to the Irish, republicanism means freedom from the british, it means emancipation from a thousand years of Imperialism. to the Irish, the republican movement is a workers' revolutionary movement, ans the Irish republicans understood this. they understood that true emancipation would have to be deeper than kicking the king out, because the strength of wealth would quietly enact its power in the form of the british bourgeosie. Anything less than full workers struggle would not be enough to emancipate the Irish people. The irish republican army understood this(at times, at times they really did not) but Connolly is the best example of this. Irish republicanism cannot exist without Irish socialism, which cannot exist without a united world wide, class struggle.
Lenin and the bolsheviks bro successfully overthrew the European imperialists and the domestic bourgeosie by creating a party of Cadres, a party of 8000 strong comrades who each individually understood Marx' scientific method to the highest degree, allowing them to be organised, united and disciplined on one common goal. This means that, if Lenin was assassinated, there was 8000 cadres who understood exactly what that meant for the party, and any one of them would have been able to stand up and lead the Worker's to Victory.
Connolly did not manage this. He had the ideas but lacked time, and was killed in 1916, with the movement dying with him. this has killed the Irish republican movement. iterations of socialist organisations or the Republic army's have been staunch anti imperialists (and often very effectively made action upon this anti Imperialism) but have always lacked the class unity and international solidarity that Lenin and Connolly swore by.
today, the workers and youth are growing angry, and turning towards socialism once again. with these advanced layers of the working class we are seeing an emerging communist movement.
one that will fulfill true Irish freedom, not just by kicking out the british, not just by siezing the means of production, but by an international, united struggle to dismantle the Imperialist war machines of the capitalist super powers, and truely free the working class.
Now, more than ever, is a time to get organsised. to unite with the workers of the world!
for you have nothing to lose but your chains
