Post by RedFlag32 on Oct 13, 2006 18:46:10 GMT
Seamus Costello Commemoration Speech 2006
At the largest Costello Commemoration in many years the following speech was delivered by former POW and member of the Ard Comhairle of the IRSP Martin McMonagle.
Friends and comrades,
We once more gather to pay homage to the founder of our movement, Seamus Costello. Seamus did not suffer fools gladly, No leader can afford to be weak and weak is not a word to associate with Seamus Costello. He was strong in his beliefs, strong in his convictions, strong in his commitment to the revolutionary road to the Socialist Republic. He was a 24 hour a day man, working openly politically to advance the interests of the working class while secretly organising recruiting and arming a revolutionary army that he saw as the only way to wrestle control of this country from the parasites and vultures of imperialism. He was also a thinker and a doer, a combination that everyone who aspires to be called a Republican Socialist should aim for
Of course in the intervening years from Seamus’s cruel assassination by the enemies of the working class, Ireland north and south has changed. The once mighty USSR has collapsed and the policies associated with its state socialism have been discredited. By the start of the 1990’s socialism seemed doomed as the gains of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution all but disappeared.
Many walked away from struggle believing the propaganda that Capitalism had triumphed. Just as in Seamus’s day, some republicans began to want to do a deal with Imperialism and now just as in the seventies ended up sucked into doing the work of the Imperialists.
Our own movement, which had been in slow, decline following the removal of our charismatic founder and leader was all but finished in the early nineties. We had then an apolitical leadership that had only contempt for the politics of Costello and the movement. Fortunately we had rank and file members still committed to the ideals of republican socialism and leaders like Gino Gallagher who began the mammoth task of turning the movement around. Central to that task was the merging of theory and action, the putting into practice of Collective Leadership and the Primacy of Politics as outlined by Ta Power.
The task begun in 1994 is far from complete. We lost Gino murdered by British elements. We made mistakes sometimes elevating individuals who were only interested in their own egos into positions of authority. But we have learned from those mistakes and of course in building up revolutionary organisations one needs to remember that it is inevitable mistakes will be made. There is no such thing as a pure revolution. There is no guidebook to advise how to change the world- only the experiences that the working class movement worldwide has accumulated in trying to wrestle power from capitalism.
We have tried to learn from those experiences especially the experiences of the working class in Ireland. In the interests of that class the INLA declared its ceasefire. Despite provocations, despite British agents, despite the rise in sectarian attacks our leadership has maintained that ceasefire because we are convinced that is the correct revolutionary position at this moment in time. Comrades and to all republicans out there we say as clearly as we can, “ the war is over”
Revolution is a serious business. It can only occur when the mass of people see the need for change. Individual actions divorced from the interests of the class are at best futile and at worst sheer adventurism. At this juncture in time what is needed is maturity, commitment, and hard, hard political work. There are no short cuts and are task is to convince people of the relevancy of our views and our actions to their lives. That is what the whole of Seamus Costello ‘ political life was about. He tried to show that his brand of republicanism, republican socialism was relevant to the lives of the people. That’s why he picketed councils led deputations, fought elections and took his seat. He set out to arouse the people to the indignities they suffered. And that is today our task. Comrades Seamus Costello was a man who was not just a republican in the north and a socialist in the south. He recognised the two could not be separated. The class question and the national question are so intertwine they cannot be separated.
That’s why we reject the partition of the isle. That’s why we oppose the Good Friday Agreement and that’s why we must build up in the working class areas of the South a class based revolutionary party that articulates the deepest desires of the working class people.
Deep within the body politic in the 26 counties a malaise, a malignant growth of corruption, greed, individualism and naked self-interest exists. At the very top An Taoiseach, Bertie is in debt to businessmen. In football it is called a bung, I call it a bribe. Fianna Fail, formerly “the republican party” is now the party of big business Tribunals are investigating planning corruption. Garda are accused of corrupt practices and come down heavy on working class criminals while ignoring the stench of corruption at the top. Young people leaving university now have to wait years before they can get on the housing ladder as the property boom lines the pockets of the investors and builders while landing thousands of ordinary decent folk in debt for the rest of their lives.
Be under no illusions, the so called “Celtic Tiger’ was good for business but bad for people. It will inevitably grind to a halt. Already the forces of the right wipe up racist hatred against the migrants, attracted here by the Celtic Tiger’. At the same time religious fundamentalist financed from the USA try to poison the minds of the people with religious bigotry intolerance and superstition. And the state basically writes off huge working class estates around Ireland and tolerates the drug gangs as they poison the bodies of our young people. It is time for a fight back and we will do what we can to help organise our class against these “scumbags and low lives”, whether in the pulpit, the boardroom or in housing ghettoes.
At the same time we must not only observe events internationally which affect Ireland, but we must act. Seamus Costello would have been down in Shannon supporting and leading protests against the death dealing USA planes refuelling there. He would never have met George Bush but would have picketed him. Shame on the Provisional Republican leadership for its capitulation and bending of the knee the USA imperialists.
There is nothing wrong with pragmatism but pragmatism with out principle is betrayal.
Seamus would also have been shoulder to shoulder with the Ross port Five. In fact wherever there would be injustice oppression exploitation. Seamus Costello would have been leading the resistance.
If we really want to honour Seamus Costello rededicate yourselves comrades to the struggle of the Irish working class. The weapons of struggle may have changed from the days when many of us first became involved, but that does not mean the struggle does not go on. It is just on a different playing field.
Take up these weapons of struggle today, the weapons of protest, of the placard, of the radical newspapers of the internet of the community halls, the trade union rooms, the letters pages of the papers, the strike committees, the groups against racism, poverty, homophobia, low wages, communities against drugs, families against death drivers and so on and so on.
In other words comrades if there something that affects our class that is where we need to be. Because that is the battleground of the struggle today. That is where we, you, me, need to be-leading our class in struggle.
Recently there has much talk of so-called” dissident” republicans coming together renewing or revitalising republicanism.
We too are dissidents. We dissent from the way Ireland is today. We dissent from the new partitionist mentality. We dissent from the acceptance of Imperialism. We dissent from the acceptance of Capitalism values of greed individualism and profit making. We dissent from the Aherne business government. We are proud to be dissenters in the republican tradition.
But we are very much aware that Irish Republicanism’s renaissance will not be by re- fighting the battles of the sixties seventies or eighties. Nor will it be renewed by repeating old mantras, old slogans, or old policies.
Comrades live in the here and now, take up today’s battles, march away from this graveyard, sacred to republican socialism with fire in your belly, steel in your soul and integrity in your eyes to liberate our class and country. That’s how to honour Seamus Costello that’s how to renew republicanism. Victory to the Irish Working Class.
(Martin Mc Monagle IRSP)
At the largest Costello Commemoration in many years the following speech was delivered by former POW and member of the Ard Comhairle of the IRSP Martin McMonagle.
Friends and comrades,
We once more gather to pay homage to the founder of our movement, Seamus Costello. Seamus did not suffer fools gladly, No leader can afford to be weak and weak is not a word to associate with Seamus Costello. He was strong in his beliefs, strong in his convictions, strong in his commitment to the revolutionary road to the Socialist Republic. He was a 24 hour a day man, working openly politically to advance the interests of the working class while secretly organising recruiting and arming a revolutionary army that he saw as the only way to wrestle control of this country from the parasites and vultures of imperialism. He was also a thinker and a doer, a combination that everyone who aspires to be called a Republican Socialist should aim for
Of course in the intervening years from Seamus’s cruel assassination by the enemies of the working class, Ireland north and south has changed. The once mighty USSR has collapsed and the policies associated with its state socialism have been discredited. By the start of the 1990’s socialism seemed doomed as the gains of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution all but disappeared.
Many walked away from struggle believing the propaganda that Capitalism had triumphed. Just as in Seamus’s day, some republicans began to want to do a deal with Imperialism and now just as in the seventies ended up sucked into doing the work of the Imperialists.
Our own movement, which had been in slow, decline following the removal of our charismatic founder and leader was all but finished in the early nineties. We had then an apolitical leadership that had only contempt for the politics of Costello and the movement. Fortunately we had rank and file members still committed to the ideals of republican socialism and leaders like Gino Gallagher who began the mammoth task of turning the movement around. Central to that task was the merging of theory and action, the putting into practice of Collective Leadership and the Primacy of Politics as outlined by Ta Power.
The task begun in 1994 is far from complete. We lost Gino murdered by British elements. We made mistakes sometimes elevating individuals who were only interested in their own egos into positions of authority. But we have learned from those mistakes and of course in building up revolutionary organisations one needs to remember that it is inevitable mistakes will be made. There is no such thing as a pure revolution. There is no guidebook to advise how to change the world- only the experiences that the working class movement worldwide has accumulated in trying to wrestle power from capitalism.
We have tried to learn from those experiences especially the experiences of the working class in Ireland. In the interests of that class the INLA declared its ceasefire. Despite provocations, despite British agents, despite the rise in sectarian attacks our leadership has maintained that ceasefire because we are convinced that is the correct revolutionary position at this moment in time. Comrades and to all republicans out there we say as clearly as we can, “ the war is over”
Revolution is a serious business. It can only occur when the mass of people see the need for change. Individual actions divorced from the interests of the class are at best futile and at worst sheer adventurism. At this juncture in time what is needed is maturity, commitment, and hard, hard political work. There are no short cuts and are task is to convince people of the relevancy of our views and our actions to their lives. That is what the whole of Seamus Costello ‘ political life was about. He tried to show that his brand of republicanism, republican socialism was relevant to the lives of the people. That’s why he picketed councils led deputations, fought elections and took his seat. He set out to arouse the people to the indignities they suffered. And that is today our task. Comrades Seamus Costello was a man who was not just a republican in the north and a socialist in the south. He recognised the two could not be separated. The class question and the national question are so intertwine they cannot be separated.
That’s why we reject the partition of the isle. That’s why we oppose the Good Friday Agreement and that’s why we must build up in the working class areas of the South a class based revolutionary party that articulates the deepest desires of the working class people.
Deep within the body politic in the 26 counties a malaise, a malignant growth of corruption, greed, individualism and naked self-interest exists. At the very top An Taoiseach, Bertie is in debt to businessmen. In football it is called a bung, I call it a bribe. Fianna Fail, formerly “the republican party” is now the party of big business Tribunals are investigating planning corruption. Garda are accused of corrupt practices and come down heavy on working class criminals while ignoring the stench of corruption at the top. Young people leaving university now have to wait years before they can get on the housing ladder as the property boom lines the pockets of the investors and builders while landing thousands of ordinary decent folk in debt for the rest of their lives.
Be under no illusions, the so called “Celtic Tiger’ was good for business but bad for people. It will inevitably grind to a halt. Already the forces of the right wipe up racist hatred against the migrants, attracted here by the Celtic Tiger’. At the same time religious fundamentalist financed from the USA try to poison the minds of the people with religious bigotry intolerance and superstition. And the state basically writes off huge working class estates around Ireland and tolerates the drug gangs as they poison the bodies of our young people. It is time for a fight back and we will do what we can to help organise our class against these “scumbags and low lives”, whether in the pulpit, the boardroom or in housing ghettoes.
At the same time we must not only observe events internationally which affect Ireland, but we must act. Seamus Costello would have been down in Shannon supporting and leading protests against the death dealing USA planes refuelling there. He would never have met George Bush but would have picketed him. Shame on the Provisional Republican leadership for its capitulation and bending of the knee the USA imperialists.
There is nothing wrong with pragmatism but pragmatism with out principle is betrayal.
Seamus would also have been shoulder to shoulder with the Ross port Five. In fact wherever there would be injustice oppression exploitation. Seamus Costello would have been leading the resistance.
If we really want to honour Seamus Costello rededicate yourselves comrades to the struggle of the Irish working class. The weapons of struggle may have changed from the days when many of us first became involved, but that does not mean the struggle does not go on. It is just on a different playing field.
Take up these weapons of struggle today, the weapons of protest, of the placard, of the radical newspapers of the internet of the community halls, the trade union rooms, the letters pages of the papers, the strike committees, the groups against racism, poverty, homophobia, low wages, communities against drugs, families against death drivers and so on and so on.
In other words comrades if there something that affects our class that is where we need to be. Because that is the battleground of the struggle today. That is where we, you, me, need to be-leading our class in struggle.
Recently there has much talk of so-called” dissident” republicans coming together renewing or revitalising republicanism.
We too are dissidents. We dissent from the way Ireland is today. We dissent from the new partitionist mentality. We dissent from the acceptance of Imperialism. We dissent from the acceptance of Capitalism values of greed individualism and profit making. We dissent from the Aherne business government. We are proud to be dissenters in the republican tradition.
But we are very much aware that Irish Republicanism’s renaissance will not be by re- fighting the battles of the sixties seventies or eighties. Nor will it be renewed by repeating old mantras, old slogans, or old policies.
Comrades live in the here and now, take up today’s battles, march away from this graveyard, sacred to republican socialism with fire in your belly, steel in your soul and integrity in your eyes to liberate our class and country. That’s how to honour Seamus Costello that’s how to renew republicanism. Victory to the Irish Working Class.
(Martin Mc Monagle IRSP)