The book is worth a lot more than that as I discovered when I read the work in its entirety. Brian Hanley and Scott Millar collaborated brilliantly in their research and compiled this in-depth biography of an organisation which became known as the “Official Republican Movement”, consisting of the “Official IRA”, “Official Sinn Fein” later becoming “Sinn Fein/ The Workers Party” and eventually in 1982 just the “Workers Party”. Hanley and Millar begin at what to me was an opportune time around the 1956 IRA border campaign known as “Operation Harvest” which lasted until 1962 when an order to dump arms was given by Chief of Staff, Ruari O’Bradaigh, on 26th February 1962. Many of those who took part as comrades in “Operation Harvest” would one day soon become bitter enemies.
The book describes the political journey the “Official IRA” took including its ceasefire in 1972 and operations carried out by the organisation under various guises. Since the end of the border campaign the then Chief of Staff, Cathal Goulding, drove the movement down a convoluted road of Soviet style Marxism (which in reality was not Marxism at all but what became known as Stalinism) and eventually into a reformist stage which differed little from the Irish Labour Party whom some members, via a short life as Democratic Left, eventually joined. Sinn Fein made contacts with the communist parties of the Soviet Union, seeking arms from this quarter and also money, and that of North Korea. While the leadership of the movement were galivanting to and from Moscow, licking the arse of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), loyalist/fascist style thugs were attacking nationalist areas of Belfast. Hundreds of families were forced to leave their dwellings as firebombs reined through the windows of their terraced homes. The local IRA under the leadership of men like Jim Sullivan and Billy McMillen tried to put up a defence and credit should be given to these poorly armed but nevertheless brave volunteers.
The book describes the political journey the “Official IRA” took including its ceasefire in 1972 and operations carried out by the organisation under various guises. Since the end of the border campaign the then Chief of Staff, Cathal Goulding, drove the movement down a convoluted road of Soviet style Marxism (which in reality was not Marxism at all but what became known as Stalinism) and eventually into a reformist stage which differed little from the Irish Labour Party whom some members, via a short life as Democratic Left, eventually joined. Sinn Fein made contacts with the communist parties of the Soviet Union, seeking arms from this quarter and also money, and that of North Korea. While the leadership of the movement were galivanting to and from Moscow, licking the arse of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), loyalist/fascist style thugs were attacking nationalist areas of Belfast. Hundreds of families were forced to leave their dwellings as firebombs reined through the windows of their terraced homes. The local IRA under the leadership of men like Jim Sullivan and Billy McMillen tried to put up a defence and credit should be given to these poorly armed but nevertheless brave volunteers.
The fact that the IRA were so hopelessly inadequately armed in Belfast was due in no small part to the emphasis the Dublin based leadership was placing on the policy of “uniting protestant and catholic workers” to overthrow the British presence thus curing all the problems faced by the working class. In any other part of the world such an approach would have been ideal, except this was “Northern Ireland” – the Six Counties – and the main problem was not one of class divisions between capital and labour but one which elements of one community who supported the British presence attacking another community perceived to oppose such presence. Which was not true as the Roman Catholics at the time were not demanding or even speaking of a ‘united Ireland’, just ‘one man one vote’ as applied in the rest of the so-called United Kingdom. They were not being ‘disloyal’ as some unionist middle-class politicians liked to preach, the Reverend Ian Paisley being one of a number. They were only asking for equality within the status quo.
With the failure of the IRA to defend their areas in late 1969 a split occurred in the Republican Movement. A small group of men decided to split away from the Goulding camp and form their own organisation; the Provisional IRA. This small group would very shortly become the larger and more militarily effective of the two IRA groups and proved themselves able defenders of the Catholic areas. The media afforded the Goulding, larger faction in the very early seventies, the title “Official IRA” do separate them from the more militant and ‘bomb crazy’ Provisionals. This would, of course, create an illusion that the “Official” leadership were the bona fide IRA and none of the actions carried out by the “Provos” was sanctioned by the Official leadership. It planted in the minds of newspaper readers that the “Official IRA” were in fact, like the official trade union movement, actually recognised and supported by the British Government. Of course this was not true but it created the desired illusion in some people’s minds outside the six counties.
When in 1970 the British imposed the ‘Falls Curfew’ it was the “Official IRA” under the command of Jim Sullivan who were for the most of the time engaging the British Army on the streets and not, in the main, the Provisionals. Yet, today it is the Provos (themselves years after 1970 were to follow a similar reformist road as did the “Officials) who commemorate the ‘Falls Curfew’ even though they played no more than at best a supporting role in the battle. Brian Hanley and Scott Millar probe these times with great research.
With the failure of the IRA to defend their areas in late 1969 a split occurred in the Republican Movement. A small group of men decided to split away from the Goulding camp and form their own organisation; the Provisional IRA. This small group would very shortly become the larger and more militarily effective of the two IRA groups and proved themselves able defenders of the Catholic areas. The media afforded the Goulding, larger faction in the very early seventies, the title “Official IRA” do separate them from the more militant and ‘bomb crazy’ Provisionals. This would, of course, create an illusion that the “Official” leadership were the bona fide IRA and none of the actions carried out by the “Provos” was sanctioned by the Official leadership. It planted in the minds of newspaper readers that the “Official IRA” were in fact, like the official trade union movement, actually recognised and supported by the British Government. Of course this was not true but it created the desired illusion in some people’s minds outside the six counties.
When in 1970 the British imposed the ‘Falls Curfew’ it was the “Official IRA” under the command of Jim Sullivan who were for the most of the time engaging the British Army on the streets and not, in the main, the Provisionals. Yet, today it is the Provos (themselves years after 1970 were to follow a similar reformist road as did the “Officials) who commemorate the ‘Falls Curfew’ even though they played no more than at best a supporting role in the battle. Brian Hanley and Scott Millar probe these times with great research.
In 1972 the “Official IRA” declared a ceasefire which was to be the end of their armed campaign, or that is what it seemed. The name “Official IRA” stuck and various money-making raids were carried out by the organisation using a number of alias’s like “Group B” and various other names and flags of convenience. Diesel smuggling across the border was a scam “Group B” were heavily involved with but the “Official IRA” of course knew nothing about these activities.
The “Official Republican Movement” also had its own youth wing, the traditional republican youth wing - Na Fianna Eireann had gone with the Provos - they were called the “Irish Democratic Youth Movement” (IDYM). The "Officials" were bitterly opposed to the Provisionals and many feuds were to occur between the two which are detailed by Hanley and Millar in this work. Perhaps one of the more notable points of observation as to how far the “Officials” had moved from the national question and, indeed, republicanism was the time of the 1981 hunger strike. Here ten republican prisoners, seven (P) IRA and three INLA (Irish National Liberation Army a group which split from the “Official IRA” in 1974), embarked on a hunger strike to the death for ‘political status’. OIRA were opposed to the hunger strikes and any political status for these POWs"
There were clashes on the Lower Falls as Provos demanded shops and pubs close for Hunger Strikers funerals while OIRA demanded they stay open (P425).
In 1970 the Republican Movement decided to enter the 26 county Parliament, Dail Eireann, which infuriated the traditionalists who still swore allegiance to the Second Dail of 1921-22 as the legitimate governing assembly of Ireland (32 counties). This, along with the situation in the North resulted in the split. Sinn Fein (Gardiner Street) became “Official Sinn Fein” while Sinn Fein (Kevin Street) was where the offices of Provisional Sinn Fein were sited. From this point onwards the emphasis of “Official” Sinn Fein was on uniting Protestant and Catholic workers which, as has been mentioned, anywhere else in the world may have been the perfect revolutionary menu. In the six counties, however, though this unification of the proletariat should have been high on the agenda, putting it at the top was a bad strategy.
In 1977 the party restyled itself into ‘Sinn Fein the Workers Party” and in 1982 Sinn Fein was dropped altogether, becoming just the “Workers Party”. The book traces this metamorphosis of the party and political changes which arose. People like RTEs Eoghan Harris were heavily involved in the party and in particular the Industrial Department. Harris, a Stalinist, boasted as the SFWP reformed and became the WP “we have got rid of the militarists, now we must get rid of the Trotskyist and the Social Democrats” (sounds very much like Stalin’s party purges). These changes and moves away from republicanism are traced brilliantly by Hanley and Millar. The OIRA no longer officially existed and the party name no longer resembled anything to do with militant armed republicanism. In fact the party are reported to have entertained the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) in their drinking clubs. Though the veteran “Official IRA” commander, Jim Sullivan was still a member and activist - it could only be imagined what was going through his mind?
In 1986 the Provisionals voted at their Ard Fheis to enter the Dail, exactly what the “Officials” had done back in 1970. At this Ard Fheis a group walked out led by Ruari O’Bradaigh and Daithi O’Conaill and went on to form another party of the Sinn Fein name; Republican Sinn Fein. In 1998 (P) Sinn Fein under the Gerry Adams Presidency signed up to the fabled Good Friday Agreement and the (P) IRA called an indefinite ceasefire and later decommissioned their weapons.
In 1986 the Provisionals voted at their Ard Fheis to enter the Dail, exactly what the “Officials” had done back in 1970. At this Ard Fheis a group walked out led by Ruari O’Bradaigh and Daithi O’Conaill and went on to form another party of the Sinn Fein name; Republican Sinn Fein. In 1998 (P) Sinn Fein under the Gerry Adams Presidency signed up to the fabled Good Friday Agreement and the (P) IRA called an indefinite ceasefire and later decommissioned their weapons.
History in Ireland has a habit of repeating itself and this becomes very apparent towards the end of the book. There were many bloody feuds between the “Official” IRA and the Provisionals resulting in many deaths. Former Provisional IRA POW and Blanket Man, Anthony McIntyre said in 2002:
the seeming losers in the feuds – the Officials – must be sitting wryly observing that, body counts apart, they ultimately came out on top. We who wanted to kill them – because they argued to go into Stormont, to remain on ceasefire, support the reforms of the RUC, uphold the consent principle and to dismiss as rejectionist others who disagreed with them (sic) – are now forced to pretend that somehow, we are really different from them; that they were incorrigible reformists while we were incorruptible revolutionaries; that killing them had some major strategic – rationale. And all the while the truth sticks in our throats. They beat us to it – and started the peace process first.
Perhaps the late Cathal Goulding, one time Chief of Staff “Official IRA”, once stated, complementing in a way Anthony McIntyres statement above; “we got it right but to soon, Adams got it right but too late and O’Bradaigh never gets if fucking right”. This work traces the “Official IRA” from its inception under that media given title through to the reformist end giving great detail of people involved, some surprising, as the book is read.
Brian Hanley And Scott Millar, 2009, The Lost Revolution; The Story Of The Official IRA And The Workers Party. Penguin Books Ireland ISBN 978–1–844–88120–8
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| Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist. |
It is a great and thorough read but there are moments where the sympathies of the authors towards the ORM skewer certain facts. For example:
ReplyDelete- the story about Billy McKee taking down the tricolour, which led to his expulsion in 1963. Hanley and Miller don't go into any detail about it and (to me) imply that it was almost an act of cowardice, whereas John O'Neill (in his book Belfast Battalion) spells out the full story and points out that McKee, despite being portrayed as a militant, was seemingly attempting to avoid conflict whereas Goulding/Billy McMillen could be interpreted as wanting to provoke a fight.
- August 1969: it is true that McMillen and co did what they could but it's made clear, once again by John O'Neill, that the majority who helped defend the Falls Road were not acting under orders from the Goulding IRA, but were veterans who had reported back in spite of Goulding still being in charge. And even more intriguingly, it's revealed that those who met to depose Billy McMillan as Belfast O/C (John Kelly, Billy McKee and others) had nominated Sean Garland as his replacement.