World War One Statue a Bow to British Imperialism

An Irish Republican Socialist Party spokesperson has criticized the Irish government Culture minister Joseph Madigan on his decision to erect a giant 6 meter statue of a World War 1 soldier in St Stephens Green at the heart of Dublin and branded it as a, ‘‘bow to British Imperialism in Ireland’’.

Dublin IRSP spokesperson Stephen Cummins went on to say, ‘’The decision for the Minister of Culture to allow a 6 meter pile of scrap in the form of an imperialist soldier to be placed in one of Ireland’s most iconic landmarks of the Easter Rising where hundreds of ICA volunteers under the command of Michael Mallin & Countess Markievicz made their heroic stand against the British forces in 1916 as completely insensitive to our revolutionary history.’’

Over 200,000 Irish men were sent to their deaths by the British government during World War 1, many of whom, fought under false promises and lies issued by the British government. While this forms part of the extraordinary and fascinating history of this island that still influences politics today, the Irish Republican Socialist Party believe that we should not celebrate this carnage as gallantry but present it for what is was; an imperialist slaughter and murder of over 200,000 Irish men at the hands of the British Empire.

We understand that many families across Ireland lost fathers, sons & brothers in world war 1 and we believe that their lives should be remembered as part of the history of this country but we also must understand the true history behind their deaths and doing so will give us the understanding of the true nature of British imperialism in Ireland that resulted in genocide, murder and partition.

Stephen Cummins of the Dublin IRSP finished off by saying, ‘’This insensitive statue should be removed and the people of not only Dublin but Ireland should be consulted before it causes more heartache on families who have lost loved ones to armed British soldiers in Ireland. It is important to remember that the conflict between Ireland & Britain has still not been resolved as their occupation still remains in the 6 counties.’’