During this period the present writer was increasingly taking a back seat, due to his changed employment situation. The analysis of the second and subsequent post-split years of the 'officials', and their relationship with the overall politics of the EEC and Northern situations, I leave to others; Derry Kelleher has made a start. This Nuacht Naisiunta gives a measure, of sorts, of Dublin leadership thinking and is therefore an important source, along with the Sinn Fein minute-books. In what follows I don't attempt to give complete coverage, just to comment on those events where I happen to have personal knowledge due to some degree of contact at the time. Where I come across United Irishman material which seems to be relevant, I reference it here also, in an appendix to this module.

The January 3 1971 issue led off with an exhortation to EEC work, with the perception that the Referendum was due the following April. It continued with a reference to the state-church issue in the schools context, supporting community and vocational schools. There were letters from and detainees internees in Crumlin Road. Then on January 26 (issue #60) here was a feature on the Montpelier school; the movement had actually attempted to supply a series of volunteer teachers to keep it going, one of them being Eoin O Murchu, who had given up a job in the management of a Gaeltacht factory in Tourmakeady.

This abuse of educated volunteers in the movement having leadership potential was to my mind a highly questionable practice, suggesting a perception that people were expendable. The Montpelier episode, with all its ramifications, needs analysis by local and political historians. RJ June 2001.

Issue #61 is missing; the role of the British Army in Belfast was treated on February 10 (issue #62) in a situation where Belfast republicans were increasingly divided between the 'official' and 'provisional' positions. All eyes were on the possibility of a 'federal solution', with Callaghan, working closely with the Tory Home Secretary Maudling, in Dublin, to discuss a Lynch-Heath deal which nominally ended the Border but in fact gave Westminster a role in Ireland as a whole; this issue was again discussed in the March 30 issue. There was a Newry demonstration against the threat of internment, at the John Mitchel statue. Madge Davidson of the Connolly Youth blamed the British Army for provoking the Belfast riots.

Tomas Mac Giolla in the February 16 1971 issued a statement in reply to the Provisionals which indicated the extent to which the situation had deteriorated, with shootings in Belfast, and anti-red witch-hunting. Then on March 9 there was an instruction to Cumainn to avoid contact with the 'breakaway group'. Conor Cruise O'Brien challenged Tomas Mac Giolla to a debate on the North. This took place subsequently, and I attended it.

During the first quarter of 1971 we have the split situation becoming increasingly embittered, and continuing concern with the Common Market issue, and the perceived threat of a British-dominated all-Ireland 'federal arrangement'. The principal influence would appear still to have been Coughlan, whose explicit agenda at the time was along these lines. It soon became evident that from this time on the influence of myself and Coughlan were in decline, though the momentum of political convergence of the 'broad left' continued for a time; in the end it was undermined by the increasingly militarised situation.

Questions addressed during the second quarter of 1971 included the Forcible Entry Bill, political prisoners in Britain, the Guinness and Whitegate Refinery disputes, unemployment, the National College of Art crisis, Bodenstown, pub bombs and sectarianism, local government, fishing rights, tenants rights, feminism, and the EEC. I pick up only on the following:

Issue #69 on April 13 1971 led off with an Easter statement from the IRA, calling for avoidance of military confrontations, while helping people where necessary to defend their homes, while seeking confrontation on social, economic and political issues.

In the April 19 1971 issue however there was a call to open up meaningful discussion with 'other left groups', referencing current published material in the Irish Socialist and the Irish Democrat. '...To dismiss the old-established Marxist left as "a bunch of academics" or as "pure trade unionists" is to underestimate seriously the degree of theoretical and practical development... with regard to the national question..'. The Socialist contains an article by Betty Sinclair which points out that the use of force by 'extremists among anti-Unionists... serves to unite Unionism..'. The Democrat attacked the Tribune for their support of 'Direct Rule', and called for a Bill of Rights giving republicans in the 6 counties the right of organisation and propaganda; also to disarm the Orangemen and close down the 'gun clubs'. A draft Bill of Rights, as an Amendment to the Government of Ireland Act, had been tabled. This was identified as the last chance perhaps for decades to make use of constitutional reform procedures with some chance of being listened to.

Seamus O Tuathail on the May 3 1971 issue was reported as suggesting that the dismissed Fianna Fail Ministers actions were pointing in the directions of a general election, with a period of opposition, during which they would rehabilitate themselves, and make a bid for the leadership.

Issue #76 on June 8 1971 contained an apology for the non-appearance of Teoric, the projected periodical for the discussion of theoretical issues and for policy development. The delay was blamed on the failure of the Belfast members of the editorial committee to deliver the papers they had promised.

Issue #77 on June 13 contained a statement opposing the proposed Church domination of the boards of the projected Community Schools, and defending the secular democratic composition of the current Vocational Education Committees.

Malachi McGurran's Bodenstown speech reported in the June 21 1971 issue aspired to working-class unity across the sectarian barriers in the North, and attempted to link the Northern situation to the impending EEC referendum. Then on June 28 there was a further attempt to define what was meant by the 'national liberation movement' in terms of a multi-class, multi-organisation anti-imperialist alliance with the working people in the lead; after the removal of alien imperial influences it would then be possible to build a socialist society. A follower was promised for the next issue, but this never came.

We have here increasing evidence of ideological confusion and political floundering; the shots were increasingly being called by the Provisionals in the North, and the attempted political road was being marginalised. The present writer was no longer in a leading position, but he contributed to the development of the 'Mornington School' during the following summer.

The 3rd quarter of 1971, as well as the internment question, covers issues which include existing prisoners, the EEC, Radio na Gaeltachta, fishing rights, housing in Dublin, and the CIA.

The Mornington School was announced in the July 5 1971 issue, initially from July 4; there would be sessions on 'Imperialism and the Irish Nation', on 'the Cultural Revolution', and on the Northern situation. The School would be open for August and September also, in proportion to demand.

Issue #81 on July 12 1971 claimed Martin O'Leary as the first martyr of the new phase of struggle; his funeral in Cork was reported; Seamus Corry of the ITGWU laid a wreath. He had lost his life at the Mogul mine at Silvermines, an an IRA action in support of the striking miners.

According to local lore this action, which involved disabling an ESB sub-station (a hazardous operation), had a positive political effect. The present writer however wants to place on record that he had nothing to do with it, and would have opposed it had he known it was in prospect. It illustrates perfectly the nature of the problem of dealing with the still dominant culture rooted in the traditional military nature of the IRA, which had persisted despite my best efforts since 1965. The elitist role of the IRA, in acting 'for' the workers from outside, is the antithesis of that projected for the type of left-wing democratic activist organisation we had being trying to build. This was the beginning of the end of my association with the movement.

Issue #83 dated July 27 1971 records that there were raids on Head Office and on peoples' houses, to coincide with raids by the British and RUC in the North. The raids in the 26 counties were associated with acts due to agents provocateurs, and there were indications that all Dail groups had agreed on a procedure for introducing internment, based on an alleged discovery of a plot to stage a coup d'etat. There was of course no such plot, but the situation illustrates the extreme paranoia of the Fianna Fail government regarding left-wing actions to draw attention to the failings of its social policies, and domination by speculative urban development interests. Ivan Cooper in Derry was highly critical of these actions, on the grounds that they increased the danger of internment dominating the scene in the North.

Following this there is a gap until August 16, when there was a statement from Northern Command, describing what amounted to a battle between the official IRA and the British Army, in an attempt to resist a swoop leading to internment. They called for a political solution, but not the one in prospect in the current Heath-Lynch talks.

In the subsequent commentary, Nuacht Naisiunta attacked the Provisional bombing of Protestant halls and premises, and the black-and-tan role of the British Army backing up the armed Orange mob. Under a sub-head 'what Heath wants' it was suggested that the role of the Orange mob had killed the 'new Union via the Lemass-O'Neill road'. His alternative was (a) to provoke sectarian strife to the extent of movements of populations (b) pull in the Border to include a 90% Protestant area and (c) do a deal with Lynch handing over some 'Catholic' areas. This was regarded as giving Lynch enough political capital to win the EEC referendum, and to give Heath an Irish puppet vote in the EEC Council.

Under a subsequent sub-head 'what Lynch wants' a complicated collusion was suggested between Fianna Fail, including HB&B, and the Provisionals leading to a '9-county Ulster' splitting 6-3 into 2 sectarian assemblies, the Belfast Catholics being sacrificed.

Progressive forces were identified, on Heath's home ground, in the Labour movement. The relevant demands were (a) to get Heath to use the Army against the Orange mob, and to disengage from the Catholic areas, and (b) to get Lynch to demand the immediate ending of internment (c) replace Stormont pending reform with a transitional body representing the Civil Rights and Trade Union movement (d) let the defence of the people be under non-sectarian Trade Union control.

The foregoing analysis has been dismissed as fantasy by some commentators, but does it not begin to look familiar when we contemplate the recent history of Bosnia? We were aware of the possibility of such a scenario developing when we were attempting to demilitarise the situation and develop a political approach via Civil Rights.

I suspect it of being basically the then thinking of Coughlan, perhaps with some input from Greaves, in desperation, under the pressure of a situation rapidly descending towards what we would now recognise as Bosnian. I had nothing to do with it; my attention at this time was on the Mornington School, where people were trying to absorb some of the historical background, including European political experience, and the experience of the Labour movement in Britain. We built up quite a useful library, which went historically back to the English Republic (as analysed by Rodney Hilton), included most of the Irish republican classics, also TA Jackson, Greaves etc, and most of the works of Connolly. Immediately after internment however it became obvious that the activists, however much they aspired to take the political road, could think of nothing but internment and all background political education was increasingly seen as irrelevant.

The August 23 and 27 issues gave details of a battle of press statements between Head Office, the Provisionals, Conor Cruise o'Brien, and a bogus statement issued by the Special Branch purporting to be from the 'officials'. These present a challenge to aspirant historian-interpreters; it is clear that once we get into a military situation deception is the order of the day. The emphasis changed on September 7 when the Republican Clubs commented on the scene, the target being the Provisional bombing and Blaney. On September 20 Northern Command, while visibly on a war footing, and claiming British casualties, attempted to dissociate itself from the 'lunatic bombings which have affected the livelihood of the working people..'.

As well as issues relating to Civil Rights and internment, and the routine reporting of Cumann affairs, there were reports relating to the Ard Fheis, the UCD students strike, Sean O Cionnaith in the US, the EEC, and the 'federal deal', now re-named the 'Wilson Plan'. The September 28 1971 issue referenced a document from an un-named source which reported a CIA secret meeting in Washington, indicating a serious interest in Irish internal affairs, with roles for executives of US-based companies in Ireland.

There is then a gap in the record up to November 9 1971, due to the Ard Fheis having taken place in the interval. Elected to the Ard Comhairle were Mairin de Burca, Seamus Costello, Cathal Goulding, Tony Heffernan, Derry Kelleher, Malachi McBirney, Malachy McGurran, Liam McMillan, Donnacha Mac Raghnaill, Sean O Coinnaith, Eoin O Murchu and Mick Ryan. There was provision for regional representatives from 13 defined regions, 4 of which were in 9-county Ulster.

There was a reference to an educational conference in Greystones, to be held on November 21, as an open event. Outside speakers included Matt Larkin, de Courcy Ireland, Oliver Snoddy and Tom Redmond, indicating a conscious aspiration towards a 'broad left' programme.

There was also a report of Malachy McGurran's speech at the Edentubber commemoration; by using this event they were asserting continuity with the 50s tradition, while changing the political message and distancing themselves from the Provisionals: '...can they justify their sectarian attacks on the Protestant workers, and would they agree with ...their leader when he says that if the Protestant people don't like the Provisionals Irish Republic then they can get out?' The November 16 issue focused on visits to Dublin by British politicians; they urged no talks while there was internment in the North. It was reported that O Bradaigh and Mac Stiofain had admitted that they were prepared to meet in secret with the 6 Tory MPs. There was also an evaluation of the Ard Fheis suggesting that with the increased scale of the event there had been trouble over democratic procedures; they had attempted to concentrate discussion into 6 main resolutions.

The call for 'no talks with the British until internment is ended' was re-iterated on November 22 1971 in connection with the visit of ex-Prime Minister Harold Wilson. This issue also contained a statement from the 6-county executive of the Republican Clubs which was supportive of the Civil Disobedience campaign being promoted by the NICRA, exposed a takeover threat, associated with Aidan Corrigan, as an attempt to develop a 'provisional' political base (the 'Northern Resistance Committee' set up in Omagh on November 21), and accused the Peoples Democracy of '..courting the Provisionals in an attempt to win the influence that they had failed to do within the NICRA..'. There has earlier been a Dungannon NICRA conference which had resisted this Provisional or perhaps Blaneyite takeover threat; the people concerned had retired to Omagh to set up their rival show.

These manoeuvrings need further analysis, perhaps in the context of the history of the NICRA and its attempts to keep the campaign broad-based political despite the developing Provisional campaign, and the 'officials' also being active militarily.

The relative political positions of the NICRA and the 'officials' is illustrated in the November 30 1971 issue, in which they published in full the NICRA demands (effective local democracy under PR and reformed Stormont, not 'direct rule'; legislation against discrimination and sectarianism, and the ending of internment) but then went on to assert the demand for the all-Ireland Republic, and to highlight the role of the 'official IRA' which was then actively at war with the British. Sean O Cionnaith in the US had been experiencing trouble and misreporting in his attempts to explain this complex situation, with the Provisionals also being active.

The December 7 1971 issue opened with an attempt to get Hillery in Foreign Affairs to take up the case of the internees, but then went on to publish a 3-page manifesto signed by Eoin O Murchu, with the title PRO. This attacked the 'Wilson Plan': a Commission drawn from the 3 parliaments in Dublin, London and Belfast, to draw up a new 32-county constitution, for an Ireland within the Commonwealth, with retention of Special Powers and internment. The statement countered by urging the development of workers' unity across the sectarian divide in the political struggle against the Common Market, which was opposed in the Protestant community by Boal and Paisley.

Leading off with a partial list of prisoners and internees, and a listing of actions in Galway, the main content of the December 14 1971 issue was a report of an anti-internment rally in the Mansion House organised by the Dublin Comhairle Ceanntar. The speakers were Seamus O Tuathail (the editor of the United Irishman, who had happened to be in Belfast in a sporting capacity and had been picked up, but subsequently released), Malachy McGurran, Tomas Mac Giolla, Bernadette Devlin and Micheal O Riordain. The principal message was supportive of the NICRA demands, as noted above, but the press it seems picked up on a remark by Bernadette relating to the assassination of Senator Barnhill, and the overall message was lost.

It was becoming increasingly clear that the role of the 'official IRA', in the context where the NICRA was attempting to develop a mass campaign of civil disobedience against internment, was totally counter-productive. The Barnhill episode was among the final factors which triggered my own withdrawal from membership of the movement. The embryonic left-wing unity suggested by the above Mansion House event was tragically aborted by the persistence of the military mind-set; this pathological tradition, fuelled by competition with the Provisionals, subsequently was syphoned off and flourished with Costello and his 'INLA', after the 'officials' in the end got sense and called a cease-fire.

The final issue of 1971 was on December 21; it reported the names of the officer board of the new Ard Comhairle: Secretaries were Mairin de Burca and Tony Heffernan, vice-Presidents were Malachy McGurran and Derry Kelleher, Treasurers Donnacha Mac Raghnaill and Janice Williams, Organiser Sean Garland, Publicity Eoin O Murchu, Education Derry Kelleher. It contains also a statement from 30 internees in Crumlin Road supportive of enhanced political actions to counter the negative effects of the Provisional bombing campaign, and to counter the threat of internment in the 26 counties.

Shortly after this the present writer resigned, feeling that, given his precarious self-employed situation, he was no longer in a position to contribute anything, though he had hopes that the emergent 'left-unity' situation as indicated at the Mansion House meeting might consolidate, with the leadership in what appeared to be in good hands. This hopeful situation was however killed by the further descent into militarism, stimulated by the Bloody Sunday events and internment.

The January 2 1972 issue led off with an account to Seamus Costello's speech at the Sean South commemoration in Limerick. Note that it was still policy to maintain continuity with the 1950s military tradition, presumably in the hope that by this means they would keep at least some of the activists from leaking away to the Provisionals. The content of his speech however was basically broad-left political, seeking the Bill of Rights, and joint actions between the British and Irish Trade Union movements. Subsequent issues concentrated increasingly on the EEC as well as the anti-internment campaign, the civil disobedience campaign in the North.

Bloody Sunday was covered in the February 7 1972 edition, calling for unity behind the NICRA banner, but also acting as a political outlet for the South Down / South Armagh command of the official IRA; '..the whole world (was) looking on in disbelief..'.

Nuacht Naisiunta however apparently had nothing to say about the Aldershot incident, where the 'official IRA' attempted to 'retaliate' for Bloody Sunday. Maybe one or more issues are missing from the record; there is no way of knowing, as the sequence numbering had been abandoned. The present writer went to see Goulding after Bloody Sunday, urging restraint, so as to keep the attention of the international media on the exposure of this British act of barbarism. The Aldershot event was however, it seems, already set up; Goulding said nothing.

Tomas Mac Giolla on March 13 speaking at the UCC Republican Club attributed responsibility for the violence and terror in the North to all three government; he included Dublin '..because of its deliberate, calculated campaign through 1969 to split the Republican Movement and divert the Civil Rights struggle into a military campaign. Mr Lynch and his government were deeply involved in this as was Mr Tim Pat Coogan and some of his staff on the Irish Press. Their activities were documented in the pages of the UI in 1969 and 1970 and recently were again exposed by the London Times "Insight" team in their book "Ulster"..'.

Nuacht Naisiunta continued up to June 1976, constituting a record of the ongoing attempts to keep political republicanism going on a 'broad left' basis, the IRA remaining in existence even after it called a ceasefire in mid-1972. The political movement's attempts to survive, with sales of the United Irishman, distribution of anti-sectarian leaflets, support for the residual Civil Rights campaign etc, were increasingly restricted, being caught in the crossfire between the Provisionals and the INLA. I will have to leave the analysis of this period to others; Kelleher perhaps can be said to have made a start, though much remains to be done to counter the various dismissive academic analyses of the politicising republican left, such as that of Patterson.

United Irishman references

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Copyright Dr Roy Johnston 1999