"The Plough" No. 9

[Conghaileach]

The Plough
- E-mail newsletter of the Irish Republican Socialist Party -
Number 9
10 October 2003

Seamus Costello Special

1. Commemoration Speech by Paul Little
2. Statement of the IRSP's International Department
3. Fraternal greetings from the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement
4. Dessie O'Hare Campaign. Speech at Costello Commemoration
5. Democracy and the Mass Movement by Seamus Costello
6. A Tribute to Seamus Costello
7. What's On.

*******

Costello Commemoration 2003

Speech by IRSP Ard-Chomhairle Member Paul Little

Comrades and friends, we gather here in Bray today to not only
remember our founder and political visionary - Seamus Costello - but
also to celebrate the political legacy that he left to us,
the Irish Republican Socialist Party and Republican Socialism.

Over the past few years, former INLA prisoners, many who are here
today, through Teach Na Failte have embarked on a program of erecting
suitable memorials to our fallen comrades across the country. That
work is ongoing and will continue until all are recognised for what
they were - Republican Socialists, Soldiers, in a volunteer
revolutionary army that fought with great courage the mercenary
forces of British and international imperialism.

Over the past few years the INLA, whilst adhering to its ceasefire,
has had to take defensive measures in defence of the Irish working
class which has come under attack from the reactionary sectarian
campaign of loyalists. The INLA, whilst not relishing this role, will
not leave vulnerable working class communities unarmed or undefended.

We salute the courage of each and every man and woman who makes a
contribution to the struggle!

Today the IRSP has to face into the struggle for a socialist republic
based on democratic principles, equipped with the integrity of
republican socialist politics. This alongside our determination to
achieve Irish freedom, full social equality for all, and self
government are the arms required for today's struggle. The political
conditions not only in Ireland but also internationally in 2003
demand that our response is measured and tailored to achieve victory,
not wallowing in a self-righteous indignance, engaged in a fruitless
armed campaign that our enemies long ago learned how to minimise and
negate.

Times and conditions change, that the Republican Socialist Movement
move with those times and conditions is a political imperative. We
serve notice on our opponents today - in armed struggle the RSM was
tenacious, determined, ingenious, and confident. In peace, we are
equally tenacious, determined, ingenious, and confident. These were
the attributes of Seamus Costello and we are proud to have inherited
them.

Whilst the political conditions and the combined will of the Irish
people expressed in 1998 demand that we use only peaceful methods it
would be wrong for our opponents to see this as a defeat or weakening
of republican socialism.

We listened to the combined wishes of the Irish people, which is
more than the current Irish government did when it enabled the
Anglo/American invasion of Iraq. An invasion that has led to the
decimation of the Iraqi people and the plundering of their country's
collective wealth, all to satisfy the lust of Anglo/American
capitalism.

We listen to the Irish people in regards to the morality of war,
not George Bush, Tony Blair, or Bertie Ahern. Hypocrites one and
all. Unlike them we have no fear of peaceful political struggle
or democratic principles, indeed, armed with republican socialist
politics it is our strength and we look forward with confidence to
the future. The question is can they cope with a confident and
successful republican socialist program without resorting to their
old trusted methods of subjugation, oppression, exploitation, and
marginalisation? We shall see!

The IRSP are determined to present a real choice to the Irish working
class, the choice between social equality and prosperity for all and
the present class system which condemns millions to poverty and
misery with the crumbs off the table of the greedy.

Have no doubt, comrades, we do not only want the loaf of bread but we
mean to take the entire bakery. The demolition of capitalism,
exploitation, and the class system was and is our aim!

Our opposition to the Good Friday Agreement is well documented
and the present bartering of democratic institutions against long
silent Provo weapons is but the latest example of the failure of real
politics in the failed entity that is the North.

If the current batch of wannabe 'statesmen and women' that
represent 'politics' in Ireland represent the future, then God
help the Irish working class. Sure we know they can talk the talk but
precious few, if any, know how to take a single step.

We recognise the new political climate that the agreement has
created. It has created space and room for dialogue that in the end
can only be for the common good.

We also recognise the bad, whilst the creation of sectarianism can
not be laid at its door its rapid development throughout society as a
whole in the North cannot and should not be ignored. Sectarianism is
through society as a whole but its violent manifestation has maximum
effect in working class communities and is the cause of much
secondary discrimination in the areas such as employment, housing,
education, and health provision.

In North Belfast there is housing crisis for the Catholic community.
The statutory social housing provider the housing executive if it was
honest would admit that it has no real strategy to combat this
discrimination in housing provision, it cannot even get the language
correct it calls North Belfast 'an area of high housing need', no its
not, its an area of poor social housing provision because of
sectarianism.

The IRSP are extremely concerned at secondary discrimination and its
effects on securing a peaceful future for all. We do not remember any
exclusion clauses in the Good Friday Agreement and if any people
deserve peace it is the good people of North Belfast, an area in
which one quarter of all the deaths in the conflict lost their lives
in one square mile.

In Coleraine this week, a Catholic family was forcefully evicted
from their home of twenty years after having the audacity to fly a
Tyrone GAA flag in celebration of that county's success at Croke
Pairc last Sunday. For this they had their windows smashed and a
volley of shots fired into the house, they are now housed elsewhere
the local media inform us. Nobody asks why? Anymore, it is easier to
brush it under the carpet and try and get the big house up in
Stormont working. Well, we in the IRSP are asking not only why but
what the hell are they going to do about it! The current wave of
attacks on schools and school children across the North is abhorrent
and we call on them to cease immediately. Only the cause of sectarian
hatred is promoted by these attacks.

Across the country IRSP personnel are involved in working class
issues that have real effect on ordinary people's lives, from the
campaign against the introduction of a 'bin tax' in the South to the
campaign against the introduction of water charges in the North, you
will find the IRSP. We commend Socialist TD Joe Higgins for his
principled stance on the 'bin tax', but one can but wonder if he
would have been sent to prison if he held an offshore bank account!
Lying, corruption, bribery, embezzlement, and tax evasion all seem to
be the passport to power in Ireland under the Celtic Tiger.

The IRSP are also to be found in the trade unions, the community
associations, and in every working class issue you will find an Irp.
Not bad for a group of people that our enemies had written off as
social misfits, profiteers, psychotic murderers, and a ragtaggle
band of braggarts whose only concern is personal gain. I know of no
current Irp who has profited from their membership of this
organisation, indeed personal sacrifice for the collective good has
always been our way and so it shall remain.

Seamus Costello founded the RSM, a volunteer army, and a subscription
based political party. The IRSP is self funded, we are not in the
pocket of any self interest group or foreign government. We are what
we say we are - a working class political party, we serve no other
interests only those of the Irish working class.

Those who see the lack of personal ambition of individual members of
the IRSP for the baubles and titles of 'Western democracy' as a
weakness in our movement are wrong once again, it is our strength. We
remain uncorrupted by the lure of the easy life paid for by the
honest toil of others. Whilst we may not lust after the 'baubles and
titles', we do possess a collective ambition and determination that
by far out strips any personal ambition. Republican Socialism
represents the opportunity for the maximum amount of personal freedom
within a collective responsibility.

Like our founder and the man we remember here today, Seamus Costello,
the only title that we crave is that of all free workers in a free
society, the highest accolade of all, that of - comrade citizen!

Comrades, we have much work to do. Go out and preach the blessed
gospel of discontent! Organise! Onwards to victory!

*******

In Memory of Seamus Costello

At the funeral of Seamus Costello, Nora Connolly-O'Brien, daughter of
Ireland's greatest Marxist revolutionary leader and herself a life-
long activist, republican, and socialist, said of the fallen IRSP
leader: "He was the only one who truly understood what James Connolly
meant when he spoke of his vision of the freedom of the Irish
people."

The greatest interpreter of the political brilliance of James
Connolly alive in Ireland at the time, the "Boy General", a man
elected to the Wicklow County Council, County Wicklow Committee of
Agriculture, General Council of Committees of Agriculture, Eastern
Regional Development Organisation, National Museum Development
Committee, Bray Urban District Council, Bray Branch of the Irish
Transport and General Workers Union, Bray and District Trade Unions
Council (President 1976-77), the Cualann Historical Society,
Chairperson of the IRSP, and Chief of Staff of the INLA, lay dead at
the hands of the Official IRA.

Just three years after founding the Irish Republican Socialist
Movement, Seamus Costello was dead and buried.

The Garda and Special Branch attacked the party's offices, assaulted
its members, and arrested 40 of its leading members. Our second
chairperson and a gifted mass leader, Miriam Daly, was stolen away
from us a brief three years later, murdered by the SAS masquerading as
loyalist thugs, and within months of her murder, the intelligent,
energetic, and capable Ronnie Bunting and Noel Little too were felled
by SAS assassins. In 1981 the loss of O'Hara, Lynch, and Devine alone
would have been a devastating to many movements, but we lost a number
of others in shoot-to-kill murders by the state, death on active
service, and mass arrests on the evidence of super-grass perjurers.

The smoke from the cordite slowly cleared and the IRSP and INLA were
still standing. Bruised and bloodied, but with head unbowed; we
were still standing.

The sight of that must have been quite vexing for some. It must
have driven some malignant mind within the pack of snarling dogs the
system of capitalism maintains to the limit of his patience. Because
then a collection of ex-members of our movement, who generally
couldn't stand the sight of each other, were seized up and brought
together for no good purpose, christened the IPLO, armed and sent to
destroy this movement by equal parts senseless violence and shameless
misrepresentation. If the death of comrades of the stature of Ta
Power and others had not done damage enough, the droning chant of the
word "feud" in the capitalist media and by erstwhile Irish
republicans now dressed up in the ill-fitting clothes of politicians
and statesmen served to besmirch the proud name of the Irish
Republican Socialist Movement to such an extent that reactionaries
and curs felt capable of attempting to take away from us our
association with our founding chairperson and tireless leader.

We saw to it, comrades, that they did not succeed.

But we did reel in a prolonged and bleak period of darkness. Fear
kept comrades behind locked doors, party stalwarts formed external
discussion groups and took brief sabbaticals from party activism.
What was left of the movement was chiefly the prisoners of war and the
supporters abroad, assisted by a mere handful of party members and
prisoners' relatives, who leaned heavily on the volunteers of the
INLA to ensure that the very name of our party did not disappear from
the annuls of Irish republicanism.

Out of that darkness stepped yet another intelligent, brave, and
charismatic individual, the latest in a list far too long for such a
tiny party, struggling to remain alive on the revolutionary margins
of Irish politics. And once again, the party comrades and the INLA's
volunteers, the prisoners of war, the recently ex-prisoners, and the
scattered supporters abroad returned to raise our standard, the
Starry Plough, once again. I recall that a good comrade of mine said
to me, "once more into the breech, my old friend."

And as surely as any keen observer of Irish history might have
predicted, a handful of wasters seized the blood money offered by the
enemies of our nation and our class and killed yet another leader of
the Irish Republican Socialist Movement, but this time that movement
did not waver, not even for a moment. This time, despite the lies and
slander spewed forth in the press, despite the deliberate efforts to
re-tar our movement with the charge of feuding, despite the blood of
yet another martyr who had restored our pride and determination,
despite all this, we did not stagger and we did not reel. We did not
bow our heads, but kept marching forward. This time we did not allow
ourselves to be bullied by lesser men with more weapons and we did
not retreat to the safety of the political sidelines. And we have not
done so yet. We continue to march forward, sure in our allegiance to
the working class; sure in our commitment to the class war which is
its right and duty to wage; sure that we are following in the
footsteps of giants and that we are forcing ourselves to grow with
every step so that we might fill those footprints.

Reactionaries and cowards killed Seamus Costello, comrades and
friends. Ever since that day, their allies have sought to destroy
Seamus's legacy, which is the Irish Republican Socialist Movement.
But we who have been orphaned more times than we can count have come
of age. There has been a fitting memorial built to the founder of our
movement and that memorial is that very movement which he helped to
forge. We have come through a baptism of fire and blood and wind and
storm, and as we stand here today we serve as a living commemoration
of Seamus Costello's memory.

We have openly admitted our mistakes. We have found the courage to
mend those parts of our movement that had, in haste, been constructed
poorly. We have had the courage of our convictions sufficient to
stand not on the trappings of a heroic but at times ill-guided
history of struggle in arms nor in the glittering ornaments of
bourgeois respectability. No, rather we have found our strength in
the reality of the honour and justice inherent in the struggle of our
class for its liberation, as women and men. We have found our footing
by keeping our feet firmly on the earth, our heads proudly in the
air, and our eyes fixed upon the goals of equality, justice,
liberation, human dignity, cooperation, mutual concern, and genuine
compassion and concern for all those who suffer and languish under
the heel of oppression.

Look around us here today; see the comrades that you have around you
today. That we are here at all is a worthy tribute to Seamus Costello.
That we return each year to honour the memory of this leader and
champion of Ireland's working people, testifies to the accomplishment
of this heir to the tradition of Connolly. And, comrades, remember as
you leave this graveyard today, that this grave may contain the flesh
and blood of Seamus Costello, but that his spirit soars in every
corner of this island where the Starry Plough ripples in the breeze.
We will not simply respect the memory of Seamus Costello; we will
live it. We have come to this grave-side today to say to the world at
large, we are the children of Connolly, of Larkin, of Costello, but
we are now grown and standing on our own feet. But, as long as the
IRSP continues its fight to liberate its nation and its class, Seamus
Costello yet lives and breathes.

Long Live the Spirit of Connolly!

Long Live the Spirit of Costello!

Long Live the Irish Republican Socialist Movement!

*******

Fraternal greetings from the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement.

There is little that could be said about Seamus Costello that has
not been said before. Be it as a trade unionist, a republican, a
socialist. Be the field of struggle be local, regional, national, or
international. Working with tenants groups, small farmers, women,
trades councils, or prisoners. Seamus Costello stands apart as the
personification of the class struggle and the struggle against
British imperialism and capitalism.

Nowhere is this better represented in his simple statement that "I
owe my allegiance to the working class". Eight simple words but what
they represent is the embodiment of our struggle. The embodiment of
our struggle internationally be it in the slums of Gaza, the prisons
of Istanbul, the Coca-cola factories of Colombia. Everywhere our
class is in struggle you will find the spirit of Seamus Costello.

Many socialists declare that "we have no heroes". But this abstract
position fails to reflect the almost super-human contributions of
certain individuals to the fight for the emancipation of the world's
workers. So Costello deserves to take his place alongside the likes
of Connolly, Larkin, and MacLean. Not as iconic figures of reverence
but as symbols of resistance, symbols of struggle, and symbols of the
coming day when we, the workers of the world, take back what is
rightfully ours. And when we do then Costello along with all the
other martyrs of our class will be remembered with the pride and
respect that they are due. We can think of no more fitting tribute.

All Hail the Irish and Scottish Workers Republics!

Donnie Fraser
Secretary, SRSM
1148 Argyle St
Glasgow
G3 8TE
Scotland

*******

Statement on behalf of the Free Dessie O'Hare Campaign, delivered at
the Seamus Costello Commemeration

Desmond O'Hare was born on 26 October 1956 and comes from a staunch
Republican family. Dessie's grandmother did six months in Holloway
Gaol for "keeping Republicans". His father and six of his uncles were
interned between 1940 and 1944. One uncle died while interned on the
Isle of Man.

Dessie became active in the Republican struggle from the age of 16
and one of his Officers Commanding in the IRA was John Francis Green,
later assassinated by Captain Robert Nairac.

Dessie was jailed for life in 1988 and is currently the O/C of the
INLA prisoners in Castlerea Prison. He has endorsed and fully
accepted the INLA ceasefire. That statement said among other things:

"That the conditions for armed struggle do not exist".

"We acknowledge and admit faults and grievous errors in our
prosecution of the war".

"Innocent people were killed and injured and at times our actions as
a liberation army fell far short of what they should have been. For
this we as Republicans, as Socialists, and as Revolutionaries do
offer a sincere, heartfelt, and genuine apology".

Organisations which are on ceasefire are entitled to the early
release of its members under the Good Friday Agreement, which says
that all political prisoners convicted of offences committed before
April 1998 should be released. Dessie O'Hare was not released.

The Irish government has refused to free him in contravention of the
Good Friday Agreement even though Dessie was a leader of the INLA at
the time of the kidnap. Indeed the former Minister for Justice,
Equality, and Law Reform, Mr John O'Donoghue, has publicly
stated, "He is a qualifying prisoner".

The GFA in its entirety includes the early release of 'qualifying
prisoners' meaning those prisoners whose organisations
are 'maintaining a complete and unequivocal cease-fire'. Dessie
O'Hare is such a prisoner who has been denied the benefits of the
early release scheme as laid down in Annex B, Section 2 of the
Agreement which the Irish electorate voted for.

Dessie has been demonised by the media and by certain politicians who
labelled him the "Border Fox". He has been seen by experts at the
request of the Irish government in an attempt to keep him imprisoned
on the grounds of his mental state. They could find no such grounds
for his continuing incarceration but this was an attempt to emulate
the tactics of Stalinist USSR in labelling opponents of that
regime 'mad'.

Dessie's "crime", if 'crime' it was, was to be an active Republican.
His co-accused, Edward Hogan and Fergal Toal, have already been
released under the Agreement even though they were convicted of the
same offence.

Dessie is being victimised, discriminated against, and demonised by
the state authorities. And yet his activities were no different from
those of hundreds of others released under the GFA. We will, over the
coming weeks, be stepping up our campaign, where pickets and protests
will be placed on constituency offices and private residences of
those politicians who are charged with enacting the Agreement in its
entirety but who have failed to acknowledge the democratic will of
the people.

Dessie O'Hare is no different from hundreds if not thousands of
Republicans. He played his part in the struggle. It is now time he
was released. The governments started releasing the first POWs under
the terms of the GFA four years ago and Dessie is beginning his 24th
year behind prison bars. Dessie has been in jail continuously since
1979 (with one year's exception, 1987) and in all of them 23 years he
hasn't been given a single days temporary release despite many family
tragedies including the death of his father (RIP).

The case of Dessie raises issues over and above either the
personality or deeds of Dessie O'Hare. Fundamentally it goes to the
heart of the Good Friday Agreement. We in this campaign have been
skeptical about that Agreement but we say now implement not just the
spirit but also the letter of the GFA. Carry out the wishes of the
Irish people and release Dessie O'Hare now!!!

*******

Democracy and the Mass Movement

A lecture delivered by Seamus Costello at a Sinn Fein education
conference in Sheelon Sharrock Hotel held on 23 February 1969.

Mr Chairman, Comrades,

1. My intention is to demonstrate during the course of this lecture
how the working of democracy at both local government and national
government level can be related to the work of mass movements.

2. I will deal first of all with the experiences to our Movement at
local level, showing the effects of our activities both inside and
outside the local authorities.

3.I then propose to relate those experiences to our Movement at
national level, showing what I believe would be the likely effects
of our involvement in parliamentary action.

In order to understand the present position of the Movement in
Wicklow it is necessary to first of all trace the history and
development of the Movement in that area since 1954. You may ask why
1954? The answer to that is that the first attempt made in modern
times to re-establish the Movement in Wicklow was in 1954. At that
time there was absolutely no Republican organisation in County
Wicklow. In fact the last period during which organised Republicanism
existed in Wicklow was during, and for a short period after, the
Civil War.

This meant in effect that when the Movement was reorganised, and
indeed right up to the present moment, that none of our members were
drawn from traditional Republican backgrounds. We had to start with
completely new people who had no experience of, or preconceived
ideas about revolutionary political action. I feel that this point
is worth mentioning because of the effect it has had on our methods
of operation. The main effect as far as I am concerned is that we
have being able to approach every phase of our activities with a
completely fresh outlook unhindered by any adherence to unnecessary
taboos, except those imposed upon us by belonging to a Movement that
has in the past and indeed to a certain extent in the present, being
guided in its activities by past history, rather than by completely
different circumstances of the present. The first Sinn Fein Cumann
was started in Bray in May of 1955. At that time, we had 6 or 7
members, mist of whom had been members of the Cumann in Dun Laoire
for a couple of months before that date. From the time the Cumann
was formed until the end of 1955, our only activity was the sale of
the United Irishman in the town of Bray.

The position in Wicklow remained the same up to the end of 1957,
except that we had a slight increase in membership, and we managed
to spread the sale of the United Irishman into most of the other
populated districts of the county. This was done by groups of 3 or 4
people in cars who managed to cover about 75 percent of the public
houses in the county between 8pm and closing time on Saturday
nights. In this way we managed to get the paper sold and build up
our finances out of the profits after having paid our petrol
expenses.

There was no significant change in that position between 1957 and
the end of 1959 except that a small number of our members were
imprisoned and took part in the campaign. We still only had one
Cumann in the county, and the campaign was simply a new topic for
discussion in the pubs on Saturday nights. The only effect the
campaign seems to have had on the public during this period is that
they seemed more anxious to buy the United Irishman. I often
suspected that they did this in order to keep themselves informed of
the sensational happenings in the North, in the same way as they
bought the News of the World to read about other sensational
happenings in London or Glasgow.

Between 1959 and 1962 the organisation in Bray began to show signs
of disintegration. We were reduced to about 4 or 5 active members
and the sale of the paper in other parts of the County outside Bray
was discontinued. At the end of 1962 we were selling about 14 United
Irishman, all in the town of Bray. The morale of our members seems
to have declined in direct ratio to the progress or otherwise of the
military campaign. When the campaign ended in February 1962 we again
set about putting the organisation on its feet, and by the middle of
1963 we had recruited about a dozen very active people, and had
succeeded in re-establishing the sale of the paper throughout the
county. In June of 1963 Joe Doyle was released from prison in
England, and we availed of the opportunity to publicise the existence
of our organisation in Bray. We did this by having a torchlight
procession and a rally afterwards. I have always felt that this was
the first occasion on which the people began to develop an interest
in our existence. We had a number of new recruits following Joe
Doyle's return, and for the first time since 1959, the national
collection was carried out on a county basis. We had already had a
very successful year with Easter Lilies sales, and our financial
position was quite sound.

Our activities between the end of 1963 and February 1966 were the
same was in 1963, except that we re-established the Easter
commemorations for the first time since 1924. We also established
our first links with the trade union movement during this period and
managed to get one of our members selected as a delegate to the Bray
Trades Council, representing the Workers Union of Ireland. There
seemed to be a growing awareness on the part of our own members at
this time of the necessity for involvement in the work of other
organisations. This was due in the main to the creation of new policy
in the Movement as a whole.

This new policy was brought a step forward in February 1966 when the
local Sinn Fein Cumann called a public meeting of all Council
Tenants in Bray for the purpose of forming a Tenant's Association.
The immediate result of this meeting was the formation of a very
active association with 4 or 5 of our members in key positions on
the committee. It also had a very favourable effect from our point
of view on the course of the local elections in the following year.
I will explain how this came about later in this lecture. We also
strengthened our links with the Trade Union movement in 1966 by
inviting the Bray Trade's Council to officially participate in the
1966 Easter Commemorations. They agreed to march and they appointed
Roddy Connolly, the son of James Connolly, to speak on their behalf
from the platform. Their participation in the commemoration served
to link the organised working class movement with our movement in
the eyes of the people, and subsequently helped us in the local
election of 1967. By the beginning of 1967, our organisation in Bray
was well poised for the local government election contest. We were
still the only Sinn Fein Cumann in the county, however we were in a
very strong position both from the point of view of finance and
influence with the working class people. The latter was due mainly
to our contacts with the Trades Council and the Tenant's
Association, both of which represent large number of working class
people. The Tenant's Association represents about 800 families in
the town and the twenty unions affiliated to the Trades Council
represents approximately 1500 workers in Bray and the surrounding
area. We managed to acquire the support of the Tenant's Association
by holding a meeting of our own members who were on the Tenant's
Committee and drafting a questionnaire which was to be circulated to
all candidates in the election by the Tenant's Association. The
Association also informed each candidate that their answers to the
questionnaire would be circulated to every tenant in the town and
that the people could draw their own conclusions.

The questionnaire dealt with a number of problems about which most
tenants had a genuine grievance, and our people on the committee
took steps to ensure that the Sinn Fein candidates were the only
ones who could give answers that were favourable to the tenants. The
result was that the tenants received copies of the answers from all
candidates and large numbers of them supported us because of our
policy on housing matters. At this stage it may be of benefit to
give an outline of the main points from our Election Programme and
indicate briefly how the election was fought. The main points from
our programme were as follows:

1. That all building land would be brought under the control of the
local authorities and that they would be the sole agents for the
purchase and sale of such lands at prices related to its
agricultural value.

2. That housing should be treated as an essential social service and
financed on a non-profit making basis.

3. We stated also that we would organise the homeless people (about
300 families) to pressurise the council into building more houses.

4. That we would fight for the introduction of a purchase scheme for
all council tenants.

5. That we oppose the introduction of differential rents.

6. That we would seek to have repairs to all council houses done
through a direct labour scheme.

7. We advocated the completion of a flood prevention scheme for the
Dargle River.

8. We also pointed out the necessity for such things as local bus
services, phone boxes, dispensaries, etc.

9. We strongly condemned the Managerial Act, and called for more
direct participation by the people in local government matters.

10. We had to explain very clearly in our Election Manifesto that we
would take our seats if elected. We had to do this because of the
fact that the other parties were telling people that we would refuse
to sit if elected. It was also quite obvious to us that no matter
what the people thought of our Election Policy they could see no
point in supporting us unless we were prepared to sit on the council.

We opened our campaign about four weeks before polling day by
setting up a full time Election Headquarters, complete with
telephone. During the campaign we gave out approximately 75,000
pieces of literature made up of National Election Manifesto, Local
Election Manifesto, Candidate Literature, Voting Cards and hand outs
at polling stations. We used 3000 posters. We also had an average of
15 people working every night, either canvassing or distributing
literature and we were able to provide transport and man all polling
stations on voting day. We were the only party in town that managed
to canvass every house, and also to hold numerous public meetings.
Our total expenses came to £360.00, and we made a profit of
£50.00. The net result was the winning of two seats on Bray Urban
District Council and one seat on Wicklow County Council. Having
outlined the type of Election Campaign we fought, I feel it is
essential that we examine the reasons why the people voted for us. I
think the reasons would be as follows:

1. Bray had experienced a long period of particularly bad
administrations, resulting in a generally run-down town, and the
existing parties were either unwilling or unable to take appropriate
action to remedy the situation.

2. Most members of the outgoing council had been at least 20 or 30
years involved in local government and there seemed to be absolutely
no difference between one party and another.

3. We had established a good relationship with the people through our
involvement in the Tenant's Association, the Trades Council and the
Credit Union movements.

4. We made no secret of the fact that we were a revolutionary
socialist party and that we were prepared to give leadership both in
the local council chamber and on the streets.

5. We made it obvious that we were radically different from all the
other parties and that we had no time for any party that existed by
putting the people under a compliment for things that are theirs by
right.

6. We made it plain to the people that if we were elected we would
make sure that Bray Urban District Council would be democratised and
that they would be able to make their presence felt in the council
chamber on any issue that affected their welfare.

7. We fought a better campaign than any other party and people were
impressed by the dedication and unity of our members during the
campaign.

8. All of the other parties were suffering through internal rivalry
between their candidates and we benefited from this.

After the local elections of June 1967 we had to lay down new rules
of behaviour to deal with the following situations:

I. What would be the relationship between our elected representatives
and our own organisation?

II. What would be the relationship between our elected
representatives and individuals or organisations?

III. What would be the relationship between our elected
representatives and the representatives of other parties?

IV. What would be the relationship between our representatives and
the Council officials.

I. In order to maintain proper contact between our elected
representatives and our own members we set up the machinery for the
holding of regular meetings. We hold a general meeting twice a month
on the nights before the local council meets. At our own meeting we
discuss all matters on the agenda for the council meeting and
decisions are made by the meeting regarding the attitude to be taken
by our councillors. We also discuss at these meetings any items that
our own members feel should be raised at the council meetings. We
decide whether these matters will be raised directly by our own
councillors, by the Sinn Fein Cumann through direct correspondence,
or through agitation in the mass organisations. Whenever possible we
adopt the last course of action in order to build the confidence of
the people in their own organisations. It also helps to establish
our members within these organisations, and ensures that their
leadership is accepted.

II. The contacts created between individuals or organisations as a
result of our election presented us with a completely new situation.
We found that suddenly large numbers of people and organisations
were approaching our councillors for assistance, and we set up a
Citizen's Advice Bureau in order to meet them. The people we meet in
this way can usually be broken into three categories:

a. Individual people who require assistance from someone with
knowledge of local government procedure, so that they can overcome
some problem that applies to them alone. They are usually people who
are entitled to some particular service but don't know how to
proceed about obtaining it. In these cases our local representatives
simply approach the appropriate Council Department and iron out the
red tape. We usually find that those people have already approached
councillors from other parties, and we are under the impression that
we are doing them a favour. We always avail of the opportunity to
impress upon them that what they are seeking is theirs by right and
that they don't owe us or anyone else anything for it. We find that
this approach serves to create a spirit of independence on the part
of the persons concerned. It also helps to establish our integrity
and demolish the hypocrisy of the other parties.

b. If an individual approaches us with a problem that happens to be
common to a number of other people we usually refuse to act on his
behalf unless he first of all agrees to bring the other people
together so that they can all fight together. I can best illustrate
what I mean by giving an outline of one particular case. In August
1967 we were approached by a particular individual who had no water
supply in this house and who had been trying for 25 years to get
Wicklow County Council to give him a connection from a nearby water
main. During the course of discussion with him it emerged that there
was a total of 13 houses in his locality without water and that they
had spent 25 years approaching other councillors without avail. The
other parties had simply said "leave it to us and we will look
after it", but had done nothing about it. This man agreed to organise
a meeting of his neighbours which we attended. We pointed out to them
that if they were prepared to organise themselves they had a good
chance of pressurising the Council into giving them a water supply.
They agreed with our suggestion, and formed an association. The
association went on 2 or 3 deputations to council meetings and after
threatening to withhold rates etc. they succeeded in getting the
council to agree to install a water supply. Work will start on the
scheme in about two weeks time. These people could not understand
why none of the other parties had suggested the same tactics as we
had. Again we availed of the opportunity to explain the difference
in policy between our organisation and the other parties. The result
is that we now have the whole-hearted support of these people, and
they in turn have developed a new sense of independence. If other
examples of similar cases are required I can give them during
question time.

c. The third category in this group is an approach by some existing
organisation requiring assistance. Existing organisations are
different from individual cases in so far as they rarely approach
one party only. They usually contact all parties at the same time if
the problem is connected with local government. If they have a long
standing problem that could not be solved the conventional manner we
usually suggest some form of agitational activity, and we offer
whatever technical knowledge which they may require. We have found
when dealing with organisations that all conventional means must
have failed them before we can suggest other methods. We have
established very good relationships with the following organisations
was a result of these approaches:

- Bray Trades Council
- Bray Tenant's Association
- Bray Housing Action Association
- County Wicklow N.F.A.
- County Wicklow Macra na Feirma
- West Wicklow Development Association
- Greystones-Kilcoole Housing Action Association plus numerous other
smaller groups.

We find that most organisations exist in order to improve the living
standards of their members, and that a solution to their problems
can be found by reference to the appropriate section of the Sinn
Fein Social and Economic Policy. Every opportunity should be availed
of in order to let these organisations know that the solutions
advanced by our local representatives are in fact part of Sinn Fein
policy and not just the opinions of individual councillors. If a
solution can be found within the existing framework of society so
much the better. If solutions can only be found through a completely
new type of social and economic structure, then this should be made
clear to the organisations concerned and every possible effort
should be made to create a head on collision between these
organisations and the forces opposed to them. In this way, we will
help to create a desire on their part for fundamental changes in the
structure of society. This in my opinion should be one of the
primary functions of Sinn Fein councillors. If we succeed in this
objective the organisations concerned will be prepared to give us
political support when we advance the same solutions from our
political platforms.

III. The next matter that we had to decide upon was the relationship
between our representatives and the representatives of other
parties. We decided at the beginning that we would adopt a
completely independent stand on all issues, and that if our views
happened to coincide with the views of other parties w e would co-
operate. In turn if our views were different we would oppose them.
In practice we have found that in most cases we have been opposed by
the other parties, particularly on issues that require fundamental
changes in the structure of society before they can be solved. The
result of this is that we have succeeded in exposing the other
parties as groups who are only interested in maintaining the status
quo. We have been particularly successful in exposing the Labour
Party in Wicklow as such a group. This arose because of their
attitude in connection with a recent housing scandal, which I can
elaborate upon during question time if necessary. The Trades Council
in Bray have co-operated with us in this particular case, and we
have publicly condemned the Labour councillors for their anti-
working class attitude. It should be of interest to note that most
of the delegates on the Trades Council are either members of
supporters of the Labour Party. The attitude of Sinn Fein
councillors should be to avail of every possible opportunity to
demonstrate that we are fundamentally different from all of the
other parties, and we should not yield to the temptation to let up
on the attack either from some short term advantage or because some
of them just happen to be nice people.

IV. The relationship between our representatives and local authority
officials needs to be examined at this point. Our experience of
Wicklow has shown that most of the officials are reasonably honest
and dedicated workers and that some of them are quite progressive in
their attitudes. However, they are restricted in their activities by
the rules laid down by the central authority for the running of
local government. This means in effect that in cases where we
advocate policies that cannot be implemented through the framework
of existing legislation we run the risk of head on collision with
the officials. The effect of this can and should be minimised by
pointing out at all times that we are opposed to the system as such
and not to the officials that are forced to work within the confines
of the system. In this way we will succeed in gaining the support of
the progressive minded officials, and at the same time we will help
to create grave dissatisfaction on their part with the whole local
government system. They will gradually become disillusioned and
frustrated, and it will therefore be easier for us to in their
support for our ideas in the future.

The Wicklow by election was held in March 1968 and at the time we
still had only one organised Cumann in the whole county. The
election was fought in basically the same way as the local elections
except that it cost us approximately £1200 as opposed to £360.
As a direct result of the election we were able to form nine new
Cumann in the county. This was about the only advantage gained from
the contest. We now have a total of ten Cumainn, all of which are
reasonably active as outlined during the course of the lecture. In
terms of votes we received approximately 2000 first preference votes
which I consider to be a poor return for the investment in time,
labour and money involved.

During the course of the by election we found that the greatest
single objection to voting Sinn Fein was the existence of the
abstentionist policy. I stated at the start of this lecture that I
proposed to relate our experiences on local councils to the likely
effects of our involvement in parliamentary action at National
level. Involvement in parliament can be usefully compared in a
number of ways with our involvement in Local councils. As I have
already demonstrated during the course of my lecture there is two
things that we can achieve through our involvement in local
government affairs:

1. We can achieve some short-term results within the existing
framework.

2. We can use it as a forum from which to advance our revolutionary
ideas thereby creating a lack of confidence in the whole system. Of
course we can only do these things by operating both inside and
outside the Council Chambers in a disciplined manner as I have
already referred to.

I suggested the same tactics could be usefully employed by even a
small group of well-disciplined TDs at National level working both
inside and outside Parliament. I believe that the Republican
Movement is capable of producing the proper type of person for this
job. And I also believe that we could establish the necessary
machinery to control our TDs. The people of Ireland are clever
enough to recognise the fact that effective power lies in the hands
of Parliament at the moment, and in my opinion they are not going to
give their support to any party that refuses to recognise this fact
and act accordingly.

Before the Republican Movement can achieve power, we must succeed in
breaking the confidence of the people in the existing Parliamentary
institutions, and I would suggest that this should be one of the
main functions of our TDs. They should also be full time
Revolutionary Organisers in their own areas, thereby demonstrating
to the people who elected them the fundamental difference between
ourselves and the other parties.

In conclusion I would like to give an example of the possibilities
that could have been availed of by such as group of T.D.s in the
recent past. The discussion on the ESB Special Provisions Bill in
1966 provided a glorious opportunity to demonstrate the
effectiveness of revolutionary tactics within parliament combined
with action on the streets. If the opportunity could not have been
availed of at that time it could certainly have been used during the
subsequent ESB strike. During this strike approximately 50 ESB
workers were imprisoned and almost 100 000 workers, most of whom
were in sympathy with the ESB men were walking the streets of Dublin
for the best part of a week. I suggest that the opportunities thus
presented as a result of these circumstances could have been used
with effect by well-disciplined revolutionary movement acting in
consort with its Tads in order to smash the Special Provisions Bill.

The present discussions on the Criminal Justice Bill presents
similar opportunities for any party in opposition to avail of them,
and with that provocative suggestion which I feel sure raises more
questions than it answers, I will now conclude my lecture.

*******

An Appreciation by Fionnbarra O'Dochartaigh (former member of the
IRSP) written in 1977

"Our foes are strong and wise and wary: but, strong and wise and
wary as they are, they cannot undo the miracles of God who ripens in
the hearts of young men the seeds sown by the young men of former
generation. And the seeds sown by the young men of '65 and '67 are
coming to their miraculous ripening to-day. Rulers and defenders of
Realms had need to be wary if they would guard against such
processes. Life springs from death; and from the graves of patriot
men and women spring living nations. The defenders of this Realm
have worked well in secret and in the open. They think that they
have pacified Ireland.

They think that they have purchased half of us and intimidated the
other half. They think that they have foreseen everything, think
that they have provided against everything: but the fools, the
fools, the fools! - they have left us with our Fenian dead, and
while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at
peace" - P.H. Pearse at the grave of O'Donovan Rossa, August 1915

On October 8th, 1977 another Fenian was laid to rest, his tricolour
and Starry Plough draped coffin being carried by comrades and
friends to St. Peter's Cemetery, Little Bray, County Wicklow, where
full military honours were observed in the age-old republican
tradition. Like that of O'Donovan Rossa he was cut down in the prime
of his life and had many more years of service to offer, before an
imperialist agent gunned him down on a Dublin street shortly before
noon some three days earlier.

When one reads through history and comes across the names of former
revolutionaries, the distance of time makes it easy to speak or
write about their times or contribution. However, when the person of
whom you speak is not only a contemporary but a revolutionary
comrade and friend of some sixteen years standing, the task of
writing or speaking about their contribution, is an emotionally
daunting experience. For this reason, it is now only after seven
weeks since the assassination of Seamus Costello, and after days of
thought and research, this article by way of a personal farewell may
find itself in print, as it is the end product of several attempts
to pen a worthy tribute.

October 5th 1968 witnessed the first ever civil rights march in
Derry, and the brutal batoning of peaceful demonstrators at Duke
Street. It was an event often referred to by Seamus Costello, both
on the platform and in his writings. The last time he spoke publicly
in Derry was on February 6th following a demonstration from the
Creggan shops to the Bloody Sunday Monument in Rossville Street
which was organised by the Irish Front to highlight the plight of
political prisoners at home and in British jails. Sharing the
platform with Anthony O'Malley Daly, Sinn Fein, Frank McManus,
former Westminster MP and other prominent anti-imperialists, Seamus
again referred to the events of Duke Street: "This is one of the
most historic and important gatherings because for the first time
many groups have got together since 1969."

He went on to call for the withdrawal of British troops and the
British presence. He said that the Irish revolutionary groups must
unite so that they could decide what establishment could replace the
British. The meeting that day he described thus: "Today is as
historic as October 5th 1968 or Bloody Sunday. For the first time in
a number of years people are coming together. The Irish Front is
being watched as an example of what can be done, because it has got
over many difficulties that have divided people for so long and it
has showed a large degree of political maturity on behalf of those
it represents." Costello was to end his life at the hands of an
imperialist agent, at the age of thirty-eight.

His close connections with Derry City and County Derry date back to
the 1956-62 Resistance Campaign when at the age of 17 he commanded
an active service unit in South Derry, joining Sinn Fein two years
earlier and the republican army shortly afterwards. His ASU's most
publicised actions were the destruction of bridges and the successful
burning of Magherafelt Courthouse. It was during the campaign that I
first met him, and although only five years older, he was already a
veteran of armed struggle. Members of the ASU found him to be strict,
radiating with confidence and his mild manner and sense of humour
were positive aids in providing leadership. During a period of lying
low in safe billets, a grenade exploded and set of the full magazine
of a Thompson sub-machine gun, luckily killing no one, but knocking
Seamus unconscious, and left him with back injuries. He also lost
half a finger, and as a result left the action to return to a
hospital in Dublin for treatment. On his release he was immediately
arrested and lodged in Mountjoy as a guest of the state for six
months. Once again on his release he was re-arrested and interned in
the Curragh Concentration Camp where he joined the escape committee
which sprang Ruairi O'Bradaigh and Daithi O'Connaill among others. In
later years he was to refer to his Curragh experience as "my
university days".

Following the end of the resistance campaign in February 1962, he
was involved in the critical analysis of the previous six years, and
believed, like many others, that the reason for failure was the lack
of deep involvement with the ordinary people of Ireland in their day
to day struggles. In the same year he took up employment with Walden
Motors in Dublin as a car salesmen, and remained there for some years
before he became totally committed to political life. He was a member
of Wicklow County Council, Bray Urban District Council, County
Wicklow Committee of Agriculture and a transport union official, and
an office bearer in Bray Trades Council, which gave some idea of his
involvement to class politics following the mid 1960s. On these
bodies he was to remain active up until the time of his death,
holding office for as long as three and four terms which when we
consider his national involvement in addition to this high degree of
local involvement, gives us some idea of the energy and degree of
commitment possessed by the man.

Within the republican movement he held many important positions, as
Vice President of Sinn Fein, as well as holding top ranks within the
Army Council of Oglaigh na h-Eireann. At the Ard Fheis of 1970
Seamus remained with the Officials but the four years following were
to be stormy ones for himself and others who supported his stand on
the national question. These struggles were to result in the
formation of the Irish Republican Socialist Party in 1974 and a
bitter feud. In 1972 many of Costello's closest comrades broke from
the Officials following their 'truce' with the forces of occupation,
and believed that there was no chance of changing the leadership of
the Officials. Some time before his death he was to agree with them,
saying that he too should have broke with them at that time, instead
of remaining to fight a rearguard action.

Seamus often quoted Connolly, but more importantly followed the
policies of Ireland's greatest republican socialist. On more than
one occasion he remarked, "Connolly told us partition would be a hey-
day of reaction", and went on further to quote, "I can not envisage
a subject nation with a free working class, nor, can I envisage a
subject working class in a free nation." He argued repeatedly that
the national and social questions were not two separate issues, but
that both were inter-related, and that what must be aimed for was a
republic in which the means of production, distribution and exchange
were in the control of the working class people of Ireland. To these
ideals he was to work with terrific energy until that fateful day,
October 5th 1977, when the Irish revolutionary forces were to loose
one of its greatest sons. My last meeting with Seamus was on St.
Patrick's Day this year in the Bogside which had been marked as
prisoners day and after a very successful demonstration we gathered,
not to discuss political theory, but to enjoy the company of other
comrades and sing revolutionary songs. On that occasion he gave the
assembled company a rendering of Charlie Kerins, who was hanged by
the Free State during the 1940s which was his favourite ballad.
Little did we know then that soon his own name would join that of
Kerins on the Republican Roll of Honour. Farewell, Comrade, Farewell.

"My father told his court martial that the British had no right to
be in Ireland. Seamus Costello felt the same way. He was the
greatest follower of my father's teachings in this generation and I
hope that his example shall be followed and that his vision for
Ireland will be realised in this generation." - Nora Connolly
O'Brien, at the graveside of Seamus Costello, October 8th 1977

*******

WHAT'S ON

The Dubbeljoint play on the life of Peadar O'Donnell will be shown
in Belfast at Amharclann na Carraige on the Whiterock Road from
Thursday until Saturday (9th-11th October).

***

KILLARNEY DEMO

11 October - Demonstration at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis in
Killarney
Demands"...

a.. US Military out of Shannon

b.. No Irish troops for the occupation of Iraq

c.. Drop all charges of civil disobedience

This is our chance to bring it home to FF party members that we hold
Bertie Ahern, Brian Cowan and the government accountable for the
Irish participation in the US war effort in Iraq. We reject the
escalation proposed by Ahern that Irish troops are sent to reinforce
the brutal US/UK occupation of Iraq. We demand instead that the
Irish government drops all charges against those activists who
committed acts of civil disobedience and/or non-violently disarmed a
US warplane at Shannon.

Time and date 2 pm, Saturday, 11 October 2003

Location National Events Centre
Gleneagles Hotel
Muckross Road
Killarney
Co. Kerry

Directions When reaching Killarney follow signs for Kenmare N71. The
Gleneagles Hotel is approx. 1.6 km (1 mile) from the town centre on
the left hand side.

http://www.inec.ie/location.cfm

***

Anti Racist Network, from Davy Carlin

The second meeting of the Anti Racist Network is to be moved to Oct
15th and is to be held at the Chinese Welfare Association at 7pm.
The change has been suggested by a number of persons due to George
Monbiot speaking in Belfast and persons had asked would it be
possible not to clash with this. A proposal will be put forward for
a visual representative action to be held in the near future. Such
as various parties, organisations, trade unions etc with their
banners outside city hall showing a collective stand against Racism
where the media can be invited along.

***

Amnesty International Annual Lecture 2003

Xanana Gusmão,
President of East Timor

Peace, justice and reconciliation

Queen's University Belfast, G06
Thursday 16th October, 7pm

All welcome
Admission free but by ticket only

Supported by QUB Human Rights Centre

To book tickets, tel 028 9064 3000 / email: [email protected]

***

James Byrne Commemoration Committee

1st November 2003-09-11 Monument Unveiling & 90th Anniversary
Commemoration

Assemble 2pm Main Entrance Deansgrange Cemetery, Deansgrange, Co.
Dublin, Ireland. The newly-commissioned monument over the grave of
Trade Union Martyr, James Byrne, District Organiser, ITG&WU, who died
on 1st November 1913 following a hunger & thirst strike during the
Great Lock-Out 1913 will be unveiled by Des Geraghty, President,
SIPTU. All trade unionists, political activists and members of the
Public welcome!

[No Party Political Banners, please!]

The James Byrne Commemoration Committee has organised the erection of
a fitting memorial over the grave in Deansgrange Cemetery [Co.
Dublin, Ireland] of James Byrne, a trade union martyr who died on 1st
November 1913 as a result of the effects of a hunger and thirst
strike during imprisonment for his role in the Great Lock-Out of that
year. James was District Organiser of the Irish Transport & General
Workers Union and held leadership roles in both Bray and Kingstown
[Dún Laoghaire] Trades Councils.

In the course of James Byrne's funeral oration James Connolly
said: "James Byrne truly died a martyr as any man who ever died for
Ireland".

The Committee believes that the monument is a fitting tribute to
James Byrne and hopes that his grave may become a place of pilgrimage
and source of inspiration for trade unionists and socialists in the
future. We are particularly pleased that the descendants of James
Byrne are fully supportive of the work of the Committee.

Jason McLean, PRO - James Byrne Commemoration Committee.

***

European Social Forum Paris, St Denis 12-15 November

*******<br