Irish Left Archive
@ila@leftarchive.ieDigital collection of political material from the Irish Left.
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Here's an interview with Michael D. Higgins in Gralton, from 1982, in which he is asked about the prospects for the Irish left, his opposition to coalition with Fine Gael (FG), and the role of Labour as a vehicle for the left.
He also expresses opposition to expelling Militant (who were eventually expelled in the late 80s and are now the Socialist Party), and comments on the then recently dissolved Socialist Labour Party (SLP).
Higgins was Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht in the 1993 FG, Labour and Democratic Left coalition, and has been President of Ireland since 2011.
#IrishLeftArchive #Gralton #MichaelDHiggins #Labour #FineGael #Militant #SocialistLabourParty
![Scanned text from a magazine, reading: Gralton: Speaking of Britain, there are moves in the British Labour Party to expel the Militant. Are you concerned about the activities of the Irish Militant?
No, I'm not concerned. Many people believe I'm a member or supporter of the Militant, but I'm neither. 1 accept that people have a right to work for different positions within the Labour Party. I don’t believe in the expulsion or proscription of tendencies. I'd want to deal with them by argument. From the things I've read about the British Militant, I don’t agree with the tactics they seem to have used in some constituencies.
People in different countries are asking what form of socialism will be appropriate in the twentieth century and the twenty-first century. We must have the courage to go beyond existing models, I met Trotskyists recently who said you couldn’t have a socialist revolution in Nicaragua because there was no revolutionary socialist party — and I heard the same argument from an official in Russia. Socialism is a philosophy and a theory of action that must be put into effect in different historical circum- ... [continued in next image]](https://posts.leftarchive.ie/attachments/thumbnails/03ed1c2a8f8d0caf6419d53f1fecfb60addc36a3d1c58454a330fbde5dadd21d/gralton1.png)
![[Scanned text, continued from previous image] ...circumstances. We’ve no right to put a limit on the forms of socialism. I'm not a vague ethical socialist, now. We have to win the economy, that’s of crucial importance.But there are other things like taking action on disarmament, on ecology.
Many people will make a contribution to socialist thought after Marx, Lenin and Trotsky. The world didn’t stop on one day in Mexico. I'm not speaking of course about diluting socialism, I'm not talking of some vague form of social democracy. We have to take account of the circumstances, the phenomena in any particular . place. In Ireland we're operating within the European context. We're a small open economy dominated by foreign capital. We're undeveloped within that context rather than in a Third World context.](https://posts.leftarchive.ie/attachments/thumbnails/26dc2bbbd50f4d463cbd8c79e6c137d602427f6d5a5717c39d58f6d5e195c0dc/gralton2.png)
![Scanned text from a magazine, reading:
Gralton: Looking at the track record of the left in the Labour Party, isn't the principled left becoming smaller and smaller?
Not at all. There's been fresh blood coming in, and former members have been coming back. The folding-up of the SLP [Socialist Labour Party] removes one of the obstacles to people coming back: they were people of undoubted principle but their leaving of the Labour Party was a bad tactic. We're now on the brink of a majority position in the Labour Party: with them in, and others, we'd be much more sure.](https://posts.leftarchive.ie/attachments/thumbnails/b728e5f9372752f4345ff6b91e6d4fca709141f3fbecc7ad7213a1afe343f163/gralton3.png)
The Labour Party: Northern Policy Statement
Adopted by their annual conference #OnThisDay 26th February 1972.
Northern Policy Statement (1972) — Labour
Irish Left Archive
In June 1984, a visit by Ronald Reagan to Ireland was met with widespread protests, with a march on Shannon airport on his arrival, a large “ring around Reagan” protest in Dublin city centre, and the Women’s Peace Camp in the Phoenix Park.
This article from Labour left expresses disappointment at that party's failure to oppose the visit.
#Ireland #Politics #History #RonaldReagan #Labour #LabourLeft #IrishLeftArchive
![A scanned magazine article, reading:
Silence is violence
Nearly seven hundred delegates at the Labour Party Conference voted for a composite motion which called for a boycott of functions and engagements held in connection with President Reagan’s Irish visit. The international committee advocated a similar approach. However, it was defeated by the narrowest of margins.
Speakers from what may be termed the party’s ‘centre’ argued against a boycott. Senators O’Mahoney and Harte having condemned torture, mass murder,violations of international law, the attempts to overthrow a legitimate government (one that is supported by the Socialist International) and all criminal activities sponsored by the Reagan Administration, then turned around and said a boycott wouldn’t look good or was contrary to ‘protocol’. They of course were to later absolve their socialist conscience by personally boycotting the joint session but had helped block Labour taking effective action as a party. This position might be characterised as leading from behind. A majority of the score or more parliamentarians who boycotted Reagan’s Oireachtas speech were Labour Party representatives, yet because we did not lead from the front, a course advocated by the Left and one which would have brought attention to our internationalist philosophy, we failed to offer genuine, as opposed to token, solidarity with the oppressed in the Third World.
At Conference the leadership were given a lifeline in the form of a petition to be given to Reagan which replaced the boycott. Dick Spring we are told fulfilled his obligations in this regard although predictably this exercise did not receive any headlines or photographs nor was it meant to. Spring neither led from the front nor behind but rather played second fiddle to the host, Garret FitzGerald.
Given that nearly 50% of Party wanted a complete boycott and an overwhelming majority showed grave concern at Reagan’s policies one would have expected Spring to give public expression of this anger. Instead his contributions to this media event was laughing and joking with Nancy Reagan at the State Banquet while hundreds of party members marched together outside with thousands of others.
Once again the leadership proved incapable of giving expression to the concerns, aspirations and idealism of young people. Another opportunity missed.
[Image shows a number of people marching in Dublin with the foreground banner reading "Silence is violence". It is captioned: Protestors at anti-Reagan demo.]](https://posts.leftarchive.ie/attachments/thumbnails/ba63a53f49ddff34167cd5270867c19f1e6cf725e36f28d986abcf1156c78744/Labour_left--Reagan.jpeg)
In June 1984, a visit by Ronald Reagan to Ireland was met with widespread protests, with a march on Shannon airport on his arrival, a large “ring around Reagan” protest in Dublin city centre, and the Women’s Peace Camp in the Phoenix Park.
This article from Labour left expresses disappointment at that party's failure to oppose the visit.
#Ireland #Politics #History #RonaldReagan #Labour #LabourLeft #IrishLeftArchive
![A scanned magazine article, reading:
Silence is violence
Nearly seven hundred delegates at the Labour Party Conference voted for a composite motion which called for a boycott of functions and engagements held in connection with President Reagan’s Irish visit. The international committee advocated a similar approach. However, it was defeated by the narrowest of margins.
Speakers from what may be termed the party’s ‘centre’ argued against a boycott. Senators O’Mahoney and Harte having condemned torture, mass murder,violations of international law, the attempts to overthrow a legitimate government (one that is supported by the Socialist International) and all criminal activities sponsored by the Reagan Administration, then turned around and said a boycott wouldn’t look good or was contrary to ‘protocol’. They of course were to later absolve their socialist conscience by personally boycotting the joint session but had helped block Labour taking effective action as a party. This position might be characterised as leading from behind. A majority of the score or more parliamentarians who boycotted Reagan’s Oireachtas speech were Labour Party representatives, yet because we did not lead from the front, a course advocated by the Left and one which would have brought attention to our internationalist philosophy, we failed to offer genuine, as opposed to token, solidarity with the oppressed in the Third World.
At Conference the leadership were given a lifeline in the form of a petition to be given to Reagan which replaced the boycott. Dick Spring we are told fulfilled his obligations in this regard although predictably this exercise did not receive any headlines or photographs nor was it meant to. Spring neither led from the front nor behind but rather played second fiddle to the host, Garret FitzGerald.
Given that nearly 50% of Party wanted a complete boycott and an overwhelming majority showed grave concern at Reagan’s policies one would have expected Spring to give public expression of this anger. Instead his contributions to this media event was laughing and joking with Nancy Reagan at the State Banquet while hundreds of party members marched together outside with thousands of others.
Once again the leadership proved incapable of giving expression to the concerns, aspirations and idealism of young people. Another opportunity missed.
[Image shows a number of people marching in Dublin with the foreground banner reading "Silence is violence". It is captioned: Protestors at anti-Reagan demo.]](https://posts.leftarchive.ie/attachments/thumbnails/859e23f03ff046cae42e67d2092543fb79d63670bdcce4f00565b4e895167b19/Labour_left--Reagan.png)
"Bright Prospects for Council of Labour"
From 1967, an article from Labour ('Official Organ of the Labour Party'), on cooperation between the Labour party, Northern Ireland Labour Party and Republican Labour Party.
View Document: Labour, Vol. 1, Nos. 5-6 - Labour
Irish Left Archive
