Sinn Féin and the politics of left republicanism

by fran Sat Mar 21, 2009 02:49

saw this on you tube, thaught it might be relivent to this thread, maybe of interest to somepeople. a video of the launch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81mWPBs44Bk&feature=channel

by Tomás Sun Mar 15, 2009 14:43

How many people have actually read this? It is incredibly badly written for a start, ridden with basic factual errors and clearly based on lifting the historical parts from the likes of Beresford Ellis, Jackson, Patterson et al. He continually refers to the flaws and contradictions within 'left republicanism' without actually saying what they are! He also clearly sees the Goulding people and WP as having embodied whatever nebulous idea of 'left republicanism' he envisages and that his own party the Provos somehow mystically evolved from being a 'right wing' group into a left party.

However it is also clear that by 'left' O Broin is actually talking about the a variety of liberalism oriented towards gender etc rather than an actual socialist party based on specific economic proposals centred on property ownership and management. Indeed the early Provos were far more radical in this respect than either the current SF or O Broin. Indeed it is clear that he has little understanding of socialism and that all he is really talking about is a kind of Scandanavian high taxation, socially liberal concept. Which is reasonable enough and explains why he thinks SF ought to be in alliance with the Labour Party. It has nothing however to do with what most people would regard as revolutionary or left republicanism!

by Sean Russell Fri Feb 13, 2009 17:03

"We are a party of the left a party that is right." A party that is right wing is what your are saying Derry..couldn/t agree more. "sinn fein bashing is noting new the brits tried it and failed." sorry but the brits didn't fail. They beat the provos and bought off Sinn Fein. How could they have failed when you are administrating their rules in our country. You are their govenors in the Irish plantation....along with the green minister Sammy "nude boy" Wilson. These are the results of your failed campaign. Thousands dead, Paisleys underling, hundreds in Jail, dinner with Bush and Blair, Mass unemployment, No global warming, a false economy but nice offices and wages for the leadership cabal in Sinn Fein. The only injury you caused to the brits were making their sides split with laughter. Can you imagine the fun Alister Campbell had as he dictated the IRA statements. He even jokes about it by saying he made them do it because "he could".
Sinn Fein cannot even get support from Irish people as the economy crashes around us. 10% increase for Labour, 1% for SF. People see SF as a fools Fianna Fail.

by Doire - sinn fein Thu Feb 12, 2009 22:22

elected by the people were is youre mandate??? the war is over we have taken a better course that off persausion our day will come but it wont be easy. we have the leadersip to get there and to counter youre anti women arguement what about Mary lo mcDonald, what about Martina Anderson, Barbara de Brun etc etc all well knowning politicans answer me that???
We are a party of the left a party that is right. sinn fein bashing is noting new the brits tried it and failed.

by Cael Thu Feb 12, 2009 22:16

How can anyone imagine the provies are left wing? Since getting into stormont they have supported hospital closures, privatisation of public amenities, water charges, the new "anti-terrorism" legislation and the closure of Lá Nua. In the south they have voted for the Rogue Banker Bailout? If this lot are left wing, then so were the PDs.

by Derveala Ni Bhrilochain Thu Feb 12, 2009 19:49

Its interesting that no Sinn Fein commentators seem to remember the virulent anti-women stance taken by Adams and his cronies at the Ard Fheis when the issue of a womans right to choose was raised. We , however, remember motion and motion, proposed by Daithi Doolins crew, being ripped to shreds by Adams late run to the mic and his emotional appeals for the defeat of these "divisive" motions, couched with the undertones of "follow me, I'm your leader". If womens rights were considered subservient to the moral majority in the party, then how can anyone really believe that Sinn Fein were ever left wing. Perhaps with the passing of time and a welcome bit of amnesia, Eoin will try again to rewrite party history. See you then in 2016 or is it 2052 now? Power to the People (at the top)!!

by Doire - sinn fein Thu Feb 12, 2009 19:27

Frankily gearoid you are talking nonsence, Catroina is taking eduction into the 21st centry no more will Irish childern have to indure the 11 plus test. Do you want to back to shooting and killing and the dark ages??? Sinn fein have the support of the Irish people, we are moving on to a 32 county socilist repubilic. trendie leftys are all talk and glass's of wine.

by Gearóid Thu Feb 12, 2009 18:04

I empathise with the sympathy that the 32 CSM poster expressed for Eoin Ó Broin's plight as a left leaning activist in the thoroughly conservative political institution that is modern day PSF. I also admire Eoin's courage in pointing out to his party after the last elections in the 26 counties that the grovellingly inept attempt by their 'leadership' to plead for junior partnership in a right wing government (to mirror their status in the 6 counties) was probably the major contributing factor to their spectacular snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory.

It must be soul destroying for Eoin to listen to Adams and co's snivelling pleas to big business that they have nothing to fear from PSF. The party's performance to date in the right wing British administration at Stormont has been appalling. A previous post pointed to Ruane's response to the popular classroom assistants' action for decent living standards - 'go and sort it out with your bosses, little children are suffering'. A classic right wing strategy of pinning responsibility for educational underfunding onto the lowest paid and most vulnerable workers in the sector who are forced to take industrial action.

Have a look at Northern Ireland (sic) Water's website and tell me that is not a company being geared up for imminent privatisation by a DUP-Sinn Féin administration.

What a shame PSF's image as a party desperate to cling to the coat tails of the right wing bosses' parties in the last 26 county election has resulted in a political system where there is now no substantive political movement in the south capable of leading the growing revolt of the working classes against the ruling adminstration. The political situation north and south is currently crying out for a strong left republican leadership. PSF has shat in the nest!

by Séamus Wed Feb 11, 2009 18:36

It's weird that Richard English will be attending the launch in Belfast, a man who believes that socialist republicanism is an ideology for intellectual infants.

Is Eoin going to come out and shock us all by running down left-wing republicanism from the platform and throwing his lot in with English's crowd?

by Doire - sinn fein Wed Feb 11, 2009 00:02

Micro repubilicans will never take us to the soicialist republic they are stuk in the past fare play to Eion I hope his book dose well. I hope to see him in Derry soon.

by Kevin Murphy - 32 CSM ( personal capacity) Tue Feb 10, 2009 20:05

In fairness to Mr Obroinn I for one believe he does personally have quite a left wing vision of an Irish future in which he emphasises popular national sovereignty and the importance of that position to any socialist project in Ireland . I personally believe he is genuine in that sentiment , on the emotional level anyway but sadly neither intellectually or logically and by extension politically . Unfortunately for him and a lot of other people the political project he is prominent within , the provisional Sinn Fein party , is riven with such massive political contradictions on those issues its impossible to take his views seriously when they are expressed as a member of that political structure .

Its impossible for any left wing anti colonialist and imperialist project to simultaneously make repeated calls for Irish citizens to act as informants and spies for a foreign armed colonial counter insurgency structure under the direct control of a foreign military intelligence agency - namely the British police in Ireland and retain a single jot of political integrity as a left wing progressive anti imperialism and anti occupation party. The glaring contradiction between praising and calling for Irish citizens to follow the example of a progressive Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela as Eoin OBroinn has previously done , a Bolivarian revolution which expelled George Bushes ambassadors , military attaches and personnel and personally pronounced him the devil - and Eoin OBroinns party inviting George Bush personally to come and give his blessing and praise to a British parliament in Ireland and the British state in Ireland in which it administers British rule . A british statelet which is every bit as much an assault on Irish national sovereignty as Guantanamo Bay is on Cuban national sovereignty . Worse in fact .
The long list of contradictions regarding professing wholehearted support for popular left wing national sovereignty whether Irish , Cuban or Venezuelan - compared to the courting of the open political patronage and praise of imperialist warmongers like George Bush , Tony Blair , Bill and Hilary Clinton , Peter King and Henry Kissinger , the British occupation forces , British parliaments et al simply renders whatever political points Eoin OBroinn tries to make regarding anti colonial , socialist and progressive politics farcical .

by zydol Tue Feb 10, 2009 15:06

It's next Monday- the date is wrong above. Let's hope there is a good turn out from all the critics.

by shea Tue Feb 10, 2009 14:44

any comments from any one who went to the launch or had a look at the book.

there is a common left wing theame in SF but like all leftwing parties in Ireland there parocial, keep to them self etc. if by the sounds of the first post eoin is trying to encourage SF out of that parocialism and to engage with others, then i'd welcome it. iam unempoyed at the moment and as it stands no left wing party fills me with confidence, i think the government is only going to short of slaughter us. all the left wing parties failed to put up any meaning full fight against public pay cuts and they'll fail with social welfare as well because there divided over shit. and thats all it is, we can all point the finger at each other and look at each other with spite but who's winning, it's definitly not the working class who everybody professes to be for.

by zydol Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:35

It will be fascinating to see how many of these keyboard warriors actually show up in person at the book launch to ask these questions. My money is on - not a single one.

by Tomas Gorman - IRSP Tue Feb 10, 2009 11:10

Is it an extreme case of schizophrenia? Is it delusion? Is it outright lies? Is it the contradictions of the left and right within Sinn Fein manifesting itself in internal debate? Is it all of the above?

Tell you what this book really is at face value.....hard to swallow.

"Red Eoin" O'Broin argued for corporate tax in the North to be harmonised with the ridiculously low Southern rate of 12.5% to a median 17.5% to create more of an all Ireland economy a few years ago. The creation of a 32 County all Ireland tax haven was one of Connollys main demands though......wasn't it?

by Frank Tue Feb 10, 2009 08:26

Talk about an organisation in denial! Since when was it a tradition of the republican left in Ireland to advocate informing to the British forces against those that disagree with the direction PSF have taken? Or perhaps Eoin feels that the practical workings of republican politics are beneath his intellectual take on abstract matters? Who knows, one day he may even wake up in Kansas.

by Pete Fitzgerald. Tue Feb 10, 2009 08:14

When I lived in London during the 1970s I often had to keep my mouth shut in case English people would hear my Irish accent.

I feared their reaction in some quarters.

This was when Sinn Fein/IRA were terrorising ordinary Irish and English people with their bombs...in the name of Ireland.

I regarded them then, and now, as right wing religious nationalists.

Sinn Fein fits in well with their right wing Paisleyite pals in Stormont.....while the Union Jack flutters over their heads.

Birds of a feather etc.

by P O'Neill - SF means Still Fibbing Mon Feb 09, 2009 21:15

Is this a colouring book? There must be plenty of pictures in it to fill up the pages. Is the real title "sinn fein have left republican politics behind" as they are only now an organ of the british state. Did he cover the attack on classroom assistants by the Shinners in the 6 counties. Did he mention the shinners withdrawal of opposition to the bin tax in Dublin? Did he mention the shinners cover up of Robert McCartneys killing, a working man killed by shinners. Did he mention Gerry and Martin meeting with the Us elite or their funding from Coca Cola? Did he cover the shinners working with the reactionary and homophobic DUP?
Sinn Fein are the dumb mans Fianna Fail...without the chance of power. They are about as left as Pinochet and act in a similar political mode.

Do I need to bring my own crayons or are the free with the book. Looking forward to the champagne and caviar reception and a lecture from Mary Loo, former Fianna Fail student and well known radical in Brown Thomas circles.

To the barricades comrades......