Friends and comrades,
We gather here at this sacred place every year to remember past sacrifices and to rededicate ourselves to the political ideals for which our comrades gave their lives. Easter is a special time for Irish Republicans and as we gather to mark the 1916 Rising and those heroes who took on the might of British imperialism one hundred and eight years ago in Dublin, we also rightfully remember all our comrades from the Irish National Liberation Army and the Irish Republican Socialist Party who died in the struggle for National Liberation and Socialism during the latest phase of the conflict. These were our friends, leaders in our communities, heroes of the struggle. We are proud of them all, each and every one of them, we are proud of their families and we will never forget what they gave up for us and for the Irish working class.
As we reflect on the Easter Rising our hearts resonate with the echoes of the past, pulsating with the fervor of those who fought, bled, and sacrificed for the noble cause of Irish freedom. It is a time of remembrance, a time of reflection, and a time of recommitment to the ideals that have animated our struggle.
Easter holds a profound significance for Irish Republicans, serving as a poignant reminder of the many thousands of ordinary people who dared to challenge the shackles of oppression, igniting a flame of resistance that continues to flicker in the darkest corners of our collective memory. Their sacrifices, their unwavering resolve, and their indomitable spirit serve as beacons of inspiration for us all.
We stand here today, not merely as individuals, but as inheritors of a legacy steeped in the blood and sweat of generations past. From the hallowed ground which holds the bodies of our fallen, the echoes of their voices resound, urging us onward in our quest for justice, equality, and liberation.
The Easter Rising of 1916 stands as a seminal moment of Irish history, a call to arms against the tyranny of British colonial rule. Led by visionaries such as James Connolly, Patrick Pearse, and Thomas Clarke, it was an audacious declaration of Ireland’s right to self-determination, a proclamation that reverberated across the globe, stirring the thoughts of liberation of oppressed peoples everywhere.
That flame of resistance has endured, flickering defiantly in the face of adversity, a testament to the indomitable spirit of the Irish people. It was a spirit forged in the crucible of oppression, tempered by the fires of adversity, and annealed by the bonds of solidarity.
And so, as we gather here today to commemorate the Easter Rising and honour the sacrifices of those who came before us, let us also recommit ourselves to the struggle for Irish unity and socialist emancipation whilst offering solidarity to revolutionaries throughout the world fighting for freedom. Let us heed the lessons of history, drawing strength from the courage of our forebears and the resilience of our people.
Today in Palestine our brothers and sisters are being slaughtered by a genocidal regime that would not exist if it weren’t for the full and unconditional support of corrupt western countries. But the resistance of the Palestinian people endures and thrives in the most horrendous circumstances. In past generations the Palestinians took inspiration from Irish struggles and now we look at them in awe as they stand defiantly against an attempted colonial genocide. We offer our continuing support and solidarity to all those fighting against the genocide in Gaza and wider Palestine.
This movement was founded in 1974 by Seamus Costello and the hundreds of activists from every corner of Ireland who he had gathered around him. This movement was needed as he seen the provisionals representing physical force republicanism without a political direction and on the other side the Officials giving up any semblance of republicanism and enthusiastically adopting reformism and the acceptance of this rotten northern state.
The decision then by those with the foresight to establish this movement has been borne out by events over the last half century. The officials experiment with reformism has made them politically irrelevant and fifty years later the provisional movement has gone much further than the Officials ever dreamed possible. Pandering to British royalty is seen by many within the republican community as a step too far. The Republican Socialist Movement has stayed true to the principles upon which we were founded in 1974 and in this anniversary year these principles remain the solid foundation of our movement. The fact we are here, growing and making differences in our communities shows us that the founders of this movement were entirely correct in their assessments of the official and provisional republican movements in 1974.
One famous slogan attributed to Seamus Costello was; “We owe our allegiance to the working class!” and when we reflect upon that we realise that we must listen to our neighbours, friends and work colleagues. They face real challenges and we need to be able to help where needed.
And whilst many people have come to Ireland, settled, integrated and thrived, many others have not. The far right are taking advantage of this situation by attempting to create division among our class based on nationality and skin colour and we must oppose this where we can. Those fermenting such tensions must be faced down and exposed for the scum that they are. Likewise the policy makers in Dublin, the political parties both in power and in opposition who support the current reckless policy are beginning to see the anger of ordinary working class people, most of whom are not far right or ideologically driven. But their anger is real and genuine. There are very real concerns that opportunistic far right groups, groups by the way that are connected to extreme loyalism in the north and far right fascist groups in the UK and Europe, are quietly manipulating and organising within communities.
We in the IRSP must and will, provide an alternative voice to the racism and hatred espoused by these groups. We have to be able to express the concerns of working class people and be in a position to provide leadership and support where it’s needed. Working class communities across Ireland, either by default or design, are becoming cannon fodder for the far right and we pledge to be better organised in many communities in order to empower those communities and to give no space for the far right to grow.
All political struggles are fraught with challenges. But with the spirit of the Easter martyrs as our guide and the legacy of the Rising as our inspiration, there is no obstacle too great and no adversary too formidable to overcome.
We all know what is to be done comrades, Ta Power, Gino Gallagher and Seamus Costello knew what had to be done. To succeed where others have failed before us is to create a fire in the hearts of every oppressed Irishman and Irish woman. We need them all to rise up with us. To create this mass movement we need a strong, motivated, relevant, class conscious and principled republican, Irish Republican Socialist Party.
There must be no ceasefire in the class war. The IRSP must use our Republican Socialist political agenda as the main weapon in our arsenal to undermine the confidence of our class in the institutions of capitalism and against the denial of our national sovereignty. The IRSP must step up our campaign to break the links with Britain and the corrupt European Union. We must strive to create an Ireland in which our entire class is bonded together in a community of purpose, of sustainability, of stability of united working class solidarity.
Our task is to help raise the living conditions of our class. To make an equal society in which we can all give our allegiance. Currently we have an unequal society in which the rich are getting richer off the backs of the wealth generators. All the while our class gets left behind by those born with a silver spoon in their mouths. We must strive to make sure that all the children of the nation have access to the prosperity that we are all working to build and those private corporations or off shore banks are not in a position to steal that wealth, rather it goes back to the people who generate it.
It’s only by convincing others of the IRSPs progressive political program that we grow the struggle for national liberation and socialism. Our vision for this island and its people must be confident, vibrant, contemporary and revolutionary. In the heart of every “Irp” beats an organic contempt for the institutions and people that represent the arrogant, greedy and condescending values of the small few who control so much at the top of the unequal society we live in, and have lived under for hundreds of years.
It is the same organic contempt for the elite that lives in us that drove the United Irishmen of 1798. It’s the contempt for those who would oppress us that drove the men and women of the 1916 Easter Rising. It’s the same contempt for all forms of injustice and oppression and the hope of creating something better that led to the creation of the Irish Republican Socialist Party and the Irish National Liberation Army in 1974.
And so, let us leave this place with heads held high and hearts ablaze with the fires of revolution, filled with pride for our fallen comrades and the cause for which they gave their lives, for it is a righteous cause, and the future belongs to those who dare to dream, to struggle, and to prevail. Victory will be ours comrades, Saoirse go deo!
