* Join eirigi Coolock activists this Saturday the 9th at Cook street, Dublin at 13.30. 

éirígí New Year Statement 2013

01/01/13

As the hundredth anniversary year of the 1913 Lockout begins éirígí extends solidarity greetings to its members, supporters and all of those who have contributed to the struggle against imperialism and capitalism in Ireland over the last twelve months.

We look forward to 2013 with optimism, resolute in the belief that an all-Ireland Socialist Republic continues to represent the only viable alternative to the failed politics of partition, exploitation, deprivation and austerity. We enter the New Year with a renewed determination to challenge both the British occupation of our country and the exploitative economic system that currently exists across Ireland.

The popular fight back against the anti-working class policies of the Leinster House and Stormont administrations gained considerable momentum in 2012. Hundreds of thousands of families in the Twenty-Six Counties participated in the boycott of the Dublin government’s home tax. éirígí commends them for this historic and successful act of mass civil disobedience. 2013 will see the Dublin government attempt to introduce a re-formatted home tax, with domestic water taxes set to follow in 2014. These taxes will need to be met with mass collective action similar to that which defeated the 2012 home tax.

In the Six Counties ever greater numbers of people are coming to see Stormont as the White Elephant it will always be. Far from the new beginning that it was supposed to deliver, Stormont has produced nothing but the same old, tired, failed politics of the past. Despite their hollow words of protest, the coalition parties in Stormont have obediently implemented the cutbacks of their Tory masters over the last twelve months; a fact which has not gone unnoticed by communities across occupied Ireland.

éirígí believes that the austerity programmes of both states can be defeated through a sustained campaign of mass protest, industrial action, civil disobedience and direct action. Over the coming year éirígí will continue to work within working class communities to build such a campaign of resistance.

The last twelve months have seen a marked increase in the harassment and vilification of republican and socialist activists across Ireland. éirígí members and supporters have found themselves repeatedly subjected to ‘stop and searches’, attempts to recruit them as informers, house raids, arrests and imprisonment. In late November, this campaign of political policing escalated with the charging of éirígí activist Stephen Murney. As a result of these spurious charges Stephen has now spent more than a month incarcerated in Maghaberry Jail.

It is abundantly clear that Stephen has been targeted by the PSNI for no reason other than his vocal and consistent criticism of the PSNI and the Stormont regime. éirígí is calling on all republicans, socialists and others progressives to familiarise themselves with Stephen’s case and actively campaign for his immediate release.

This escalation of state harassment and oppression against éirígí has come as no surprise. All oppressive states respond in this way to effective opposition. There is nothing the Irish ruling class fears more than a resurgent revolutionary republican movement successfully mobilising the wider working class. Our activists intend to spend the next twelve months working to realise the worst fears of the ruling class. The attempts of their forces to intimidate our activists and supporters will be as unsuccessful in 2013 as they were in 2012.

Towards the end of 2012 éirígí welcomed the decision of the political prisoners in Maghaberry to end their long-running protest in support of political status. We are again calling on the British government and the prison authorities not to squander the opportunity that this brave decision affords them. Irish republicans will never accept the criminalisation of the struggle for Irish freedom, within the jails or without.

2013 will mark the hundredth anniversary of a number of critically important events including the Great Lockout, the foundation of the Irish Volunteers and the foundation of the Irish Citizen Army. The parallels between the Ireland of 1913 and the Ireland of 2013 are many. Then, as now, Britain maintained an illegal occupation of Ireland. Then, as now, workers and their families found themselves being pushed into extreme poverty to satisfy the greed of a super-wealthy elite. And then, as now, the private media and the forces of the state were mobilised to vilify and attack those who dared to resist.

One hundred years ago thousands of Irish women and men came to the conclusion that the appetite of the rich and powerful was insatiable; that national, economic, social and cultural rights have to be fought for and defended; that the key to victory lies in the creation and development of revolutionary organisations committed to the overthrow of the ancien régime.

As we enter 2013 the people of Ireland would do well to follow the example of their grandparents and great-grandparents, by taking a stand against those who would drive them into poverty and despair. To those who are ready to take that stand éirígí extends an invitation to join with us. Together we can act in the spirit of 1913 and achieve the vision of 1916.

Coolock Public Meeting Discusses Republicanism and the Fight Back

09/11/12

On Tuesday, October 30th, more than two dozen people attend a public meeting in Kilmore Community Centre in Coolock, Dublin. Entitled ‘Towards 2016: The Workers Republic – éirígí’s Vision’, the meeting was addressed by éirígí activists Brian Leeson and Martin Farrell.

Leeson’s contribution focused on the impact that the 1912-1922 revolutionary period has had on the Ireland of today. He argued that the revolutionary potential of that period was crushed with the emergence of a Free State which protected the interests of the big farmer, the Catholic church and the business class. The Irish Volunteers, the Irish Citizen Army, the Irish Republican Army and others had fought for a sovereign independent Irish Republic that would cherish all the children of the nation equally and not for a state that would protect the interests of the few at the expense of the many.

Leeson went on to say that the Twenty-Six County state today is very far from the one envisioned in the 1916 Proclamation. Today’s state remains committed to protecting the few, in the form of the bankers, developers, the political class and their cronies – again at the expense of the many. In conclusion Leeson stated that the legacy of 1916 should be the spirit of rebellion, whereby ordinary working people decided to ignore the rules and laws of the ruling class and organise themselves into an effective resistance movement – something which people today should take inspiration from.

Next to speak was Martin Farrell, who gave the meeting an insight into éirígí’s work within the local community in Coolock, Darndale and the surrounding areas. He detailed the positives of building mass resistance within communities through organisations like the CAHWT (Campaign Against the Household and Water Tax). Martin highlighted how that campaign has mobilised hundreds of thousands to resist austerity and has shown that once communities get organised and stand together, they have the power to defeat the home tax, the water taxes and the crippling cutbacks.

Following the contributions of both speakers, questions and comments were taken from the floor. Issues raised included the current state of Irish republicanism, the biased nature of the state/corporate media as well as suggestions on how the fight back could be escalated.

Speaking after the event chairperson of the local éirígí ciorcal (branch), Ciaran Heaphey, said, “Tonight’s meeting was a huge success. Many new faces from the community came along to listen to the politics of Irish republicanism and to find out more about éirígí’s work in the local community.

“The next few years in the run up to 2016 and beyond are important years for republicanism and the type of Ireland we want to live in. Tonight’s meeting has played a small but important part in facilitating a local community in discussing the legacy of 1916 and the fight back against austerity today. The level of defiance at the meeting tonight was heartening. There is no doubt in my mind that the people of this city are seething with anger. The next step we need to take is to focus that anger onto those individuals and institutions that are responsible for the current mess.”

éirígí Announce Public Meeting on Republicanism in Coolock

21/10/12

On Tuesday, October 30th, éirígí in Dublin North East will hold a public meeting under the title ‘Towards 2016 – The Workers’ Republic: éirígí’s Vision’. The event will take place at 7.30pm in the Kilmore West Community Centre in Coolock.

The meeting will discuss the legacy of the 1916 Rising and the relevance of socialist republicanism in Ireland today. Cathaoirleach éirígí Brian Leeson will outline the party’s view of how the struggle for a united and free Ireland can be advanced over the coming years. The event will be chaired by Ciarán Heaphey, chairperson of éirígí in Dublin North East.

Speaking in advance of the event, Ciarán Heaphey said, “2016 will mark the 100th anniversary of the 1916 rising, an event of the utmost importance in Irish and republican history. The roots of many of the problems facing the Irish people today can be traced to the Rising, the Tan War, the partition of Ireland and the creation of the Six and Twenty-Six County states that followed these tumultuous events.

“We in éirígí believe that republicanism is as relevant today as it was in 1916. The men and women who took part in the 1916 Rising did so because they believed that the people of Ireland should be in control of their own country, economy and destinies – an idea which is very relevant in the context of Britain’s occupation of the Six Counties and IMF/EU control of the Twenty-Six Counties.”

Encouraging members of the local community to come along, Ciarán said, “éirígí is organising this public meeting to give the local community in Coolock the opportunity to come along and find out more about Irish republicanism and the socialist republican vision for Ireland. It will allow people the opportunity to listen to éirígí’s analysis and vision for the future. I would encourage anyone from the local community who would like to find out for about éirígí to come along and take the opportunity to ask questions and maybe to get involved in the struggle for a free Ireland.

“In the run up to 2016 republicans must attempt to re-popularise the ideals of the men and women of Easter week, and highlight the fact that the business of that week remains unfinished. This meeting will hopefully play a small part in that process.”

Keep up the boycott.