“What The Proclamation
Means To Me”
By
Eugene McCartan
(General Secretary Communist Party of Ireland / Páirtí Cumannach na hÉireann)
THE 1916 PROCLAMATION: A TIMELESS MIRROR
"A Proclamation for our time"
Ninety years on, the Proclamation of the Irish Republic which the leaders of
the 1916 Rising drafted still reverberates down the decades. It still has
something to say to all those who believe in democracy, sovereignty, and
social justice. Like all important literary, artistic or political works the
importance of the 1916 Proclamation is reflected in the fact that it remains
relevant because it says something to us, it reflects deeply held
aspirations and unfulfilled dreams. It is a mirror which reflects back to us
what the signatories aspired to, to show how far we still have to travel to
fulfil those aspirations.
The Proclamation sets out clearly a vision of a new Ireland for the Irish
people. The leaders wanted to state clearly that the Irish Republic they
aspired to would be in stark contrast to the limited sovereignty and the
naked class interests and self-interest of those who would settle for "home
rule" in order to give themselves a seat at the imperial table in London and
whose aspirations were for a greater share of the spoils of empire, albeit
as junior partners.
The Proclamation sketched out a vision of a sovereign nation and a sovereign
people: "the right of the Irish people to the ownership of Ireland, and to
the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and
indefeasible." They wanted an Irish Republic to takes its place as a free
nation among other free nations. This was at a time when the overwhelming
majority of the world's nations and peoples were dominated and controlled by
imperialism and colonialism. Their aspiration for a sovereign Irish nation
was not to join with the oppressors but to stand with the oppressed: to be a
beacon of liberty and justice.
Throughout the Proclamation, "sovereignty" and "independence" are
cornerstones on which the new republic should be built. They made their
appeal to the mass of the Irish people-the urban working class and the
poor-who suffered great poverty, exploitation, and inequality. They declared
that their objective was "cherishing all the children of the nation
equally"; they declared that the "ownership" of Ireland lay with the people,
not the landlords, not the exploitative employers, but working people,
fishermen, small farmers. The language and the politics of the Proclamation
were aimed at the mass of the Irish people, not the powerful and wealthy.
Equality between men and women would be a central plank in their Republic.
This reaching out and appealing to the most oppressed section of the Irish
people, the women, was far in advance of many of the political forces in
Europe at that time.
They were mindful of the differences "carefully fostered" by British
imperialism and made a specific reference to overcoming those differences.
They understood the role and use that religion was put to, that it has been
used as a weapon of imperial domination and social control. Their approach
and actions were the continuation of the United Irishmen's appeal for
putting behind us past differences and building an Irish nation where past
division would be confined for ever to history-a task we have yet to
achieve; some have even failed to understand or address this central fissure
within our people.
James Connolly brought the republican goal into the era of imperialism,
drawing forth the lessons of history and the forces that needed to be
mobilised into struggle, those forces whose dreams and aspirations would
remain and have remained unfulfilled: the working people, small farmers and
others who imperialism, then as now, exploited and dominated.
Connolly understood the political and economic forces involved in the
national independence struggle, in particular the Irish business class, and
how their economic and political interests would limit the extent to which
they would or could lead the struggle for national freedom and social
justice. He has been proved right: today the Republic of Ireland is wedded
to the strategic economic, political and military goals of the European
Union. The Irish political and business elites are increasingly integrated
in and are junior partners with the European Union and the United States,
junior partners to imperialism.
They derive significant economic benefit from this integration, and it also
gives them a platform with which to appear to be global players as well the
means of defending their global investments interests. The Irish army is
increasingly being integrated in the imperialist military strategic
interests in the form of the Rapid Reaction Force, Partnership for Peace,
and EU battle groups.
Equally, Connolly's attempt to bring the Irish working class centrally into
the heart of the struggle for national freedom has never been realised. The
working class and its interests have been reduced to purely election fodder.
Those forces concerned with advancing and securing national freedom and
establishing national democracy throughout the whole of the island have to
address this central core idea of Connolly. It is only when we address
national democracy in terms of class interests that we see that securing it
is determined by the social class that leads it. We need to grasp the fact
that national democracy and social liberation are two sides of the same
coin.
Britain has established new sets of interests and relationships, which are
now best served in alliance with the Irish establishment, with unionism
playing a more junior role. In the past, its main ally in Ireland was
unionism itself. The divisions within the Irish people remain a source of
great weakness and are still being used by those forces wishing to block
progress.
We will not secure national freedom if we ignore the class content and
anti-imperialist nature of the struggle. It is in these areas of struggle
that we can begin to put past division behind us, heal the wounds created by
that division, and build a united Irish people in a united Irish democracy.
Class and democratic struggles, the building and strengthening of people's
organisations, are the building block on which to draw forth the necessary
forces and alliances to advance and open up the road to a more advanced
democracy: socialism.
The struggle for Irish national freedom does not exist in a vacuum but is
part of a global struggle against imperialism and war. It is increasingly
clear that the struggle against imperialism takes on the characteristics of
anti-capitalism.
It is the view of the Communist Party of Ireland that the central themes of
the Proclamation remain to be fulfilled; that the attainment of popular
sovereignty, where political and economic power should and must rest with
the Irish working class, remains central; that no other social force can
bring our long struggle for national democracy and freedom to a successful
conclusion. All other social forces have betrayed that cause.
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