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THE RADICAL REPUBLICAN party Saoradh held its fourth Ard Fheis in Newry last weekend, and although many observers consider it the unregistered political wing of the New IRA, party members continue to deny this.
Formed in 2016, Saoradh is the newest and most influential republican group opposed to the Good Friday Agreement. The party is an attempt to give a political face to the growing republican dissent in nationalist areas north of the border.
Following a large commemoration on the Easter Rising centenary in Coalisland, Co Tyrone, that attracted over 3,000 participants, Saoradh as a political vehicle was formed.
The decommissioning of the Provisional IRA took place in 2005, while the Northern Irish police service (PSNI) was accepted at an extraordinary Sinn Féin Ard Fheis in January 2007.
Over the following decade, militant republicans, many of them experienced members of the provisionals, joined with members of so-called dissident republicans to form the New IRA in 2012.
The past year has been a dense period for militant republicanism. In January, the New IRA detonated a car bomb outside a Derry courthouse on the occasion of the 1919-Soloheadbeg ambush.
Before Easter, a New IRA member fatally injured journalist Lyra McKee during riots in the Creggan area of Derry. In a statement, the New IRA offered “full and sincere” apologies for her killing.
Statements regarding the killing were read at Saoradh commemorations, and the group called the killing “heartbreaking”, saying that McKee was killed accidentally while a republican volunteer “attempted to defend people from the PSNI/RCU”.
Many observers expected, or rather hoped for, a decline of the party in the aftermaths of the killing.
Due to the activity of the New IRA in the past year, fears of increasing violence over Brexit and a hard border dominated the public debate. In a recent Channel 4 interview, a New IRA spokesperson warned of attacks on any border infrastructure.
In this situation, this year’s Saoradh Ard Fheis provided a crucial window into the state of radical republicanism.
The Ard Fheis
Over 150 delegates assembled on Saturday afternoon in Newry for the conference.
Among them were Saoradh chairperson Brian McKenna, a former IRA prisoner from Dublin, and vice-chairperson Mandy Duffy from Lurgan – both were re-elected in their positions.
Other attendees were Dee Fennell from Belfast, Paddy Gallagher from Derry, and Davy Jordan and Sharon Jordan, both Tyrone.
Thomas Ashe Mellon, who recently spoke at a press conference about house raids and stop-and-search practices in Derry, was another delegate. The Derry office, Junior McDaid House, was searched by the PSNI two days before the party conference took place.
While Brexit occupies the public debate, it merely played a minor role at the Ard Fheis.
“There was hardly any debate on Brexit, our position is clear and has not changed,” explained national public relations officer Paddy Gallagher.
In his address, Brian McKenna stated: “Saoradh supports an exit from the super-imperialist EU, this has been a long-standing revolutionary position. We see Brexit as a defeat for the business and political elite of Britain, Ireland and Europe.”
This should not be interpreted that Saoradh is a pro-Brexit party. Instead, as McKenna outlined in an interview after the publication of the party’s Brexit policy, Saoradh has a largely defeatist view on Brexit.
While the party welcomes the chaos brought to the UK, the party’s goal remains a united Ireland, with or without Brexit. This unified island should then leave the EU.
This anti-EU stance is, indeed, a long-standing republican position developed since the Sinn Féin opposition to the European Economic Community (EEC) – the former name for the EU – in the 1960s.
Sinn Féin itself was a strong opponent of the Lisbon and Nice treaties and only later became an ardent supporter of the EU.
Since its formation, Saoradh was only partially able to provide a political face to their movement. Their Brexit document remains the sole position paper. “We are still in a self-finding process. We are intensely discussing the future direction of the party,” a delegate explained.
In her address, party vice-chairperson Mandy Duffy said that “a series of all-day conferences to debate and form a consensus on policy regarding the issues of drugs, abortion, housing and elections” were held. Whether this will result in further policy documents remains to be seen.
The speeches stressed a democratic-socialist ideology. Strikingly, the word nationalism was largely omitted, instead replaced by revolutionary republicanism. Another term that often appeared was internationalism.
Links with Palestine?
Speakers stressed the links they saw with the Palestinian struggle. A message was read from Issam Hijjawi of the Palestine Democratic Forum in Europe.
The Palestinian delegate was detained at Madrid airport on his way to the event. Greetings were also heard from Scotland and Sweden.
Overall, the party was satisfied with the outcome of the weekend, with one delegate saying “we come out of the Ard Fheis with a clear message for the coming year”.
The killing of Lyra McKee was only mentioned once at the conference.
Mandy Duffy said in her speech: “Easter 2019 proved a very difficult time for the party and for Irish republicanism, the death of Lyra McKee killed tragically by the IRA while defending a Derry community under siege by the British Crown Forces was swiftly and cynically used against Irish republicans.”
Another delegate said: “We lost members after the death of Lyra McKee, but we were still able to grow.”
New branches of the party in South Derry, North Antrim, and Scotland and the opening of an office in Newry were announced.
Saoradh is strongest in deprived Catholic areas in Belfast and Derry, as well as areas in rural areas such as North Armagh and East Tyrone. It also witnessed growth in Dublin, while the rest of the Republic remains underrepresented.
The weekend showed that since the killing of McKee, Saoradh consolidated. While observers hoped for the decline of the party in the aftermaths of her death, the party experienced slow but steady growth.
For many in Ireland, the most worrying message that the radical republican party sent from Newry is that it has found its place among traditional republicans and disillusioned youth on both sides of the border, and it is prepared to stay there for many years to come.
Dr Dieter Reinisch is a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Central European University and an adjunct professor in International Relations at Webster University.
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Isn’t Northern Ireland great?
I can’t wait till we’re United.
@James Brady: I would love to see a united Ireland in my lifetime but it would cause huge problems. All that is needed is 51% of a majority in a border poll which leaves about a million people in the north that don’t want to be a part of the country.
Then you have the issue of our culture being diluted to facilitate the DUP dinosaurs (e.g. change of flag, national anthem etc.)
@Kev: We would get an extra bank holiday in the year, July 12th.
@MunsterPI:
We’d be paying roughly €15 billion in extra taxes for the privilege.
@The Great Unwashed: just how do you figure that?
@Kev: and you’d love that mayhem,ffs no thanks ..its grand the way it is…
@The Great Unwashed: That figure is bull.
@ObsidianShine: I wonder as to how many of those marching will volunteer for the tax hike required to assimilate the North into the Republic. Or will they just continue in their usual way…
@CBD Suppliers:
@ObsidianShine:
€12 billion in 2018.
Fair enough, my €15 billion might have been marginally high, but not by much.
@The Great Unwashed: Its still alot less when tax take is taken in to account….
@Kev: was with you until you mentioned ‘dinosaurs’.. and so easily is a future lost.
@Kev: national anthem itelands call solved . dup solution to flag take the white from the irish flag the rest from ni flag problem solved :)
@MunsterPI: I’m in.
@MickN:
There’s an awful lot of ifs, buts and maybes in that article. I’m not really sure why you posted it anyway, as their conclusion is that Sinn Fein’s claim that it would cost a lot less than €12 billion is false.
@James Brady: it’s the north of Ireland
Sickening that they paint themselves as the real victims of the Lyra McKee murder.
@The Great Unwashed: Noticed that, their only reference to her murder was how it effected them. Very disturbing.
Loosers – get down to McDonald’s and get a job.
@Thomas Sheridan: worse than that, they are losers who think they are important and are too stupid to realise they are losers
@Wheresmyjumper: If they’re all that, then maybe they should join the current Tory party or Brexit party. They all seem to swim in the same gene pool.
@Thomas Sheridan: big bangs with your Big Macs.
@Thomas Sheridan: love when someone contends someone else is uneducated, when they themselves can’t spell. *loser.
@Thomas Sheridan: that’s an insult to McDonald’s.
isn’t Halloween over? put away the costumes till next year. my nephew dressed up as a ghost. his white sheet looked more impressive than the costumes this shower are wearing
Not in my name
The far left are every bit as dangerous as the far right. In fact, they are more or less the same on many levels.
@Colm O’Sullivan: ideologues and their adherents are very dangerous. They live in a perfect idyll inside their minds. The real-politik only gets in their way.
@Colm O’Sullivan: The police in multiple different countries disagree.
They see the Far-Right as far more dangerous.
@Bob Earner: I think the 20th century provides us evidence enough of the dangers of both the far left and the far right
Muppets with a uniform fetish
If they want to play at soldiers let them go out and fight with the Kurds, where real men and women are fighting fascism
The ‘politics’ seems right out of some Student Union common room fom the 70s.
Did they have Citizen Smith as a guest speaker?
Their position is they want a United Ireland then to take that United Ireland out of the EU. While dressed up as soldiers. And killing journalists. Its actually pathetic.
In fairness their ideology remain steadfast to the leaders of 1916. If we justify the rising then we justify their ideology which is core to their identity and directs their actions. We have to remember the leaders of the rising were viewed just as these men are today.
@WESTY:
But I doubt if opinions of them will be elevated in 100 years.
Mad thought I have put the leaders up on television every night don’t do what was done the in the past .Tell them to put away their guns and being their argument to the table and let’s see what we are dealing with and ask them to listen to the other argument’s and how the change is slowly happening .Their attitude will only entrench the DUP and solidify the unionist point are we to ever travel in a loop
We should hold a poll in the Republic. The question… do we want to incorporate the six counties. My bet is the result would be a resounding no. Leave all sides up there to their lawlessness and criminality. We have enough to deal with here in the Republic.
I will support the notion that Murder is murder most foul. Dress it up in whatever garment you wish, but God will hold all murderers guilty in the judgement.
@Jim Fitzsimmons: yea but the people that are murdered might find it hard to see it that way
In fairness they are the only group to remain true to the leaders of 1916 they remain dissidents as the leaders were of 1916 were, the only difference being the swing public opinion. If we justify the leaders of 1916 then you justify their ideology.
@WESTY: You are correct. However, the 1916 bunch had the support of the literati of the time, who were all communist ideologues. Not so many of those around these days unless they are well hidden in the shadows…now there’s a point.
At least there is a consensus in the comments section for a change
It looks as though we are going to re-launch the “flag of convenience” for every low-life in Ireland to fly under. Ah sure we were doing it in good cause. I would like each of them to define and defend their concept of republicanism. This would filter out the real nut-jobs…
They’re against everything and for nothing. Pathetic psychopaths.
What is there actual support?
I suspect it’s somewhere lower than the Kerry Independent Alliance, Workers and Unemployed Action Group, or Direct Democracy Ireland.
So are we saying they get an importance because they ally themselves with gunmen? That is a dangerous route to go down.
Great organisation if you are fond of a bit of larping!
Bunch of low life thugs
As my original comment was removed, I am forced to post again. I believe it is important e
I wouldn’t worry about them lads. Splitsville is the venue for their next conference.
Bunch of losers on the dole i presume
Simple facts
We are going to pay 5555 euro to a private company per property connected to broadband total madness I know fibre is expensive would better if they used the cash to roll out 5g networks around the country.
3bn / 540000 = 5555.55 euro it will take 111 months at 50 euro per premises a month to recoup the cost of the investment any wonder why the private company won’t pay for it but we will and own none of the infrastructure total madness suck if the places hijo de putas
@El Poblo Escobar: Plata o plomo…
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