Review: Seán MacStiofáin, Memoirs of a Revolutionary

Memoirs of a Revolutionary radical left is its failure to defend unconditionally the struggle of the Irish for national liberation. For the Revolutionary Communist Tendency, unconditional support for the national liberation struggle is inseparable from building an antiimperialist movement in Britain. Our criticism of MacStiofain's book is advanced to assist political clarification within When the Civil Rights demonstrations began in Six romantic memory. All attempts to arouse support for a united nationalist working class turned to the republican movement to defend it from loyalist and British army attacks, republicanism once more became a political force in Ireland. The Provisional wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) now took the lead in the struggle against the British army. The memoirs of former Provisional IRA Chief of Staff Seán MacStiofáin provide an opportunity to assess the role of republicanism in the present war in Ireland.

Seán MacStiofáin is proud to claim tradition as his political heritage. This tradition origins in the eighteenth century, with the United Irishmen.

Under the leadership of Wolfe Tone, the United Irishmen represented the national bourgeoisie in the era of progressive capitalism. They were directly influenced by the ideas of the great bourgeois revolutions that had just taken place in America and France. They sought to forge an alliance with all oppressed classes — an alliance that would create the conditions for the development of capitalist social relations in an Ireland free from English interference. Because the bourgeoisie had the potential to extend the productive forces beyond the constraints imposed by Britain, the United Irishmen could present its particular interests as the general interest of all classes in Irish society The rebellion of the United Irishmen and several uprisings in the nineteenth century failed to rally sufficient support and were defeated by Britain. The dramatic expansion of capital.

ism into a system of global economic domination culminated at the end of the nineteenth century in a protracted period of stagnation and decay — the age of imperialism. The bourgeoisie could no longer unite with the working class to overthrow the barriers to capital accumulation.

survive by In the imperialist epoch capital can only periodically defeating the working class.

countries oppressed by imperialism, the antagonism between labour and capital is modified by the nature of national • oppression. In oppressed nations such as Ireland the struggle for democratic rights takes the form of a national liberation movement against the oppressor nation.

In the twentieth century independent bourgeois republic can no longer provide a solution for the people. The national bourgeoisie cannot systematically deve lop the productive forces in an oppressed country constrained by the imperialist world economy. Socialism is necessary to advance the development of society. The working class, the agent of socialist transformation, is the only class whose interests dictate an unrelenting struggle against imperialism.

As this class grew in size and strength capitalism, the Irish

to ally itself with the became more aware of proletariat — even though only the defeat of that class would ensure its own survival. In the period of heightening class and national conflict thar led up to the War of Independence in 1918, the radical wing of the republican movement came to appreciate the need to modify its programme to win the support of the working cláss for the struggle against Britain.

In the writings of the republican Pearse the republicanism of WolfeTone was expressed in socialist terms. Pearse asserted that, under republican control, the state would guarantee workers' interests by retaining the right to nationalise any key sector of the economy.' But for the republican movement nationalisation merely meant the extension of a practice already common among small businesses and farmers. Pearse wanted to extend 'co-operativism' _ the common ownership of means of production such as warehouses and creameries — to the level of the bourgeois This conception of nationalisation has become the essence of the republican programme today.

The War of Independence of 1918-21 revealed the innational bourgeoisie to advance consistently ability of the the cause of Irish freedom. Following the national bourgeoisie's defeat of the emergent working class in the 1913 Dublin Lockout and the crushing of the 1916 Easter Rising, divisions within the republican camp led to defeat at the hands of Britain. The bourgeois leadership of the republican movement accepted Partition - the compromise with imperialism which led to the integration of six counties into the United Kingdom and an illusory independence for the rest of Ireland.

As a result of Partition the struggles of the working class became confined to trade unionism. The programme of republicanism continued to dominate the national struggle and the resolution of the national question was postponed.

For almost half a century republican movement to political impotence.

republican leadership had compromised with the Free State regime in the 'twenties, only a small group of republicans persisted in efforts to keep the struggle for national independence alive. This group launched a series of bombings which reached its climax in the Border Campaign of 1956-62. The isolation of the republican movement from the working class ensured that these activities were little threat to British imper- The republican movement was already isolated when Seán MacSriofáin joined it shortly World War. His first active military service — an arms raid on an English public school - landed him with a six year prison sentence. He spent his time learning Irish and absorbing the republican tradition. MacStiofáin took a keen interest in contemporary national liberation struggles — in Kenya, Indochina and Cyprus - and supported them from his own nationalist perspective. The negative example of international Stalinism led him to reject Marxism as the political basis for anti-imperialist movements in Ireland and elsewhere.? He became a radical bourgeois nationalist rather than a working After his release from prison MacStiofáin moved Ireland and gradually rose up through the IRA hierarchy.

Unprepared for the sectarian onslaught on the nationalist population of the Six Counties that came in 1969, the IRA split into two wings — the Officials and the Provisionals. By 1970 MacStiofäin was Chief of Staff of the Provisionals and leading their military defence of the Catholic community. The to defend the Catholic areas ability of the Provisionals ensured that they would assume leadership of the national liberation struggle. As the Provisionals were the only organisation able to defend the oppressed minority, they were able to win mass support and a pool of recruits. But developments in Ireland since the struggles of the pre-Partition period posed nes political problems for the republican movement.

As leader of the military wing of the movement MacStiofáin was closely involsed in drawing see nees programme appropriate to the circumstances of the The expansion of the world economy in the and 'sixties had provided the opportunity development of capitalism in Ireland. Programmes of stateinduced foreign investment had resulted in accelerated industrialisation on both sides of the Border. * The most important result of this process was the increase in the size of the working class. For the first time there existed in Ireland a class of substantial social weight: a class whose interests demanded an uncompromising struggle against imperialism. Objectively the potential now existed for the successful prosecution of the national liberation struggle.

Whilst the nationalist population physical defence, the republican movement now had to rely on the working class if it was to realise its goal of a united independent Ireland. The Provisionals gave workers weapons their leadership of the national against British imperialism. As MacStiofáin puts it: 'If we provided defence for an area that came under attack, our prestige in that area and in general would be greatly enhanced. We could chen exploit this initiative, move over from the defensive to offensive action. and concentrate on the main national objective of ending British rule in Ireland."

Though the Provisionals recognised the importance of working class support for their struggle, this did not mean that their political goal had changed. They remained committed to an independent Ireland; but for them the class character of an Ireland free of British domination remained that defined by Pearse — a capitalist economy, a bourgeois state and common ownership of certain industries.

In order to consolidate working Provisionals modified their traditional bourgeois nationalist The solurion they adopted in 1971 was the 'Democratic Socialist Republic' of Éire Nua, the programme launched by Provisional Sinn Féin, the political wing of the Provisional IRA. ' For MacStiofáin, Éire Nua 'acted as a tonic to thousands who realised that Republicanism could indeed present a constructive political way forward'." In reality the new programme was only an updated version of the radical Just as MacStiofáin sees British imperialism not as the necessary form of capitalist domination in Ireland, but as a military policy opted for by sections of the British ruling class, so he sees the interests of world imperialism as compatible with those of an oppressed nation. Speaking of the declared by the Provisionals after Britain's massacre of 14 civilians on Bloody Sunday, 1972, MacStiofain notes: 'Politicians in London. Belfast and Dublin had a common interest in bringing the fighting to an end as quickly as possible. The British wanted to end the embarrassment which the Derry massacre, interrogation under torture and other brutalities had exposed them to in the For MacStiofáin the strategy of British imperialism results not from the needs of capital accumulation but from the subjective motives of bourgeois politicians. It follows that persuasion could change imperialist policy. As the politics of imperialism are simply "world opinion' to MacStiofain, he hopes to use this influence to modify the oppression meted out It is for this reason that republicanism tends towards a compromise with imperialism. This has become clear on a number of occasions. Michael Collins, one of the military commanders during the War of Independence, accepted Partition in 1921. Later de Valera abandoned his opposition to the Treaty and led Fianna Fáil into government in 1932. In the 'seventies republicanism has again made compromises with the leadership of MacStiofáin, the imperialism. Under Provisionals made a truce with British imperialism in which they tried hard to prove their credentials as respectable 34

the June 1972 ceasefire, British sources had went further still. MacStiofáin comments that the North."• House of Commons, in the same House of Commons."?

majority at Westminster. realising that objective.

working class party in Ireland.

Andrew Clarkson nonesi, 1975, p52 No 2, May 1978. Éire Nua, Sinn Féin. Dublin, January 1971, p3.

8 Ibid, p259. 9 Ibid, p287. 10 Ibid, p283-4. i2 Ibid, p283. members of the world community. MacStiofain notes that since "admitted that we did our utmost 1o honour the truce...And on this occasion too they conceded thar we had "policed it completely" The efforts of the republicans to oblige British imperialism 'We would not have complained about extending the completion of withdrawal by a year to 1976. This would have given the British three and a half years to arrange an orderly withdrawal of their forces from In the course of negotiations Northern Ireland Secretary William Whitelaw pointed out that the British Government had several times given 'constitutional guarantees to the majority in Northern Ireland.''' MacStiofáin's reply is illuminating: 'I said that it was the Ireland Act of 1949, passed in the British which guaranteed that constitutional position.

There was no act of parliament which could not be set aside by another... All that was required to remove them was a simple majority For MacStiofáin the emancipation of Ireland need not be the task of the working class; it can be achieved by a parliamentary MacStiofáin's assessment of British imperialism stems from the republican programme. A significant section of the republican movement opposed the truce of 1972. However, although some opposed the truce they were not able to offer the class alternative which alone can provide the basis for a consistent struggle against imperialism. MacStiofáin's book reflects the contradiction that continues to haunt the republican movement. Although it is determined to rid Ireland of British oppression, its programme cannot provide the foundation for Over the last 10 years the republican movement has put up a heroic resistance to British imperialism. But this should not blind us to the political perspectives contained in this book.

Those sections of the working class in the Six Counties now struggling against British imperialism will not free themselves from imperialist domination and achieve socialism through Éire Nua. The revolutionary potential of these struggles will only be realised through the building of an independent 1 Padraic Pearse, The sovereign people, Pobal Teoranta, June 1974.

2 Seán MacStiofain, Memoirs of a revolutionary, Gordon Crethe Reform Movement 4). Cominter Subscriptions 1 year: 2 years: Back Issues: 35

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