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Date Posted: Wednesday, January 05, 17:37:36
Author: Danielle Ni Dhighe
Subject: Republicanism's Core Ideals

Irish Political Status Committee Newsletter
November/December 2004

Republicanism's Core Ideals
By Danielle Ni Dhighe

I began this article to explore the concept of republican unity, but
it became clear that the more important task was to explore what the
core ideals of republicanism are. So I will begin this brief article
with two statements which I think best explain the basis of Irish
republicanism.

Theobald Wolfe Tone: "To break the connection with England, the never
failing source of all our political evils, and to assist the
independence of my country - these are my objectives."

James Connolly: "The British Government has no right in Ireland, never
had any right in Ireland, and never can have any right in Ireland."

I believe those two statements can be agreed to by all republicans,
but do we also need a coherent vision of the values of republicanism
and what form a united Irish republic should take?

These aren't new questions, but have been part of republicanism from
the beginning. The United Irishmen in the 1790s were about more than
simply breaking "the connection with England." Their goal was a
progressive one for their times, a democratic republic for all the
people of Ireland - Catholic, Protestant, or Dissenter.

But the United Irishmen were no "pure and simple" nationalists. While
fighting to liberate their country, they were also involved in other
social struggles of the day. They distributed anti-slavery pamphlets
to the crews of American ships docked in Belfast, organised a boycott
of sugar from the West Indies produced with slave labour, blocked
attempts by individual members of Belfast's Chamber of Commerce to
seek a share of the slave trade, and some members raised the banner of
women's emancipation.

Much later in the history of republicanism, the involvement of James
Connolly and the Irish Citizen Army in the Easter Rising of 1916 again
brought other progressive elements into play, namely organised labour
and socialism. The Easter Proclamation, co-signed by Connolly,
declared "the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of
Ireland," reflecting his earlier call "to gather into Irish
hands...the control of all the forces of production and distribution
in Ireland."

Historically, it's clear that republicanism at its best has been about
more than merely breaking "the connection with England," it has also
been the most progressive political movement in Ireland and even
internationalist in outlook, seeing other struggles outside of Ireland
as inherently linked to its own. It also aligned itself with the most
progressive ideas of a given time, from late 18th century democratic
republicanism to 20th century socialism and beyond.

I think it's that republicanism that we should use as a guide point in
discussions of unity, a republicanism with a progressive, even
radical, call for social justice and the liberation of the people of
Ireland, not just the physical land, from all who would exploit and
oppress them, as well as a recognition that our struggle is part of a
global struggle against imperialism. Those are the core ideals we
should adhere to and which unity should be built around.

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