Firstly, the end of the War to defend the Republic (Civil War) in May 1923, which marked the defeat of republican forces and the consolidation of partition. The other significant event will be the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) on the 10th April 1998. Both were critical turning points for republicanism in Ireland.
To mark these important political events, the Peadar O'Donnell Socialist Republican Forum (PODSRF) is planning a conference from 1-00pm - 5-00pm on the 20th May in the Teachers Club, Parnell Sq., Dublin. The theme of the conference will be The lesson from history and the future for Irish republicanism in the 21st Century. The conference will examine both the aforementioned events.
The first part will deal with the impact of the defeat of republican forces and the abandonment of the goals enshrined in the 1916 Proclamation and the 1919 Democratic Programme. There will an introduction and remarks by historian Dr Brian Hanley.
The 2nd part of the conference will take the format of a panel discussion on the impact and legacy of the Good Friday Agreement on republicanism and to discuss where we go from here. Have key republican principles of national independence, sovereignty, democracy and citizenship been abandoned as a result of the out workings of the GFA?
Opening remarks by historian and political activist, Fergal Mac Bhloscaidh. The understanding of the GFA by some of this generation of republicans is a mixture of the “great betrayal” or “sellout” by key leading figures in the republican movement. Others may see it as not having delivered what had been promised. How do we understand the significant weakening of republicanism as radical force and what can and needs to be done to re-energise and re-invigorate the struggle to secure the fundamental principles of republicanism, i.e., securing national unity, independence, sovereignty and democracy, both political and economic.
For both parts of the discussion, we have invited a speaker to give their perspective on the impacts of the defeat for republicanism in 1923 as well as an overview of 25 years of the GFA. We would like to invite you to attend our conference. Prior to the conference, we would like to invite you to join us at the Garden of Remembrance for a wreath laying ceremony to honour all those republicans who fought and died in the War to Defend the Republic. You are invited to join us at both events.
In solidarity Tommy Mc Kearney, Frankie Quinn, Barry Murray, Eugene Mc Cartan.
As I've asked repeatedly, how do these Republicans view the modern day Irish Defence Forces and specifically their legitimacy?
ReplyDeleteIt would depend on which ones you are asking. I guess some would see the Defence Forces as the army of the South but not of the country as a whole and would therefore have problems with it. Most would see it as theological
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