Irish Republican Socialist Party | Easter Statement 2010
Friends and comrades,
It is my utmost honour to be speaking here today at the 94th anniversary of the 1916 Easter uprising and to remember not only those who fell on Easter week and those who were later executed but also the members of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement who made similar sacrifices since the foundation of the movement. Many modern day republican socialists take as their inspiration the events in Dublin during Easter week. Whilst remembering our comrades is important and should not be neglected we must not lose sight of what they died for. We must not give up on their political aspirations, there is absolutely no point in turning up once a year at Easter to take part in this commemoration if for the other 364 days you are not involved in the political struggles of our class.
James Connolly and the other leaders of the Rising went out and faced down the biggest imperialist empire on the planet in the full knowledge that defeating the British was not going to be an easy task. They chose the more difficult road but one that, if victory was achieved, could mean so much for all the people of Ireland. Connolly’s ideas of uniting the national question and the class question are as relevant today as they were at the beginning of the 20th century. This is the most basic and fundamental position of the IRSP and stands us apart from all other republican and socialist organisations. There is absolutely no point in uniting Ireland tomorrow if we are still ruled by the very same capitalist class that rules over us now and exploits working class people. This is not freedom comrades. True freedom is the freedom that Connolly envisaged, economic freedom and freedom from that exploitation and discrimination and sadly we are no nearer that goal almost a century later. Within republicanism Easter is a time for reflection, to remember all those who have died in the struggle to build the republic. But we must also use this occasion to look to the future, to put ideas to our membership and the wider working class and to further our goals. As revolutionaries we must continually analyse the political situation and attempt to adapt our politics to the prevailing conditions.
Presently and in general terms republicanism is fragmented and working class people are looking for political leadership. We believe that the Republican Socialist Movement can be to the forefront of that leadership. There are many aspects to our movement that other republican or socialist groups do not possess, aspects that stand us apart. We have the history of our organisation, a proud history of struggle, sacrifice and perseverance, we have the inspiration of great leaders, among them Costello, McGlinchey, O’Hara, Power and Gallagher, we have the experience of enduring so many murderous attacks and coming out the other side and we have our revolutionary republican socialist politics to guide us. I’ll repeat it comrades, no other trend within either republicanism or socialism on this island can claim what we have. We have to remain totally proud of what went before but always mindful that we have a hell of a lot to live up to if we are to achieve anything worthwhile for our class. We cannot rest on our laurels but aspire to be like those leaders who I have just mentioned.
You are all aware of the major developments within the IRSM during the past few months. The INLA took a very brave and courageous decision back in February and that move to unilaterally disarm has presented the Irish Republican Socialist Party with new possibilities. The leadership of the IRSP believe that the decision was pragmatic as well as affording the IRSP the chance to grow into new areas both physically and politically. The INLA have shown leadership and that this has clearly been backed by the membership of the entire movement. The decision was endorsed by all sections of the movement publicly. We believe that we can now move forward with the confidence that our revolutionary politics have not been watered down in any way. This move was made in order to reinforce the primacy of politics within the Republican Socialist Movement and the work that has gone on behind the scenes since the announcement bears that out.
Not only do we intend to recruit and to build this party but we also intend to reach out to other republicans and socialists in an effort to build alliances that can ultimately progress the politics of republican socialism. On a wider political level we can proudly declare that our politics haven’t changed one iota. We remain committed republican socialists and revolutionaries. We remain implacably opposed to the British government having any say over the lives of any Irish man or woman. We continue to fight for the republic and agitate and advocate for the destruction of partition and all the institutions that prop it up north and south.
We have to fight against the partitionist mindset that continues to hold the people of Ireland back and prevents the people from reaching their full economic and social potential. The partition of Ireland is the biggest block in the way of achieving true economic freedom. This island is simply too small to support 2 health care systems, two transport systems, two education systems etc etc. The problems with these systems are starting to make themselves more apparent as cutbacks become the order of the day. Both regimes in Ireland, Stormont and Leinster House have begun implementing massive cuts on services that will be directly affecting you, your family and your community. Only direct, strong and focused action can prevent these cuts from happening. Stand up and become leaders within your communities and fight for your class, the working class. We urge you to take your lead from the likes of James Connolly and Seamus Costello who both worked tirelessly for the people.
Our party is working on a political program that will give members of our party and potential members and supporters a blueprint for the way forward. It will lay out in clear and concise terms what our party believes are solutions to all the major issues of the day.
In terms of the IRSP becoming more active politically we have already started this work. In Derry the party are integral part of the Communities Against the Cuts, which is an alliance of political and community organisations opposing cuts in vital services. In Dublin the party in the last year was involved in many alliances in support of working class communities and our party has stood with our Palestinian brothers and sisters who were under sustained attack by Israel. In Belfast our party worked diligently on the issue of the Bog Meadow Babies and helped bring that issue to a successful conclusion, the party carried out protests in support of Green Isle workers and in Wexford our members are at the forefront in opposing the closing of the accident and emergency department in Wexford General Hospital, our youth movement, the RSYM, has been raising awareness across Ireland of the homeless issue and their “House the homeless” campaign was imaginative and thought provoking. Teach Na Failte, our ex-prisoners organisation, has been doing great work within working class loyalist areas in bringing republican socialist ideas to those who for historical and cultural reasons have not been given the opportunity to hear these ideas before. We are entirely proud of our recent achievements and of our work for working class communities.
This is all great work but it must be multiplied a thousand times over if we are to make any meaningful impact for our class. Our task when leaving here today must be that we revitalise Republican Socialism within our communities. There are many problems facing working class areas and if implemented correctly the solutions are to be found within republican socialist ideas. Simply standing shoulder to shoulder with beleaguered communities can sometimes be enough to empower the people to make the decisions and to take action that directly benefits their lives provided that we are able to impart upon them the ideas of republican socialism and what these ideas mean for their struggle then the ultimate winners will be our class and the struggle for socialism.
Members of the IRSP should be active in all areas where we can help achieve victories for our class. The trades unions and the local trades councils are areas where we can influence and change and promote our ideas. Whilst we understand the limitations we would ask all of you here today to consider becoming members of the unions and to use these collectives in order to progress the politics of republican socialism. We must fight within these groups so that the working class gets back to the top of the agenda.
In order to build this party and bring it to it’s potential we need all our activists to stand together and put our collective shoulders to the wheel. We need to recruit and spread the ideas of Connolly and Tone, we must reach out to the working class and help them understand what we mean by Republican Socialism and how it can change the lives of every single working class person in Ireland. We have to build this party, that means we must recruit new members throughout Ireland, establish Cumainn in areas where presently there are none and make our party relevant, visible and viable. But we must be realistic in understanding what we can achieve.
Seamus Costello declared that his allegiance was to the working class. That is the slogan that best exemplifies what Seamus stood for and the politics he espoused. This is the IRSP’s view and our ideology but our task is to turn that idea into practical action within communities. We need each and every one of you here today to turn your pride and love for our fallen comrades into hard work within our communities and it is only then that their legacy will be realised and we can build the republic for which they died.
Go raibh mile maith agat.
