Election Interventions—Historical & Contemporary

Many thanks to Conor McCabe for scanning and forwarding this document to the Archive.

This is one of the Republican Lecture Series documents and joins two others in the Archive. Published by Sinn Féin Education Department this is a short four page pamphlet. Given the centrality of the issue of electoralism to Sinn Féin it is perhaps surprising how cursory the treatment here actually is. But this is a key document in illustrating the constraints on that party in respect of electoralism and how it sought to frame matters as it entered the 1980s.

The document argues that:

The purpose of this lecture is, firstly to outline the history of republican interventions in the electoral process, and secondly, to explain why the Republican Movement, in this phase of the struggle, is becoming increasingly involved in election as part of the overall strategy for ultimate victory in our war of national and social liberation.

It offers a short history of interventions from the period the Irish Republican Brotherhood on. It considers the track record of electoralism in the 1870s under Home Rule and argues that while totally reformist ‘their only real saving grace… was that that they supported amnesty for the Fenian POWs’.

The piece notes the importance of James Connolly and his influence on the Democratic Programme and outlines the split over the Treaty. It notes that Sinn Féin contested the 1954 General Election, with candidates including ‘R. O Bradaigh’. Later it notes that Seamus Costello contested Wicklow for Sinn Féin in 1968 but ‘was defeated’.

It also notes the H-Blocks elections of the 1980s and the fact that SF contested local election in the Free State.

Oddly it does not mention abstentionism directly. And it notes ‘up until the 1981 ard Chris, Sinn Féin had a policy position ins elation to participating in local elections in the 6 counties but the way is now open to us to contest these elections.’

And it argues:

There is a need for us to give the nationalist and republican people an opportunity of showing whether they support the pro-imperialist polices of the establishment parties or the radical republicanism of the 1980s which demands the establishment of a democratic socialist, republic which is run by and for the people.

Comments

You can also join the discussion on The Cedar Lounge Revolution

No Comments yet.

Add a Comment