Ireland's OWN: History

 

Towards Revolution: The Memoirs and Thoughts of an Irish Republican —by Liam O Comain Extracts from a work in progress.... Reprinted at Ireland's OWN with permission of the author. All rights reserved. The Raison Detre of 'Dissenting Republicans' During the so called Civil War in Ireland at the beginning of the twenties of the last century those who opposed the Anglo- Irish Treaty were called 'irregulars'. The equivalent today —  'dissenting republicans'. So as a response to what appears to be a darling phrase of Martin McGuinness I present the raison detre of  our position. Which includes our reason for opposing the Belfast Agreement. Please bear with me. What Patrick Pearse and his fellow republicans accomplished in Easter Week, 1916, was momentus and truly revolutionary because they did not say that it was their desire to have a republic, or that they sought a republic, they in fact proclaimed a Republic! A Republic proclaimed and endorsed two years later (1918) by the overwhelming majority of the people of Ireland. For in that general election Sinn Fein asked the Irish people to copperfasten the Republic proclaimed in 1916 by supporting their candidates with the pledge that with the return of a majority they would ensure that the Republic proclaimed in Easter Week (Poblacht na hEireann) would manifest itself to the nations of the world. Thus what the result of the 1918 election in Ireland mandated was the establishment of a National Parliament and arising from this assembly was the expressed national will of the Irish people, i.e., the 'Declaration of Independence' from the centuries long military and administrative occupation by a foreign entity, namely Britain. The people had spoken! In fact the nearest number of candidates to Sinn Fein (with approximately 73 elected) were the Irish Unionists with approximately 26 candidates elected. But in spite of the overwhelming support by our nation for the implementation of the principles of the 1916 Proclamation the so-called 'mother of democracies' rejected the will of the people of Ireland and attacked the new  32 county Republic. The Republic was defended by representatives of the people  who had mandated it into existence and during this period known as 'The War of Independence' the Irish people suffered immensely from the forces of perhaps the most vile and destructive colonial empire that the world has ever seen .In fact the 'Black and Tans' are forever etched on the national consciousness. Now when we look at the nineteenth century infamous Act of Union imposed on this country by Britain and consider the consent freely given by the Irish nation to the Republican Parliament (Dail Eireann) established in 1919 surely that Republic warrants our allegiance. In spite of the fact that superior forces drove it underground and refused to let it function. The Act of Union, however undemocratic, had an existence in time as had the Proclamation  of  The Republic and the Declaration of  Independence:  the former the expression of political skulduggery and the latter the expression of national sovereignty. And it is this National Sovereignty that we as a people today must defend against the Belfast Agreement; as the people of an earlier generation defended the Republic during the so called Civil War. The latter war was a tragedy and should never have taken place. Its birth however illustrates what can happen when a people break ranks and abandons principle under the threat of force of arms and the snake- like cunning of the British establishment. The result was the so-called Anglo Irish Treaty of the last century. As history records the republican delegates who attended the Treaty negotiations were not a united body for British threats and propaganda had ensured division within their ranks. Thus in due course Collins and others signed the Treaty:  a treaty which was illegal because of the aforementioned British threats and duress but primarily from the fact that Michael Collins and company had not the power to sign on behalf of the Republic. For how can one person or group sign away a Republic democratically endorsed by the great majority of the  people? Now it is this great expression of national sovereignty, a reality fed by the blood of our people, that  pseudo nationalists wish to be replaced by the Belfast Agreement As in the last century they tried to replace it with the so called Anglo Irish Treaty. It is absurd for anyone to try and equate the momentous happening of  the establishment of an Irish Republic with the expedient concoction of the Treaty and the Belfast Agreement. Of course The Republic at present is buried beneath the continuing British militarily and administratively occupation. That is the presence of British military forces in the 6 counties and the two political statelets which they imposed to govern the island. That reality does not invalidate however the reality of Poblacht na hEireann which is the expressed will of the Irish people exercised by national ballot. No partitionist elections or referendums invalidates it.It still lives and in due course it will function. That is the raison detre of Irish revolutionary republicanism. We are revolutionary because our task is to resurrect the Republic... what nobler or revolutionary act could one imagine. Chapters Include: Preamble — On the Path of Wolfe Tone The Making of a Revolutionary Republican The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men John Hume and the Republican Objective The Birth of the Provisionals Internment Morning Authentic Revolutionary Republicanism Counter Revolution and the Collaborators The Victor McLaglens A Stepping Stone to the Republic? The Onslaught of British Anti-Insurgency The Justification of Armed Struggle Creative Violence in the Pursuit of Justice Which IRA is Authentic? The Raison Detre of 'Dissenting Republicans' Page updated 15 Feb 2009 Ireland's OWN Logo by Eamann Website Design and Celtic Background by Míchealín Daugherty Copyright © 2009 Ireland's OWN All Rights Reserved.