Friends and comrades,
We stand together once more in this place of remembrance — not out of tradition alone, but out of duty. Duty to those who came before us, and to the struggle that continues. Easter is not just a time of commemoration; it is a time of reaffirmation. We gather here not to mourn, but to honour — not to dwell in the past, but to carry forward the revolutionary legacy of those who rose in 1916, and all who followed in the cause of National Liberation and Socialism.
The volunteers of the Easter Rising struck a blow not just for independence, but for a future radically different from the colonial reality imposed on our people. That spirit carried through the generations, from the streets of Dublin to the doorsteps of working-class communities across Ireland. It lived in the hearts of our comrades in the INLA and IRSP, who stood tall in the face of overwhelming force, never flinching in their defence of the working class and the dream of a Socialist Republic.
Each name etched on the roll of honour represents a life given for justice, for freedom, and for the belief that a better Ireland — a fairer Ireland — is not only possible, but necessary. These were ordinary people who made extraordinary choices, and we carry their hopes with us today.
And while our focus is always on Ireland, we do not forget those across the world resisting imperialist aggression — from Palestine to Yemen, from Lebanon to Donetsk. Their struggles are our struggles, and our solidarity is unwavering.
This year holds special significance as we mark the 50th anniversary of the assassinations of Hugh Ferguson, Danny Loughran, and Brendan McAnamee. Three brave men, murdered by counter-revolutionaries determined to kill the Republican Socialist Movement at birth. But here we are, comrades — fifty years on — still standing, still organising, still fighting. That alone is testament enough to the strength of our cause and the sacrifice of all those who gave their lives in its defence.
But remembering these comrades is not enough. True remembrance means carrying forward the work they died for — the realisation of a 32 County Socialist Republic. Nothing less.
Twenty-seven years ago, this movement — with sharp political foresight and revolutionary discipline — recognised the changing landscape. Through its political and military leadership, it pivoted toward a peaceful and political path to our ultimate goal. Other Republican groups reached the same conclusion: that peaceful and political struggle could — and should — lead us to national liberation.
It was on that basis, in 2016, that the IRSP launched Yes For Unity — a working-class initiative to push forward the call for a Border Poll on Irish Unity.
Today, with the demographic shift undeniable, Britain still clings to its colonial role — still denies democracy in Ireland. They still refuse the people here a voice on their constitutional future. We need to be clear: Republican engagement with the idea of a Border Poll was always conditional — based on the promise that democracy would be respected. If Britain continues to block that pathway, Republicans will be forced to explore other politically driven alternatives.
We want democracy.
We want a vote.
And we want Britain out of Ireland.
The Irish Republican Socialist Movement supports a Border Poll — but we are under no illusions. It is a tactic, not the endgame. It’s a means, not the solution. Our vision and our strategy go far beyond it.
In the last year, the people of the North of Ireland have once again felt the full weight of London-imposed austerity. This time it’s delivered by the so-called Labour Party. Economic terror rains down on our most vulnerable — and the local Stormont administration is powerless, or worse, complicit.
In 2015, they embraced austerity and opened the door to Tory-led privatisation of our public services — all for a few scraps under the Fresh Start Agreement. And what’s changed since? We’re still without a meaningful Irish Language Act. We’re still waiting on vital infrastructure projects. The North West remains abandoned, both economically and politically.
The PSNI continues to operate without oversight or accountability. It remains riddled with the legacy of the RUC, hiding collusion, covering up sectarian murders, and targeting Irish Republicans to this day. Controlled by MI5 and protected by a political establishment, they are beyond reform — and beyond trust.
We cannot stand here today without challenging the growing attempts by the PSNI to criminalise Republicans for honouring our dead. Across the country, we’ve witnessed a disturbing increase in harassment targeting those who dare to remember our fallen. Commemorations are being policed like crimes. Republicans are being charged and convicted for simply carrying flags, wearing emblems, or attending memorials.
Let’s be clear — this is a deliberate campaign to criminalise our memory, our history, and our identity. And it is being allowed to happen.
Stormont — in all its hollow posturing — has failed to protect even the most basic rights of Republicans. They have stood silent as our struggle is once again subjected to the tools of criminalisation — a direct continuation of Thatcherite policy, dressed in a new uniform.
The IRSP stands firm: no matter your political affiliation, everyone has the right to honour their dead. We will not be bullied. We will not be intimidated. You failed to silence us in 1981, and you will fail again today.
We rejected the 6-county institutions in 1974.
We rejected them in 1998.
And we reject them today — not out of dogma, but because of cold, hard political reality.
And what of the South? We saw the re-election of the gombeen elite — the political class wedded to vulture capitalism. The state’s media machinery rolled into action, criminalising dissent and scaring the public into voting against their own interest.
The IRSP has made our position clear on immigration: the Irish Republic has the right to control its own borders to protect the working class and to shield the world’s most vulnerable from being exploited by the capitalist system. But we absolutely reject those who seek to twist that crisis into an excuse for racism or sectarianism. They are not our allies. They are not welcome.
It’s only by convincing others of the IRSP’s progressive political programme that we can 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” lives a deep contempt — not just for British rule, but for the arrogant elites who’ve hoarded wealth and power in this country for centuries.
That same contempt fuelled the United Irishmen in 1798.
It drove the volunteers of 1916.
It inspired the formation of the INLA and the IRSP in 1974.
And it lives in us today.
So let us leave this sacred place not just with memories, but with renewed conviction. Let us organise, agitate, and educate. Let us raise our voices louder, carry our banners higher, and keep our eyes fixed firmly on the goal.
The struggle continues. The future is ours.
Victory to the working class — and
Saoirse go deo!
