Clive Sulish
(Reading time: 3 mins.)
A call for unity of Irish Republicans in action to win Irish freedom and independence was made at a 1916 Rising commemoration in Dublin on Sunday, an event organised by the Anti-Imperialist Action Ireland organisation.
Cross Guns Bridge from Phibsborough. (Photo: R.Breeze)
A relatively large number of people participated, including a number of delegations from organisations of struggle in the Spanish, Turkish, German and Italian states. Young people were particularly well represented.
Participants met outside the Phibsborough shopping area on Dublin’s northside from which they were led by a lone piper, a colour party and a number of banners. Among them flew various flags of national and social struggle in Ireland, the Basque Country, Catalunya, Palestine, Turkey …
The orders to the colour party, as is traditional, were all given in Irish.1 At Cross Guns Bridge, the march halted and, in what has become a tradition for the AIA, flares were lit in memory of the presence of Irish Volunteers there in 1916 and the murder of a civilian by British soldiers.
Proceeding along Finglas Road to the interest of passers-by and the odd ‘beep’ of solidarity from a passing vehicle, the march turned left outside the gates of the older Glasnevin Cemetery to cross over the railway pedestrian bridge to the St. Paul’s section of the Cemetery.
Winding their way on a path through the headstones, what was now one thick column approached the monument to six Irish Republican armed uprisings, commissioned by the National Graves Association, where a representative of the AIA greeted them.
From the Monument, the AIA representative introduced the reason for the commemoration and listed in honour the Irish Republican Brotherhood, Irish Volunteers, Irish Citizen Army, Cumann na mBan and Na Fianna Éireann, different organisations that fought together in the Rising.2
The flag intervening from the left is of some participants in the Anti-Imperialist Front, a different organisation. (Photo: R.Breeze)
He called for delegates of different organisations to meet to decide a basis for unity, following which, going on to note that the AIA has long been prepared to work alongside others for shared objectives, he announced floral wreaths to be laid on behalf of the CPI and IDR.3
After the laying of those wreaths, another man was called to read the text of the 1916 Proclamation.
The keynote speaker, a veteran Irish Republican and former political prisoner, was then introduced. He began by reminding his audience of Irish Republican armed uprisings before 1916 going back to 1798 and forward up to the war in the occupied Six Counties.
The speaker made a number of points regarding the text of the 1916 Proclamation, the declarations of which remain to be fulfilled, in its address placing women on an equal standing with men, ‘cherishing the children of the nation equally’ and guaranteeing ‘civil and religious freedom to all.’
Drawing on the example of those of varying ideological positions who in the 1916 Rising united to “fight against the largest world empire in history”, the ex-prisoner called on Irish Republicans to find the means to unite in action today against imperialism and colonialism.
The speaker also highlighted that the objective of the Rising had been an independent democratic republic which is still to be achieved and that Republicans need to honestly confront the failures which, despite strong resistance, have weakened the struggle to date.
The piper played a slow air as the flags of the colour party were lowered and a few minutes’ silence observed – a traditional Irish Republican honouring of its martyrs in struggle. Announcing the end of the event the MC then called for the piper to play Amhrán na bhFiann4 to conclude.
COMMENT
The attendance at this year’s event was numerous and encouraging, even discounting the numbers from abroad. The latter has been a feature of AIA commemorations for some years but has also grown visibly in numbers and in countries of origin.
In previous 1916 commemorations of the AIA, songs had been performed by singers but that feature was missing this year. Another missing feature was a part-address in the Irish language, au contraire to the main speaker’s call for the restoration of Irish as the nation’s spoken language.
In common with a great many commemorations by varied organisations at this spot, there was no mention of the independent National Graves Association, for whose work and the monument itself much thanks are due.
The call for unity in struggle is a common one in the Socialist and Republican movement though less verified in practice across their organisations. That said, on many occasions the AIA has put the desire into practice in joint action with other organisations and independent activists.
It is certain that without general unity in action across the resistance movement in Ireland, neither independence nor revolutionary change in society can be achieved.
In the city centre, at the GPO,5 site of the HQ of the Rising in 1916, the State held its own commemoration, with admittance to the area close to the podium by ticket only. According to reports, the speeches of the Taoiseach6 of the Coalition Government were received in silence.
This was in contrast to the speech of the new Uachtarán or President, a native Irish speaker and of broadly left-nationalist political outlook, which was enthusiastically applauded.
End.
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FOOTNOTES
1However, no other instructions were given in the language, not even ‘dhá líne’ (i.e two lines) when the marchers were being instructed by stewards to separate into two columns.
2Omitted, as it often is, was the participation of the Hibernian Rifles unit, who though not part of the planned Rising joined it and acquitted themselves well in the GPO Garrison and in support of the City Hall Garrison.
3Communist Party of Ireland and Independent Dublin Republicans.
4This air and its lyrics are widely considered the National Anthem of Ireland but for the State, it is only the air of the chorus that is their National Anthem. Composed shortly before the Rising by Peadar Kearney and Patrick Heeney in English, it was sung during the Rising and widely adopted by the Republican movement afterwards. The lyrics were translated to Irish by Liam Ó Rinn in 1923 and, unusually, that version became dominant.
5The General Post Office, an imposing building in Dublin’s main thoroughfare,1 for which recently the Irish Government announced plans to remove the An Post (postal service) to develop in part as a shopping centre.
6Equivalent to Prime Minister. The Government is a coalition of formerly hostile parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, from oppositional sides of the Irish Civil War (1922-1923) and supported by the Green Party and some Independents.
USEFUL LINKS
Anti-Imperialist Action Ireland: https://www.facebook.com/p/An-Phoblacht-Ab%C3%BA-61551946386300/
The National Graves Association: https://www.nga.ie/
https://www.facebook.com/NationalGravesAssociation/
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