EDITORIAL
By Mary McIlroy, CF No. 2, 2006
Welcome to the second edition of the Connolly Forum. To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, this issue focuses on James Connolly’s views on armed struggle. We have included articles on the joining of the Irish Citizen Army and Irish National Volunteers for the Rising, the ICA following Connolly’s death, and a biography of Connolly, as well as articles by Connolly himself.
The 1916 Easter Rising took place in the midst of an imperialist war raging on the Continent. While Irishmen weren’t drafted into the British Army, they were asked to fight for their colonial masters, and many did so. The Socialist left split over the issue of World War I, and no effective opposition, in any nation, was mounted against the war.
Then, as now, the working class is asked to choose sides. Do we support our class enemies and do their bidding, giving our lives for commodities we can’t afford? Do we fight for those who oppress us? Or do we do everything in our power to fight against the imperialist war and turn it into the class war?
James Connolly was a Marxist and a Republican. As the articles following state, he believed that the national question and the social question could not be divorced. Nor was he a pacifist. He supported the working class by any means necessary, up to and including the use of arms. The ICA was formed to defend the working class of Ireland, and when it went out on April 24, 1916, that is what it did. The Rising failed, the leaders executed. A war with Britain, which gained “independence”, was followed by a civil war. 26 counties of Ireland became a neo-colony of Britain and the United States, and six counties remain under direct British control.
The 90th anniversary commemorations in April 2006 were a travesty. The southern Irish government marched its army with the Starry Plough flag, the flag of the Irish socialist movement. The “militari-zation” of the commemoration was denounced by a retired British military officer as a glorification of “terrorism.” The imperialists are so sure of themselves that they can represent a struggle for independence 90 years ago as relating to their so-called “War on Terrorism” of today.
Today, Britain has allied itself with the United States in the occupation of Iraq. The southern Irish government would no doubt do so if not for official neutrality, so it supports its masters by allowing Shannon air base to be used to refuel military jets going to Iraq and Afghanistan. The CIA also uses Shannon for its planes going to secret European prisons and Guantanemo with kidnapped detainees. These actions are a violation of Irish neutrality, and, in the case of the kidnapped victims of the CIA, a violation of human rights. Irish workers are protesting the imperialist war and the fact that their nation is becoming involved with the dirty doings of British and American capitalism.
In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement was negotiated and accepted by the people of the 6 Counties. The 26 Counties gave up their claim to the 6 Counties in a change to their constitution. The GFA did not improve the lives of working class Irish men or women, in either the 6 or 26 Counties. Ireland, North and South is still ruled by capitalist interests and colonial overlords. The people of Ireland do not have control of the resources of Ireland. They do not even control Irish air space.
James Connolly was not a romantic dreamer. He had a wife and children. He knew when he marched out into the streets of Dublin in the uniform of the ICA, he and his comrades would be slaughtered. As a realist, he told his comrades to “hold onto your rifles.” He knew that even if they managed to rid Ireland of the British, there would be another war to be fought, the class war. Today, ninety years after the IrishRepublic was declared, the Irish working class is as far away from its liberty than it has ever been.
As the Connolly Forum was established to explore various issues, discuss, and debate, we invite you to send comments to [email protected]. We hope you find this periodical to be of interest.
Welcome to the second edition of the Connolly Forum. To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising, this issue focuses on James Connolly’s views on armed struggle. We have included articles on the joining of the Irish Citizen Army and Irish National Volunteers for the Rising, the ICA following Connolly’s death, and a biography of Connolly, as well as articles by Connolly himself.
The 1916 Easter Rising took place in the midst of an imperialist war raging on the Continent. While Irishmen weren’t drafted into the British Army, they were asked to fight for their colonial masters, and many did so. The Socialist left split over the issue of World War I, and no effective opposition, in any nation, was mounted against the war.
Then, as now, the working class is asked to choose sides. Do we support our class enemies and do their bidding, giving our lives for commodities we can’t afford? Do we fight for those who oppress us? Or do we do everything in our power to fight against the imperialist war and turn it into the class war?
James Connolly was a Marxist and a Republican. As the articles following state, he believed that the national question and the social question could not be divorced. Nor was he a pacifist. He supported the working class by any means necessary, up to and including the use of arms. The ICA was formed to defend the working class of Ireland, and when it went out on April 24, 1916, that is what it did. The Rising failed, the leaders executed. A war with Britain, which gained “independence”, was followed by a civil war. 26 counties of Ireland became a neo-colony of Britain and the United States, and six counties remain under direct British control.
The 90th anniversary commemorations in April 2006 were a travesty. The southern Irish government marched its army with the Starry Plough flag, the flag of the Irish socialist movement. The “militari-zation” of the commemoration was denounced by a retired British military officer as a glorification of “terrorism.” The imperialists are so sure of themselves that they can represent a struggle for independence 90 years ago as relating to their so-called “War on Terrorism” of today.
Today, Britain has allied itself with the United States in the occupation of Iraq. The southern Irish government would no doubt do so if not for official neutrality, so it supports its masters by allowing Shannon air base to be used to refuel military jets going to Iraq and Afghanistan. The CIA also uses Shannon for its planes going to secret European prisons and Guantanemo with kidnapped detainees. These actions are a violation of Irish neutrality, and, in the case of the kidnapped victims of the CIA, a violation of human rights. Irish workers are protesting the imperialist war and the fact that their nation is becoming involved with the dirty doings of British and American capitalism.
In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement was negotiated and accepted by the people of the 6 Counties. The 26 Counties gave up their claim to the 6 Counties in a change to their constitution. The GFA did not improve the lives of working class Irish men or women, in either the 6 or 26 Counties. Ireland, North and South is still ruled by capitalist interests and colonial overlords. The people of Ireland do not have control of the resources of Ireland. They do not even control Irish air space.
James Connolly was not a romantic dreamer. He had a wife and children. He knew when he marched out into the streets of Dublin in the uniform of the ICA, he and his comrades would be slaughtered. As a realist, he told his comrades to “hold onto your rifles.” He knew that even if they managed to rid Ireland of the British, there would be another war to be fought, the class war. Today, ninety years after the IrishRepublic was declared, the Irish working class is as far away from its liberty than it has ever been.
As the Connolly Forum was established to explore various issues, discuss, and debate, we invite you to send comments to [email protected]. We hope you find this periodical to be of interest.