
Patsy O'Hara
Patsy O'Hara was an Irish republican hunger striker and member of the Irish National Liberation Army .He was born in Bishop Street, Derry, Northern Ireland. O'Hara joined Na Fianna Éireann in 1970, and in 1971 his brother Sean was interned in Long Kesh. In late 1971, he was shot and wounded by a...
, Kevin Lynch, and Michael Devine.
In 1981
Northern Ireland local elections, 1981
Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in 1981.-Overall:-Belfast:...
, party members Gerry Kelly and Sean Flynn won two seats on Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...
in a joint campaign with People's Democracy
People's Democracy
People's Democracy was a political organisation that, while supporting the campaign for civil rights for Northern Ireland's Catholic minority, stated that such rights could only be achieved through the establishment of a socialist republic for all of Ireland...
, although neither councillor served a full term with one going on the run after being implicated during the Supergrass trials and another resigning his seat citing disillusionment with the IRSP and later claiming in the Irish News that he had received threats from his former colleagues.
Policies
The IRSP opposes both the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland Peace ProcessNorthern Ireland peace process
The peace process, when discussing the history of Northern Ireland, is often considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Belfast Agreement, and subsequent political developments.-Towards a...
, viewing both as simply cementing British rule in Ireland. As of 11 October 2009 the INLA has ordered an end to the armed struggle.
Representation
The party is represented in North America by the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North AmericaIrish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
The Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America ' was founded in March 1984 in Saint Paul, Minnesota as a support group for the Irish Republican Socialist Movement. In 1998, it was formally recognized as the North American section of the IRSM...
.
Milestones in the IRSP's history
- 1975: At the IRSP's inaugural convention, it becomes the first political party in Ireland to support the legalisation of abortionAbortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and equal rights for gays and lesbians - 1981: The IRSP wins two seats on the Belfast City CouncilBelfast City CouncilBelfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...
, and comes close to winning a third. The IRSP runs two candidates, Kevin Lynch and Tony O'Hara, in the Irish parliamentary election as Independent Anti H-BlockAnti H-BlockAnti H-Block was the political label used in 1981 by supporters of the Irish republican hunger strike who were standing for election in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland...
candidates. Neither candidate wins, but Lynch comes within 300 votes of winning a seat, while O'Hara garnered a respectable number of votes. - 1982: Party member Brigid MakowskiBrigid MakowskiBrigid Makowski from the Bogside in Derry, Northern Ireland, is a former member of Shannon Town Commission and Clare County Council. She was elected initially representing the Irish Republican Socialist Party of which she was a founding member....
wins a seat on the Shannon Town Commission. - 1984: At the IRSP's convention, two motions are put forward:
- That the IRSP stands in the tradition of Marx, Engels, and James ConnollyJames ConnollyJames Connolly was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was born in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, to Irish immigrant parents and spoke with a Scottish accent throughout his life. He left school for working life at the age of 11, but became one of the leading Marxist theorists of...
. (Drafted by party member John GilliganJohn Gilligan (Mayor of Limerick)John Gilligan is an Independent Councilor and former Mayor of Limerick from 2008–09. He was the first independent politician to be mayor of limerick since 1962 and was the 812th Mayor of Limerick....
[ now an elected Independent member of Limerick City CouncilLimerick City CouncilLimerick City Council is the local authority which is responsible for the city of Limerick in Ireland. It is the responsible for local government, sanitation, motor vehicles tax, and social housing.-History:...] and put forward by the party's LimerickLimerickLimerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
branch). - That the IRSP stands in the tradition of Marx, Engels, and Lenin. (Drafted by the party's chairperson, Jim Lane, and put forward by the party's CorkCork (city)Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
city branch.)
Both motions are passed and combined into a single statement: that the IRSP stands in the tradition of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Connolly.- 2000: The IRSP passes a new ideological motion at its convention, which affirms:
- That the IRSP is a revolutionary Marxist organisation, and that by this we mean that the IRSP believes:
- Class conflictClass conflictClass conflict is the tension or antagonism which exists in society due to competing socioeconomic interests between people of different classes....
is the motive force in human history; - The IRSP stands unreservedly and exclusively for the interests of the working class against all others;
- Only the creation of a 32-county Irish socialist republic can provide the means by which Irish national liberation can be realised;
- That there can be no socialism without national liberation in Ireland, nor can there be national liberation without socialism;
- That there is no parliamentary road to socialism, because socialism cannot be forged by seizing the bourgeois state apparatus; nor is there a guerilla road to socialism, because a social revolution requires the active participation of the masses; and therefore a socialist republic can only be established through the mass revolutionary action of the working class in the political, economic, and social spheres;
- That socialism means the ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange collectively by the entire working class, with an end to wage labour, an end to production for profit and its replacement by a system of production based on human need; and
- That socialism must be administered democratically by the working class itself, recognising the class dictatorship of the workers, because the vast majority of society is formed by that class. This does not suggest the need for a political dictatorship of a single party. Rather it calls out for a class dictatorship, administered through new working class institutions created to permit the greatest degree of political freedom for all working people.
- Class conflict
- That the IRSP is a revolutionary Marxist organisation, and that by this we mean that the IRSP believes:
- 2011: The IRSP put's forward five candidates in the North's local elections, it's first foray into electoral politics in almost 30 years. The candidates all poll well but fail to secure a seat. Candidate Paul Gallagher of Strabane missed out on a seat by just a single vote.
- 2000: The IRSP passes a new ideological motion at its convention, which affirms:
External links
- Irish Republican Socialist Party Official web site
- Republican Socialist Forum Public forum