The scuttlebutt is that MI5 recruited a leading member of the organisation in question who embarrassingly it would seem managed to obtain not only audio but video recordings of meetings of its leadership. It would appear that the recordings are to supply one of the key elements in charges against those arrested over the past number of days. Seven of those have so far been charged.
he alleged “supergrass” has been named on several social media forums along with his photograph. It would seem that he was a former member of Sinn Féin and was one of those who worked on their internet sites and media. He was involved with the party in Antrim from the early 2000s and when complaints were made about him, people were told that he not only represented SF, but the “whole republican movement.” Indeed.
He was also involved for a time as secretary with a group called Justice Watch which styled itself as a human rights NGO. He also apparently owned a takeaway and a bar in Belfast while involved with Saoradh. Which tells its own story.
A number of things are worth pondering in relation to all of this, not least for those persuaded that a revival of armed struggle might be a good thing. Firstly, it proves once again how easy it is for the intelligence services to infiltrate and manipulate secret organisations.
Without dabbling in the more extreme conspiracy theories regarding the demise of the Provos, it is clear that the IRA was penetrated at all levels and that this played a probably not inconsiderable part in its surrender, disarmament and disbandment. Which you might think would motivate others in questioning the point of attempting to create a retro Provos.
Whatever the intelligence and counter-insurgency aspects of the demise of the IRA, the decision to end the armed campaign was the correct one. It had long since ceased to be a plausible path towards a British withdrawal and the ongoing deaths, imprisonments and collateral damage were pretty much for nothing by the early 1990s.
So calling it off was the correct move. The politics of what followed are a different matter. Certainly, few republicans who supported the ceasefires could have envisaged that Sinn Féin would follow the military capitulation with the acceptance of Partition, and a role in administering the British controlled part of Ireland.
Along with that in short order came the abandonment of any pretence to be a movement standing for the sovereign independence of Ireland. Or having a plausible strategy to bring that about. The acceptance of the EU’s control over vast areas of Irish life is one consequence. The other is the headlong embrace of the mindless liberalism that will if successful make any project for national sovereignty meaningless, even in the unlikely event of it being formally ratified at some stage in the future.
So there is certainly an intellectual and historical argument against the direction which the republican movement in the main has taken over the past 25 years. There is none for reviving a failed armed campaign, which in any event is counter-productive when it does splutter into occasional life. More pointless deaths and more men and women doing jail time when they might be devoting their energies to something more productive.
The politics behind all of this are pathetic. I have seen leading members discussing Maoism. Apart from that nonsense, there is the usual left republican obsession with the past. Connolly for Dummies based on de-contextualised quotes from something written over a century ago. As though any of this has the slightest relevance to Ireland today. Like the Bourbons, they have forgotten nothing, and learned nothing.
It is surely ironic too that one of the political manifestations of the group in question, Saoradh, has been to turn out in support of Irish government ministers to clamp down on free-speech. They joined with the usual Pollyanna NGOs, professional lefties and antifa soccer casuals in support of Charlie Flanagan’s proposed “hate” legislation in a demonstration against free speech at the Dáil.
Of course, once their presence was highlighted, the Care Bears were appalled given Saoradh’s investigation by the PSNI following the killing of Lyra McKee in April 2019. Now the same state on whose side Saoradh is standing “objectively” (Marxists love that word) is doing its best to destroy them. That’s the thanks you get for “confronting the far right” it would seem.
It’s curious to see Saoradh joining with Antifa to try to attack people taking part in anti-lockdown rallies or demonstrations. Surely those demonstrators are ‘anti-establishment’? Does that make Saoradh ‘stooges of the state’, or some such phrase they would use to describe others? Or is this more of the M15 directing operations? Who knows.
Anyone familiar with the Dublin Fenians in the 1880s and 1890s will see some echoes in the current predicament of conspiratorial armed republicanism. As the land reforms and seeming success of the Irish Party at Westminister in advancing Home Rule took hold, some in the Irish Republican Brotherhood were reduced to squabbling factions, led by the nose through Special Branch into bombing schemes and occasionally murdering one another over money and allegations of informing.
Meanwhile the coming revolution was being shaped by those who in a period of political becalment were working through the cultural organisations to re-assert a national consciousness that was under threat of extinction.
The more far-sighted among the Fenians eschewed the plotting in dingy bars for the practical work within the GAA, the Gaelic League, national minded newspapers, and economic co-operation. It was this which laid the basis for what freedoms were won after 1916.
We arguably face a similar period now, as the forces inimical to our culture and sovereignty as a people have the upper hand. Those who think it can all be solved by kindergarden ultra leftism allied to an intermittent “armed struggle” are clearly part of the problem, not the solution.
He was also involved for a time as secretary with a group called Justice Watch which styled itself as a human rights NGO. He also apparently owned a takeaway and a bar in Belfast while involved with Saoradh. Which tells its own story.
A number of things are worth pondering in relation to all of this, not least for those persuaded that a revival of armed struggle might be a good thing. Firstly, it proves once again how easy it is for the intelligence services to infiltrate and manipulate secret organisations.
Without dabbling in the more extreme conspiracy theories regarding the demise of the Provos, it is clear that the IRA was penetrated at all levels and that this played a probably not inconsiderable part in its surrender, disarmament and disbandment. Which you might think would motivate others in questioning the point of attempting to create a retro Provos.
Whatever the intelligence and counter-insurgency aspects of the demise of the IRA, the decision to end the armed campaign was the correct one. It had long since ceased to be a plausible path towards a British withdrawal and the ongoing deaths, imprisonments and collateral damage were pretty much for nothing by the early 1990s.
So calling it off was the correct move. The politics of what followed are a different matter. Certainly, few republicans who supported the ceasefires could have envisaged that Sinn Féin would follow the military capitulation with the acceptance of Partition, and a role in administering the British controlled part of Ireland.
Along with that in short order came the abandonment of any pretence to be a movement standing for the sovereign independence of Ireland. Or having a plausible strategy to bring that about. The acceptance of the EU’s control over vast areas of Irish life is one consequence. The other is the headlong embrace of the mindless liberalism that will if successful make any project for national sovereignty meaningless, even in the unlikely event of it being formally ratified at some stage in the future.
So there is certainly an intellectual and historical argument against the direction which the republican movement in the main has taken over the past 25 years. There is none for reviving a failed armed campaign, which in any event is counter-productive when it does splutter into occasional life. More pointless deaths and more men and women doing jail time when they might be devoting their energies to something more productive.
The politics behind all of this are pathetic. I have seen leading members discussing Maoism. Apart from that nonsense, there is the usual left republican obsession with the past. Connolly for Dummies based on de-contextualised quotes from something written over a century ago. As though any of this has the slightest relevance to Ireland today. Like the Bourbons, they have forgotten nothing, and learned nothing.
It is surely ironic too that one of the political manifestations of the group in question, Saoradh, has been to turn out in support of Irish government ministers to clamp down on free-speech. They joined with the usual Pollyanna NGOs, professional lefties and antifa soccer casuals in support of Charlie Flanagan’s proposed “hate” legislation in a demonstration against free speech at the Dáil.
Of course, once their presence was highlighted, the Care Bears were appalled given Saoradh’s investigation by the PSNI following the killing of Lyra McKee in April 2019. Now the same state on whose side Saoradh is standing “objectively” (Marxists love that word) is doing its best to destroy them. That’s the thanks you get for “confronting the far right” it would seem.
It’s curious to see Saoradh joining with Antifa to try to attack people taking part in anti-lockdown rallies or demonstrations. Surely those demonstrators are ‘anti-establishment’? Does that make Saoradh ‘stooges of the state’, or some such phrase they would use to describe others? Or is this more of the M15 directing operations? Who knows.
Anyone familiar with the Dublin Fenians in the 1880s and 1890s will see some echoes in the current predicament of conspiratorial armed republicanism. As the land reforms and seeming success of the Irish Party at Westminister in advancing Home Rule took hold, some in the Irish Republican Brotherhood were reduced to squabbling factions, led by the nose through Special Branch into bombing schemes and occasionally murdering one another over money and allegations of informing.
Meanwhile the coming revolution was being shaped by those who in a period of political becalment were working through the cultural organisations to re-assert a national consciousness that was under threat of extinction.
The more far-sighted among the Fenians eschewed the plotting in dingy bars for the practical work within the GAA, the Gaelic League, national minded newspapers, and economic co-operation. It was this which laid the basis for what freedoms were won after 1916.
We arguably face a similar period now, as the forces inimical to our culture and sovereignty as a people have the upper hand. Those who think it can all be solved by kindergarden ultra leftism allied to an intermittent “armed struggle” are clearly part of the problem, not the solution.
Matt Treacy has published a number of books including histories of the Republican Movement and of the Communist Party of Ireland.
He is currently working on a number of other books; His latest one is a novel entitled Houses of Pain. It is based on real events in the Dublin underworld. Houses of Pain is published by MTP and is currently available online as paperback and kindle while book shops remain closed.
He is currently working on a number of other books; His latest one is a novel entitled Houses of Pain. It is based on real events in the Dublin underworld. Houses of Pain is published by MTP and is currently available online as paperback and kindle while book shops remain closed.
Aha! A bourgeois renegade attacking class struggle an' revolutionary politics...just at the moment revolutionary struggle rises in the heartland of imperialism in the United States. What advice can this 'author' give to the working people and oppressed of the planet. Class struggle will no' disappear 'cos he wants it to. The material world exists, poverty and suffering on a mass scale in the developed world exists and must be addressed. What is his answer?
ReplyDeleteMatt Treacy Writes
Delete"Congratulations. First time I've been called a bourgeois renegade. I will put it on the pointy conical hat I will have to wear when the inevitable victory of the proletariat led by the Great Thoughts of Chairman Mao and his Irish declassé (look it up) acolytes takes place. Communists talking about "suffering on a mass scale" must surely be up there with Nazis Against Death Camps.
"And yes, there is no "answer" to human misery and flaws. Surely scientific socialism has taught us this much?"
This is Ireland. We don't care about shite going on in America.
ReplyDeleteHolohoax
DeleteI take it this moniker indicates that you are a Shoah/Holocaust denier. Are you so ashamned/embarrased/afraid of being c alled out on it that you have to shiled benhind sucbh a moniker.
Me thinks 'Dundee for connolly' needs to relax and realise the 'revolutionary struggle' they claim is 'rising' in the US is another manufactured project I.e it's a sham.
ReplyDeleteBlack Lives Matters is not manufactured but is the racial justice movement of our time.
DeleteMatt a chara,
ReplyDeleteI find it hard that you would be so naïve to ask why modern-day republicans would not want to be seen within a mile of the right-wing mix mash of conspiracy theorists, fascists and violent criminals that have been lurking around these rallies. Have you done any research on the convicted burglars and anti-social elements that are acting as hired goons for what seem to be your new found friends. Matt as a noted historian, when can you tell me was Irish Republicanism in any of its manifestations compatible with some of the rhetoric spouted at these recent gatherings of malcontents. Furthermore, mentioning mi5 this week is a sensitive enough one. The ‘Carey’ of this generation has shown that mi5 and the British war machine are still at war with Ireland and wish that Croppies remained in the lying-down position. I suggest that it is the political stance that those like Saoradh take was the reasoning behind these attacks. There is very much a remerging republican movement and I don’t think it is purely simplified as militarist or even all Saoradh. Anyway, to suggest that by taking an anti-racist and anti-fascist stance that Saoradh or other modern-day republicans are being used by Mi5 is really fantastical. In your years of criticising the Stickies, who became so fixated on the provos they eventually became anti-republican, it looks like you may not be far from that path. There is no ghosts of Stalin lurking around every corner. There does it seem to be a new generation of revolutionary Irish republican, and I don’t think its fair to label them all as just purely militarists.
Again I believe you are a man of research, if you want to speak of Mi5 in this contact, it is clear that amongst these rent-a-crowd groups that go under Free-Speech/5g/Lockdown/whatever-youre-havin-yourself, the hands of m15 and Irish Special Branch are pulling strings. Surely you know the leaders of some of these groups are ex-Free State soldiers, ex British soldiers and others with links to Ulster loyalism. This is fact, this is not a hunch. How could Irish republicans, nationalists or real patriots stand beside people who have dubious backgrounds like this. Those that see Irelands future forever bonded with Britain.
Matt you mention about the reorganising and plotting of the Fenian times and somehow think this generation of radical republicans do not have people in organisations like the GAA, the Gaelic League and lack any kind of far-sighted plan. Firstly I have never seen any of the wanna-be National Front types that disgrace the tri-colour at these looney right days out, attending any GAA games, ag labhairt na Gaeilge or contribute in any long-term civic or cultural endeavour, all they seem able to articulate is shouting ‘Pedos’ on the streets of the city. Secondly, in response to having no long-term plan, when you were in ‘dingy bars’ spending your salary from your paid position in Leinster House, these conversations were happening. Amongst networks, societies and other projects and attempts came a realisation amongst a significant number that a disciplined dedicated political party was needed as an alternative to drive the republican project forward. That’s were Saoradh came from. They are new and unpolished maybe but I’d rather stand with them in Dublin than some of the fruit cakes on the other side of the road. And on a Dublin level, I havnt heard a bad word said about their pedigree and reputation. Have you met any of them? Maybe offer to do an interview with one of them.
By this point TPQ policy should be pretty clear.
ReplyDeleteIf you wish to have your comment published do not use the "Unknown" pseudonym.
Use whatever other handle you choose so long as it does not clash with any other user.
If you cannot access the site other than via Unknown then sign off your comment with some name other than Unknown and retain the same handle each time you comment.
tol,.
ReplyDeletesorry but that's absolute pish.. Sin é.
By this point TPQ policy should be pretty clear.
ReplyDeleteIf you wish to have your comment published do not use the "Unknown" pseudonym.
Use whatever other handle you choose so long as it does not clash with any other user.
If you cannot access the site other than via Unknown then sign off your comment with some name other than Unknown and retain the same handle each time you comment.