President of Republican Sinn Féin visits Maghaberry

Statement by the President of Republican Sinn Féin Des Dalton

Statement in French . . .

Following a visit to Maghaberry prison the President of Republican Sinn Féin Des Dalton said that Republican prisoners were following in the footsteps of previous Irish Republicans in defending their right to political status. He was addressing a rally held by Republican Sinn Féin POW Department outside the jail.

“The Republican prisoners in Maghaberry are following in the tradition of Republicans throughout history who have defied all attempts to criminalise the cause of Irish freedom. The prisoners by their actions over Easter weekend have given the lie to those who claim there are no political prisoners in Ireland.

“Because of their stance they are now being denied basic human rights including 23-hour lock-up, denial of access to adequate medical care or food. The attempt to criminalise the prisoners has also been extended to their families and visitors. Drug dogs are being used to deny visits despite the fact that drugs have never been found on either a Republican prisoner or their visitors.

“The recent internment of long-time Republican Martin Corey shows that the nature of British rule never changes. Martin Corey is being held as a political hostage because he refuses to renounce his belief in the Irish people’s right to national freedom.

“Republican Sinn Féin is campaigning throughout Ireland to ensure the demands of the prisoners are heard.

“On May 29 Republicans will be marching in the Six Counties to rally support for the men in Maghaberry. In keeping with Republican principle no permission will be sought from the British state for this march.” Des Dalton said.

Republicans will oppose visit by Queen of England

Statement by Kildare Republican Sinn Féin

Statement in French . . .

The invitation extended to the Queen of England to visit the Punchestown racing festival is part of a campaign of “creeping Anglicisation” with the purpose of normalising British rule in Ireland, Kildare Republican Sinn Féin said in a statement. Statement also said that Republican Sinn Féin would “actively oppose” a visit to any part of Ireland by the head of the British state.

“We take this opportunity to reiterate Sinn Féin’s determination to actively oppose a visit by the head of the British state to any part of Ireland as long as that state continues to occupy and partition Ireland. All of this is part of a creeping if not galloping Anglicisation of Ireland with the purpose of normalising British occupation.

“British rule in Ireland will never be either normal or acceptable. The head of the British state will never be welcome in any part of Ireland while that state continues to claim sovereignty over part our country.”

Reality of British rule does not change

Statement by the President of Republican Sinn Féin Des Dalton

Statement in French . . .

The devolution of areas of British policing and justice to Stormont changes nothing.

The Stormont Executive will administer the limited devolved responsibilities for British policing and justice as a proxy for the British government.

It does not change the nature of British rule on the ground as events in Lurgan, Craigavon and Armagh in recent weeks show only too well.

Political policing will be directed as before, from London as set out in both the St Andrews Agreement and the Hillsborough Agreement. With an increased budget and new HQ in Palace Barracks in Hollywood, Co Down MI5 will lead the British war machine in Ireland.

The only basis for a just and lasting settlement is a British withdrawal allowing for the exercise of true All-Ireland democracy. The ÉIRE NUA proposals provide the key to breaking out of the current failed politics of sectarianism and division building a New Ireland for all the Irish people, Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter.

Complete the task of national liberation

Speaking in Armagh on Easter Sunday, April 4, the President of Republican Sinn Féin Des Dalton said:

“The 1916 Rising marked a highpoint in the struggle for a free Ireland and was a beacon of inspiration for those engaged in the fight against imperialism and colonialism across the world.

“We commemorate the anniversary of 1916 to merely mark a significant event in our history. Our commemoration is more profound than that, 1916 carries relevance for the Ireland of today and tomorrow. Recognising that 1916 remains for us unfinished business we pledge our continued commitment to realising its goals.

“The1916 Proclamation declares the:‘ right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible’. It goes on to declare that centuries of occupation and repression have not extinguished that right, ‘nor can it ever be extinguished except by the destruction of the Irish people.’ It continues:. ‘Standing on that fundamental right and again asserting it in arms in the face of the world, we hereby proclaim the Irish Republic as a Sovereign Independent State, and we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades-in-arms to the cause of its freedom, of its welfare, and its exaltation among the nations.’ Nowhere will you find a clearer or more explicit statement of nationhood

“The 1916 Proclamation is a defining document of revolutionary Irish Republicanism. It sets out the historical basis of the struggle to rid Ireland of English occupation. But it goes further, it sets out the principles upon which the full freedom of Ireland should be established; the very nature of the Republic for which we struggle.

“The Proclamation is not some dusty historical document. It is a living document and serves as the compass of our movement and our struggle. “From minds alight with Ireland’s vivid intellect it sprang, in heart’s aflame with Ireland’s mighty love it was conceived. Such documents do not die.” (Thomas Mac Donagh address to Court Martial May 2 1916)

“Today the forces marshalled against us are as formidable as any in the proud history of the fight for Irish freedom. Westminster, Leinster House, Washington and Brussels are all underwriting British occupation. There has been a significant addition to the arsenal of British rule in Ireland. For the first time a former section of the Republican Movement has been co-opted to directly administer as well as police British occupation in Ireland. The Provisionals are now poacher turned gamekeeper as they ‘don the Peeler’s coat’ in order to do the bidding of their English masters.

“The much vaunted devolution of certain British policing powers to Stormont - which is planned for April 12 - have been described as an ‘extension of self-determination’. The exercise of the duties bestowed on Stormont by Westminster is merely the administering and enforcing of British rule in Ireland and to describe it, as anything else is to make a mockery of the concept of Irish national self-determination.

“Political policing will be directed as before, from London as set out in both the St Andrews Agreement and the Hillsborough Agreement. With an increased budget and new HQ in Palace Barracks in Hollywood, Co Down MI5 will lead the British war machine in Ireland with the support of the RUC/PSNI and British army.

“The soundings are ominous that communities across the Six Counties will have loyalist marches imposed on them in order to meet the demands of the DUP and the Orange Order. It will be nationalist communities across the Six Counties who will be expected to foot the bill exacted from the Provos by unionist threats.

“We in Sinn Féin pledge to stand by these communities on the Garvaghy Road, in the Ardoyne or elsewhere in resisting any attempt to force loyalist marches through their streets or roads. It is our duty as Irish Republicans to give these communities a political voice. To show leadership as well as giving active support.

“The apologists for British rule tell us that we now have democracy in the Six Counties. Some have even gone as far as describing it as ‘a modern functioning democracy’. This certainly does not stand up to scrutiny. An assembly and executive with no opposition based on an enforced sectarian headcount do not constitute democracy functioning or otherwise. We warned that this would be the outcome in 1998.

“The nature of British rule has not changed as communities such as Craigavon, Lurgan, Armagh, Newry and others throughout the Six Counties can testify only too well. These communities are under a state of siege from the forces of the British state. Their homes have been ransacked, their children stopped and searched while going to school. People face arbitrary arrest and detention. In March the British Colonial Police fired plastic bullets in Craigavon. History has not ended; here in Occupied Six Counties we see the true face of British imperialism in action.

“The young men and women of these communities have been vilified and dismissed, written off as ‘disaffected youth without either aspiration or hope’. This is done in a vain attempt to deny the reality. We know that that these young people represent a new risen generation proudly following in the footsteps of those that have gone before in asserting Ireland’s right to freedom. They have shown they are prepared to take on the forces of occupation, full of aspiration and hope for a new and better Ireland. Their attitude to British rule is that of Pearse: ‘the only honourable attitude for Irishmen and Irishwomen is an attitude of revolt’. We salute them.

“We further say that Irish Republicans will also actively oppose any visit by the Queen of England to any part of Ireland as long as Ireland remains partitioned and occupied.

“The historian Peter Beresford Ellis writes: ‘History demonstrates that at no time, in any generation, did the Irish people accept the ‘legitimacy’ of the conquerors.’
If the nature of British rule has not changed the same can said of the response to it.
Since the successful attacks on British Crown forces in March last year the past 12 months have seen an increase in the level of armed resistance to British rule. Irish history teaches us that such resistance is an inevitable consequence of British occupation and these are the ‘hard realities of the situation’ which have to be faced as Ruairí Ó Brádaigh pointed out in March last year.

“A full British withdrawal from Ireland is the only basis for a just and lasting settlement and until that happens British occupation will be met head on by the forces of resistance; the volunteers and leadership of the Continuity Irish Republican Army who provide the cutting edge of the struggle for a free Ireland. We also salute the Republican prisoners for their unwavering allegiance to the All-Ireland Republic.

“Historically confusion, falsehood and division are all weapons employed by the enemies of Irish Republicanism and today is no different. Since last September the tabloid gutter press have been used to attack the Republican Movement with a sustained campaign of lies, innuendo and disinformation. Republicans must see and reject this material for what it is. Now is a time that calls for cool heads and wise counsel. It is a time for unity of purpose and coherent action based on the principles of the 1916 Proclamation. The only vehicle, which can deliver al of this, is the Republican Movement.

“Our Irish Republican tradition gives us the progressive, non-sectarian analysis necessary to bring about a settlement for the people of our nation. Looking at the 26-County State we see a regime in Leinster House that is prepared to sacrifice not just this but future generations in order to bail out a corrupt and failed banking system. Those yet to be born have been mortgaged to protect the ultra-capitalism, which has brought the economic ruin we see all around us.

“We believe like Connolly that it is not enough to rid Ireland of British rule if we do not set about the essential task of building a 32-County Democratic Socialist Republic. The struggle which comes following British withdrawal will be equally important if we are serious about creating a New Ireland for all of the Irish people, Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter.

“Irish Republicans wish to break out of the failed sectarian politics of partition and the proposals contained within Éire Nua for a Federal Ireland with maximum decentralisation of power and decision making provide a credible and clear alternative.

‘The greatest happiness of the greatest number. On the rock of this principle let this society rest.’ Theobald Wolfe Tone declared. It has always been on this basis that Republicans believe a New Ireland should be fashioned.

“Taken together Sinn Féin’s political, social and economic policies EIRE NUA and SAOL NUA chart an Ireland based values of human progress and sustainable development. EIRE NUA and SAOL NUA make tangible the Republic of Tone, Pearse and Connolly.
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“A columnist in The Irish News recently posed the question: ‘Are we to become beggars at the table of an almost bankrupt Republic?’ The answer of course is that Irish Republicans are not seeking the incorporation of the Six Counties into the 26-County State. We seek a New Ireland within which all of the Irish people will take their place at the table not as beggars but as citizens of a New Republic.

“Writing in the pamphlet Ghosts Pearse tells us that ‘the chain of separatist tradition has never once snapped during the centuries.’ It is a chain forged in the flames of revolution and tested by the white heat of tyranny and oppression. It is up to this generation to forge another link and complete the task of national liberation.”
An Phoblacht Abu!

RSF salute action of Republican prisoners

Statement by Republican Sinn Féin President Des Dalton

"Republican Sinn Féin salutes the actions of the Republican prisoners in Maghaberry on Easter Sunday and Monday (April 4/5). Their decisive action in seizing control of part of their wing within the prison exposes the ongoing denial by the British state of political status and basic human rights to political prisoners.

"The conditions endured by the prisoners include 23-hour lock-up, physical assault, strip searches and obstruction of visiting rights. The Republican prisoners have also been punished for wearing Easter Lilies – to commemorate the 1916 Rising and all those who have died for Irish freedom- while the British poppy is freely worn and sold in the prison each year.

"This campaign to criminalise the Republican prisoners by the British State has even extended to the families of the prisoners. In recent weeks visitors have been forced to endure humiliating searches in order to visit relatives and friends while the drug dogs have been used as a pretext to stop visits – this despite the fact that no drugs have ever been found on either a Republican prisoner or their visitors.

"Since 1917 22 Irish Republican have died on hunger strike to uphold the right of Republican prisoners to political status. In 1998 this hard fought for right was signed away under the terms of the Stormont Agreement. However the present generation of Republican prisoners in Maghaberry by their resolute action have given a clear signal that ‘England will not brand Ireland’s fight 800 years of crime’."

Cill Dara Easter 2010 Report

Republican Sinn Fein, Kildare had a very successful Easter commemoration on saturday. Wreathes were laid throughout the county at the graves of our patriot dead. On Easter sunday the main commemoration was held in Grey Abbey, Kildare Town. It was chaired by Matt Conway, who welcomed everyone. He then called on Paddy Tidd, of the Frank Driver cumann to read the proclamation. Kitty Hawkins recited a decade of the rosary and a wreath was laid on behalf of RSF Kildare. The statement from the leadership was read by Cilla Conway, a statement from the pows in Mahgaberry and Portlaoise was read by Sinon Cahill. The Oration was given by Shane O' Toole, He gave the history of the men buried in the graveyard and reminded us the seven men were excuted by the freestaters in the biggest offical execution of the civil war. Shane said these men were executed for refusing to accept partition. Just as we do today, and saluted these brave men. We want to send greetings and support to the Continuity pows in Mahgaberry and Portlaoise jails who are imprisoned for thier beliefs. The same beliefs the the men of 1916 were executed for. In the last year resistance to brit rule in the occupied six counties has steped up a gear, with attacks against the forces of occupation and long may this continue. We have also seen an increase in the harrasment of republicans, both here in the 26 counties and in the occupied 6 counties. We want to send a cyrstal clear message to the brits, ruc and 26 county special branch that no amount of harrasment or intimidation will stop us in persuing our goals of a 32 county democratic socialist republic. Just as the men and women of 1916 fought and died for. British actions only strenthen our resolve. Adams, McGuinness and the rest of the provo puppets have now become part and parcel of the brit war machine. The administer brit rule through stormount. They have signed up to policing and justice ,thats british policing and justices and we all know about british justice. They are openly asking the nationialist people to inform on true republicans who are keeping alive the struggle for Irish freedom. They brand us as crimanals and traitors, Though it's very clear it is you, martin and gerry who are the traitors.

Pearce, Connolly and indeed all of the men and women of 1916, Bobby Sands and his nine brave comrades did not give thier lives so that Martin and Gerry could administer brit rule through stormount. These men, Our patriot dead will be turning in there graves. The provos have now gone full circle , and men like Ruari O Bradaigh, Matt Conway and Daithi O Connell to name a few, could see this happening And we salute you for insuring that the patiotic flame for Irish freedom still burns brightly today. We in Republican Sinn Fein are the true Sinn Fein, the ones who took all of the republican ideals and stuck with them. We are the true inheritors of republicism and were here to stay. The war against the brits can and must continue until the brits realise they have no future role to play here, only to leave. It's up to us this generation to honour our Patriot dead and finish the job. so many have given ther lives to achieve a 32 county socialist republic based on the 1916 proclamation, but until that day we must be prepared to take the fight to the brits. Not a bullet, not an ounce will they ever get from us. It's our duty as republicans to continue the fight until full freedom has been achieved. Our position is very clear as long as there is a british presence in Ireland there will be resistance to it, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace. Continuity not compomise. Tiocfaidh ar la.

Matt Conway ended the proceedings by thanking all who attended.

Republican Movement to commemorate Easter Rising

Republicans throughout Ireland are to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising over the coming days. On this 94th anniversary Republican Sinn Féin will be assembling in each of the 32-Counties.

The newly-elected President, Des Dalton, will be addressing commemorations in St. Mary's Cemetery in Newry, Co. Down at 10:30a.m. followed by a commemoration in St. Patrick's Cemetery in Armagh City at 3:45p.m. (both on Easter Sunday). He will also speak outside Dublin's GPO on at 1:45p.m. on Easter Monday.

Vice-President Fergal Moore will speak at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast, Co. Antrim at 11:30a.m. on Easter Sunday.

Former President and newly-elected Patron of Republican Sinn Féin, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, will deliver the oration at St. Finbarr's Cemetery in Cork City on Easter Sunday.

Greetings & Solidarity from Des Dalton to Conference in Italy

Greetings to the participants and the organisers of the conference in Modena today. The sharing of information on the political situation in Ireland is very important. International solidarity with the struggle for an Ireland free of British rule has always been highly valued by the Irish people. The struggle against British imperialism is part of the international anti-imperialist struggle.

Recent acts of resistance in the Six Counties are an inevitable consequence of continued British Rule. Irish history teaches that British military and political interference in Ireland will be met with resistance. This is an iron law of Irish History, which will not change.

All of this points to the fact that the nature of British rule in Ireland has not changed. The only difference today is that the Provisionals have now taken the final step in their collaboration. They have now signed up to enforce as well as administer British Rule in Ireland.

The support we receive internationally for the struggle for Irish Freedom has always been highly valued. The work of our International Relations Bureau is a vital part of building a network of solidarity for the Irish struggle and Irish Republican solidarity with national liberation struggles throughout the world, such as the Basque Country, Brittany, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan etc.

We wish you every success with your conference and look forward to working with you in the future.

In Solidarity

Des Dalton
President