Limerick Opposes Royal Visit

Sean Sabhat Commemoration

Séan Sabhat Commemoration

2011

The Brookeborough Raid is one of the most celebrated in the long history of our struggle. It epitomises the bravery, tenacity and selflessness that IRA volunteers have shown in carrying the struggle to the enemy. It also demonstrated the deadly realities of armed struggle and although hugely inspirational this attack also forewarned that war is not a romantic pursuit.

The deaths of Sean Sabhat and his comrade Fergal O’Hanlon sent the clearest message to all the world that Ireland was not at peace. Despite the best efforts of the Dublin government to suppress the national resistance, with military courts and English hangmen, volunteers of the calibre of Sabhat and O’Hanlon were still to be found. They were young, idealistic and prepared to act for the freedom of their country.

The time chosen for the attack was also hugely symbolic. On the threshold of a new year the intent of republican resistance was clear; a new struggle was in being. It is a symbolism which has a resonance for republicans today. What will our new message be? What will our new struggle consist of? What new hope can we bring to our communities that Irish republicans can advance the objective of Irish freedom? These are questions which we need to answer if we truly intend to honour Sabhat and O’Hanlon.

We are witnessing a watershed in the politics on this island. The recent economic calamities have clearly demonstrated that partition has failed on both sides of the border. The illusion is laid bare that the Six Counties are simply an outstanding addendum to the Twenty Six County State. Both have failed miserably. Both engendered a tribal body politic. Both pandered to organised religion to underpin electoral support. And both crucified the working people on the altar of economic expediency. This is why both states need to be abolished and replaced with a sovereign Ireland.

A blueprint of the Ireland we envisage is an essential part of our message to the Irish people. Though we honour the past we have a future vision. All republicans and socialists need to contribute to this blueprint so that our combined voice can be heard wider, deeper and longer.

Republicans must adapt to the changes that are coming. And we must recognise that our influence on these changes was minimal at best. In the Six Counties we have held the line against normalisation but our ability to transmit this success is seriously wanting. With the massive resources arranged against us our only true weapon is our ingenuity. Our new message must be a bold one. Our new protests must be born of innovation and originality. Our language must be clear and fresh to find the ear of the people. And we need new mechanisms to accomplish this.

Despite great efforts to resolve the hostile use of strip searching against republican prisoners the occupying power has returned to form. The agreement brokered is being strategically and systematically broken and prisoners are once again being subject to this degrading practice. Let us be clear about this; no republican can stand for this, no republican can stand idly by and quibble that prisoners of different groups somehow warrant less support than others. Such assaults are an assault on our struggle itself and demands in the most forthright manner that all republicans stand squarely against it. We in the 32 County Sovereignty Movement pledge our fullest support for republican prisoners and dedicate whatever resources we have to assist them in this struggle. We expect other republican organisations to do likewise.

The economic decimation in the Twenty Six county state also highlighted how weakened the voice of republicanism and socialism are there. This cannot be analysed away or excused for. Only ourselves can make our own case and if that case is weak we have only ourselves to blame. The Republican Movement needs an injection of fresh formulas from its younger members as these activists have most empathy with the new society which is forming.

Our communities are in an age where information is at their fingertips and distractions are widespread. These are the new vehicles of change and the barriers to circumvent. Young republicans must now pioneer the next phase of this struggle. They must come together and fashion ideas that take this struggle into the heart of the language our communities are now speaking.

Sabhat and O’Hanlon acted in their time. They acted as they deemed it necessary. They inspire us but our actions need to be relevant to our time. Our message is the same, what we need are new ways to say it.

32CSM 2011 New Year Statement

32 County Sovereignty Movement

New Years Statement

2011

We commend our activists for their diligence and hard work in attempting to secure the integrity of our national sovereignty. We applaud the efforts of others who struggle likewise under their own chosen banner. We send New Year greetings to republican POW’s and their families and rededicate ourselves to their service.

2010 was a year which laid bare the harsh realities of our struggle. In protest against the degradation of strip searching and its vindictive use republican POW’s embarked on a series of actions in protest against the Stormont’s regime deliberate policy of attacking republican prisoners. Matched on the outside by regular vigils and marches the political opposition which was generated forced the authorities into negotiations.

With the use of agreed independent arbiters an agreement was reached to the satisfaction of all. However the authorities have resumed their original policy of using strip searching to degrade the prisoners. This was a political decision which has implications for all republicans. An attack on one prisoner is an attack on all prisoners and demands a unified response from all republican organisations. Our resolve must at least match that of the prisoners if we are to successfully confront Stormont’s prison policy.

The recent disclosure of State papers clearly shows that the issue of republican prisoners was a cornerstone in British strategy to undermine our struggle. They clearly show how Dublin also collaborated to achieve the same end. This collaboration now has an added dimension in that former comrades are now part of the British establishment in Ireland. That establishment takes it for granted that its members collaborate in the wider British interest. We openly call on the PSF leadership to come clean and to stop talking out of both sides of their mouths. It is your regime which is inflicting this degradation on republican prisoners. Is this your so called peaceful alternative to Irish unity? It is your actions that define you not your words, overt or otherwise.



2010 also witnessed seismic events in economic terms. Fianna Fáil’s self serving economics led the State to bankruptcy. It bailed out bankers and developers and levied the bill on ordinary citizens. They privatised profits and socialised losses. They surrendered their so called sovereignty to the International Monetary Fund all the while denying it in drunken interviews to the people. But the real issue for republicans and socialists is that our protests failed to impact on events. The crisis in capitalism, which should have opened up so many opportunities for our cause, was duly addressed by capitalism itself. This is the reality we must face and we must face it pragmatically.

2011 must be a year of introspection and innovation. We must look at ourselves and address our failings. What went before has reached its zenith. We need to explore and devise new ways of getting our message across. We need to be more innovative in our protests. We can no longer be satisfied that our protests simply happen: they must also have meaningful effect.

We address young republicans everywhere; this is your time, it is your era, your society, your technological age, you need to lead the way on this front. Irish society has evolved a new language in which it communicates with itself and we need to learn it. Republicanism needs your ideas to advance.

The continued violation of our national sovereignty has led to the inevitable consequence of armed struggle. Those who are engaging in military operations against British occupation have every right to do so, as they always had throughout our history. The function of the Sovereignty Movement is not to question this right nor question the merits of invoking it but to address the cause which makes it inevitable. This we will continue to do in whatever way we deem to be progressive. Treating the Irish Republican Army as a militia is a deeply flawed approach.

Vol. Packie Sheehy Remembered