Easter statements 2025

A collection of orations, addresses and statements issued by republican organisations over the Rising commemorative period.

Sinn Féin - Address by Mary Lou McDonald

Introduction

Inniu, thar thríocha a dó contae na hÉireann, seasfaidh Poblachtánaigh ag suíomhanna beannaithe le comóradh a dhéanamh ar Éirí Amach na Cásca in 1916, agus le hómós a thabhairt do na glúnta ar fad a thug a mbeatha ar son saoirse agus náisiúntacht na hÉireann.

Cuimhnímid ar an stair agus féachaimid i dtreo na todhchaí, agus sinn tiomanta aisling laochra na Poblachta a fhíorú, le fís an fhorógra a bhaint amach, le hÉirinn Aontaithe a bhaint amach agus fíorPhoblacht a bhaint amach do chách.

A chairde,

I am honoured to be in Carrickmore to commemorate the event that changed the course of Irish history – the Easter Rising of 1916.

When Irish men and women went out to overthrow Britain’s imperial grasp on this country and establish an independent Irish republic.

Those brave volunteers struck a blow for Irish liberty that reverberated around the world and across the generations.

Like the Fenians and the United Irishmen before them, they attested the right of our ancient nation to be free.

Ordinary men and women who did the extraordinary because they believed in Ireland and her people.

The vision of the Irish Republic is captured powerfully in the Proclamation. An Ireland underpinned by civic liberty, economic justice, democracy, and equality.

The Proclamation is not a parchment from the past. It’s a clarion call to the future, the mission statement for this generation of Irish Republicans to fulfil the dream of 1916 and fulfil it we will.

Moore Street

Every nation that fought for independence has its sacred soil. A short walk from the GPO where Pádraig Pearse first read aloud the Proclamation you come to the Moore Street area, the final Battlefield site of the Rising.

Today, Taoiseach Michéal Martin and his government back a British property developer’s plan to forever destroy this historic area. Shame on them. He should instead back the Masterplan of the Moore Street Preservation Trust and the 1916 relatives. A plan that enhances our revolutionary history instead of tearing it down for profit. The Trust is fighting this obscenity through the courts. We stand with them. The fight to save the Easter Rising battlefield site is far from over.

This history belongs to us all. The aspiration of Easter week resounded across all of Ireland. The call was heard here in Carrickmore where sixty volunteers, assembled to take part in the rebellion, ready to fight for the Republic. The Rising was largely funded by the work of Joe McGarrity and Dr Pat McCartan in the US, proud sons of Carrickmore.

From the O’Neills, to Tom Clarke, to Martin Hurson, the revolutionary heritage of Tyrone inspires, and the soil of this proud county holds the grave of countless rebels who we honour today.

The Legacy of the Rising

When the British executed the Leaders of the Rising, they believed they had extinguished the desire for freedom.

They were wrong.

The dream of the Proclamation inspired the Flying Columns of the IRA in the fight against the Black & Tans, galvanised those volunteers who stood by the Republic through the tragedy of the Civil War, and soared in the hearts of our gallant H-block hunger strikers.

The counter revolution ultimately saw Ireland partitioned and the establishment of two conservative states.

Partition sowed division, kept the nationalist people down, saw their demand for civil rights ruthlessly suppressed and planted the seeds of a long conflict.

Tyrone – the beating heart of Irish Nationhood

This year marks one hundred years since the Boundary Commission that copper-fastened partition. A century ago, people in Tyrone and across the six counties woke up on their farmlands, in their towns and villages, cut off from the rest of Ireland, excluded and abandoned, annexed by Britain.

Treated as second class citizens, you faced prejudice, discrimination, and conflict but you carried on in hope of peace, unity, and freedom. Your resilience, your resolve to vindicate your rights as Irish people endured.

If, as Liam Mellows said, ‘a nation is a living, breathing thing’ then the Irish nation has lived and breathed through the resilience of the people of Tyrone.

We see that same resilience and strength today in the families of Seán Brown and Pat Finucane, in their courageous fight for the truth. Justice delayed is justice denied. The British Government must accept the unequivocal ruling of the High Court and grant a full public inquiry into the murder of Seán Brown.

Time and again, the nationalist people have shown the tenacity to overcome, to build the peace, to reach for true reconciliation and a new future.

Maybe it was meant to be that the first Nationalist to lead the Executive is a woman from Tyrone. Michelle O’Neill, the First Minister for all who is determined to make politics work for everyone.

Twenty-seven years after the Good Friday Agreement, the North is a very different place. Together, communities are building a future of hope and progress for everyone.

We see this new, inclusive future forming in the advances in Irish language rights. We see it too in the passion of northern Gael’s for our national games. Let me be clear. Casement Park must be built. Casement Park will be built.

Irish Unity

Together, we have built peace. Now, we write the next chapter of our nation’s story – the reunification of Ireland.

This is a time of great change. We are living in the end days of partition as a new generation looks to the possibilities of unity with fresh hearts. The conversation is live, happening in real time.

We must prepare for Unity referendums this decade.

We have work to do. We must build alliances across all sections of society. We must drive positive, persuasive campaigns in every corner of this island. We must prepare to win these referendums and win them well.

Our job now is to keep the momentum going, to expand the conversation, to convince even more people.

We must build that momentum here at home, in Britain, North America and in Europe. The Presidential Election will take place in November. The President is President for all the people of Ireland, so we again call for the extension of voting rights in the Presidential Election to Irish citizens in the north and to the diaspora overseas.

Building a new and united Ireland is the most important task for a generation. It’s not good enough for Taoiseach Micheál Martin to stick his head in the sand and stand against the momentum for unity.

To the Irish and the British governments, we say – the days of treading water are over. It’s time to plan and prepare for constitutional change and for reunification. The next step must be for the Irish government to establish a Citizen’s Assembly on Irish Unity.

Our message to Unionists is clear – the United Ireland we seek belongs every bit as much to the families of Dungannon as it does to the families of Carrickmore, every bit as much to the families of Tyrone as the families of Dublin, Cork, and Galway.

A United Ireland is about everyone.

A United Ireland is for everyone.

So, let’s plan and prepare for that future. One island, one Ireland, one people united, moving forward together.

Neutrality

Our goal is to see a United Ireland take its rightful place amongst the nations of the world. A nation true to the values of the Irish people -opposition to the mantra that might is right, to war, to imperialism, upholding the ideals of international justice and peace, principles illuminated by the motto of James Connolly’s Irish Citizens Army – ‘We serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland’.

Ireland’s military neutrality is now under attack from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. We will fight back against this at every turn.

Neutrality is the foundation upon which Ireland champions engagement, dialogue, and the primacy of human rights in the world.

If Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are so confident that their plan to dismantle Ireland’s cherished neutrality has the support of the public, then they should put it to the people. They will get their answer.

Palestine/Gaza

Our struggle for nationhood is the struggle of a people longing for the freedom of our homeland. That is the dream of the Palestinians too. Today, they endure genocide at the hands of Israel’s war machine.

Children slaughtered, entire families wiped-out, a nation being annihilated before the eyes of the world.

This atrocity is backed and funded by the US, the EU and Britain. It’s the result of the carte blanche of impunity gifted to Israel by the international community.

The Irish people know well the damaging legacy of colonialization, dispossession, and oppression.

What Irish man or woman worthy of the name could do anything but stand with the Palestinians?

In the cries of Palestinian children, in the heartbreak of Palestinian mothers and fathers, we hear the call of humanity itself – for justice, for peace, for freedom.

Israel will not stop until it’s made to stop – so the international Community must act. Israel must be sanctioned.

The Irish people will never stop raising our voices for a permanent ceasefire, for an end to the slaughter, for an end to apartheid, for an end to the occupation. Palestine will endure. Palestine will live on. Palestine will be free.

Recharging Republican activism – building Sinn Féin

Friends, our journey to a new, united Ireland, to a thirty-two county Republic, is a journey we walk together. Political struggle has its breakthroughs and its setbacks. Following the General Election in the South, we didn’t end up where we hoped to be, but we returned the biggest group of Sinn Féin TDs since the historic election of 1918.

So many people depend on us.

The grubby deal done between Micheál Martin, Simon Harris and Michael Lowry shows what we’re up against. It proves the words of Liam Mellows prophetic.

“Men will get into positions, men will hold power, and men who get into positions and hold power will desire to remain undisturbed and will not want to be removed…”

But we will hold this do-nothing government to account, we’ll fight the corner of ordinary workers and young people – for housing, for healthcare, for a secure, affordable life and for a decent future in their own country.

Here in the north, there is a strengthening realisation – growing beyond the national community – that the British government doesn’t care about those who live here. Their decision to pump billions into weapons of war while stripping back vital public services shows again that the future lies in a United Ireland.

And we can do it. We can make it happen.

Just look at how much we’ve already achieved together. We’ve ended the decades old Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael monopoly, becoming the largest Opposition in the Dáil. We’re the largest party in the Assembly and in local government in the North. For the first time ever, we’ve a Republican First Minister in a state designed to ensure this would never happen.

All of this has been achieved by Irish republican activists who never gave up, never gave in, and kept their eyes on the prize.

So, now is the time to recharge republican activism for the road ahead. We must put our energy into building our capacity, building republican politics, convincing even more people to play their part.

I invite everyone here today to join Sinn Féin. Come on board, bring who you are to the table. Become a Republican activist. Help us to unite Ireland. Help us achieve the Republic.

Conclusion – Here we stand for the Republic

A chairde, the patriots we honour today gave their all for the freedom of Ireland, for unity, for justice, for equality.

It falls to this generation to take up their mantle and fulfil their legacy.

To stand in the bhearna bhaoil and with courage reach for a United Ireland.

Speaking in a British military court following the Rising, Thomas McDonagh declared that the Proclamation cannot die.

It lives today in every effort we make to realise its noble ideals.

And so here we stand together.

Here we stand intent to finish the business of 1916.

Here we stand for the day when we will commemorate our patriots in a United and free Ireland.

So, let’s work day and night to fulfil the dream of Connolly and Pearse, of Hurson and Farrell, of McGuinness and O’Hare.

Hold tightly to your hopes, to your beliefs, to your determination. Never, ever give up. We will see the rising of the moon. We will unite Ireland, we will build a society where workers and families come first, and together we will achieve the Republic of 1916.

1916 Societies - Oration by Pól O’Scannell

Dia daoibh a chairde. Is mise Pol O’ Scanaill. Is cathaoirleach mé ar chumann 1916 as Baile Átha Cliath. Is mór an onoir é labhairt anseo inniu, sa reilig seo, choinníonn uaigheanna ár bhFíníní marbha. Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le Seán Ó Lorcian, Padraig Ó Luchaireáin agus le Cumann Tomás Ághas 1916 as an onóir mhór seo.

My name is Paul Scannell, chairperson of the 1916 Societies from Dublin. It is a huge honour to speak here today in this graveyard in Bellaghy which holds the graves of our Fenian dead including the Hunger Strikers Francis Hughes and Thomas McElwee. I’d like to thank the Seán Larkin, Patrick Loughran and the Thomas Ashe 1916 Societies for this great honour. We gather here today to honour the men and women, who on Easter week 1916, were summoned to our flag and struck a blow for our freedom. We also honour all the men and women who served the cause of Irish freedom and in particular the men and women who rest here in this graveyard. I want to take this opportunity to send our solidarity to the people of Palestine who are undergoing genocide at the hands of demonic Zionists and imperialists. Their struggle is our struggle.

My own personal connection to the 1916 rising is that both of my grandfathers were ‘out’ in 1916. My grandfather Michael Scannell was out with Austin Stack in Tralee, Co. Kerry, as part of the contingent of Volunteers, tasked with landing the 20,000 German rifles, brought to Ireland by Roger Casement. I remember him telling the story of how he watched, as the RIC marched Roger Casement down the main street in Tralee and how they had wanted to rescue him but were ordered to stand down. My other grandfather Michael McDonnell was out at ten years old, along with his older brothers, running messages for the Volunteers, in the Watkins Brewery garrison and at the barricades on Marrowbone Lane in Dublin. I used to listen in amazement, to his stories of running through the streets of Dublin in his bare feet, getting Volunteers out, who stayed at home due to the countermanding order, and collecting weapons, ammunition and food for the Volunteers as the bullets whizzed by.It is right that we honour all the men and women who fought and died for Irish freedom, but we must also reflect on our own failure to re-establish the Republic declared 109 years ago. The graves of the brave men and women in this cemetery, and countless others around the country, bear testament to the fact that this was not due to a lack of commitment or a lack of bravery. These graves hold the remains of some of the greatest Volunteers to fight for Ireland in every generation; men like Francis Hughes and Thomas McElwee who give their young lives on Hunger strike. Yet despite the sacrifice these young men and all our fallen volunteers have made we have failed to achieve the Republic that they died for. In 1920, British Prime Minister Lloyd George stated, that if you ask the people of Ireland what plan they would accept, by an emphatic majority, they would say, ‘We want Independence and an Irish Republic.’ There is absolutely no doubt about that. The elected representatives of Ireland, now by a clear majority, have declared in favour of independence. Why then, 105 years later, does Britain still claim jurisdiction over this part of Ireland? The simple answer is that the British government does not accept the democratic will of the Irish people, not in 1920 and not now in 2025. Statistics show that the overwhelming majority of Irish people are in favour of independence and an end to the illegal partition of Ireland. However, the British have never accepted democratic principles when it comes to Ireland.

On January 21st, 1919, Dáil Éireann met for the first time and ratified the Irish Republic, declared in arms on Easter week 1916. They declared Ireland as a sovereign, independent nation to the world. The British government’s response to that expression of Irish self-determination was to ban the democratically elected government of the Irish Republic. This coincided with the unleashing of British state terrorism against the Irish people. Elected representatives were jailed and/or assassinated, homes and businesses burned, prisoners tortured and our people murdered, martial law declared and censorship imposed – this has always been the British way. Iron rule by brutal force because it has never had the legal nor moral authority to rule Ireland. They then partitioned our country through the totally undemocratic Government of Ireland Act in December 1920. The partition of Ireland was done without the consent of the Irish people, yet to undo partition, the British tell us that this can only be achieved with the consent of unionists. The illegal partition of Ireland has been a disaster, both economically and socially. Our people were treated as second-class citizens, in an orange state that gloated that it had a protestant parliament for a protestant people; the reality being that Irish Catholics had no political status in this partitioned state. When our people rose up demanding basic civil rights of housing, employment and one man one vote, the state cudgeled them into the ground on Burntollet Bridge. Britain’s response to demands for civil rights was violence, Gerrymandering, civil strife, internment without trial, torture and death of prisoners on hunger strikes, shoot-to-kill, censorship, institutionalised sectarianism, State collusion with loyalist death squads controlled by British military intelligence.

Local people here in Bellaghy are well aware of that collusion and those cover-ups, a prime example being the murder of Sean Brown, abducted while locking the gates of the Wolfe Tones GAA club, taken away and murdered by the LVF with British state agents having been linked to the murder. Last March, the coroner was unable to continue the inquest into Seáns murder due to confidential material being withheld and redacted by the British government, on the grounds of national security. The coroner wrote to the British Secretary of State requesting a public inquiry into the case, and their own high court ruled that Hillary Benn must set up a public inquiry. His refusal has been ruled unlawful by their own court of appeal. The British state-sanctioned murder of Sean and the ongoing cover-up sums up British injustice, its dirty war in the 6 counties and the contempt in which it holds the Irish people. It is time for a public inquiry and justice for the Brown family, The economic consequences of British interference have been just as atrocious. In a study by economist Michael Burke entitled ‘The economic case for Irish unity’, presented to the European parliament in 2016, he claimed that, “the economy of the North is in stagnation and it would remain so until reunification.” He also stated that “‘No one, charged with the creation of the optimal economic entity on the island of Ireland, would dream of separating the north-eastern corner from the rest of the country, imposing two different currencies, legal and tax frameworks and two different legislatures on either side of that border’. There are no positive benefits of partition; only child poverty, homelessness and food banks. This week, an ESRI report highlighted the widening wealth divide and stronger economic growth in the South. The most shocking difference is that a child born in 2021 in the South can expect to live two years longer than a child born in the North; 82.4 years in the South, 80.4 years in the North – that is a damning indictment of partition. The injustices under partition led to 30 years of war between the Irish people and the British state alongside its unionist proxies, while the Free State establishment stood idly by. With men and women of the caliber of those resting here in this graveyard, the British knew they could never defeat us. How could they, with men and women who were prepared to fight and die on hunger strike, if necessary, for an ideal?So, unable to defeat the Volunteers of the Irish Republican Army in the field, they returned to Lloyd George’s playbook from 1920, the old ruse of the pacification of Ireland again. Several attempts have been made, from Sunningdale, the Anglo-Irish agreement, the Good Friday, St Andrews, Hillsborough castle, Stormont house, Fresh Start, New Decade, and New Approach agreement. It is virtually impossible to keep track of all the British pacification strategies, or as they call it, the Peace Process. Gerry Adams stated in 1988: “Since Sunningdale in 1973 the British have repeatedly attempted to establish an internal governmental arrangement involving unionists and nationalists. Our struggle and strategy has been to close down each option open to the British until they have no other option but to withdraw… Sinn Fein is totally opposed to a power-sharing Stormont assembly and states that there cannot be a partitionist solution. Stormont is not a stepping stone to Irish unity. “ That statement was correct in 1988 and it is correct in 2025. Stormont is not a stepping stone to Irish unity and it is definitely not a stepping stone to the Irish republic. If only he had heeded the warning of Jeremiah O’ Donovan

Rossa when he wrote….“It is in that English Parliament the chains for Ireland are forged, and any Irish patriot who goes into that forge to free Ireland will soon find himself welded into the agency of his country’s subjection to England”. That unfortunately, has proven to be the case. Those who went into Stormont to implement the Good Friday Agreement and its numerous tweaks have found themselves welded to Britain’s continued subjection of this part of Ireland and of our democratic rights. The call for Irish unity and the Irish Republic has been diluted to a call for an agreed Ireland or shared island with the very real prospect of the return to membership of the British Commonwealth for all 32 counties.

I want to state very clearly here today, we will never, ever accept the British Commonwealth. This shared island concept is the polar opposite of Republicanism. It sets a dangerous precedent of accepting the British narrative that there are two separate nations on this island. It gives legitimacy to the British government’s analysis that unionists are the British presence in Ireland. So-called Republican ministers groveling to the British monarchy and standing for God save the King at Northern Ireland football matches only reinforces that analysis. Roddy McCorley was hung 5 miles away from here; he died to unite the whole people of Ireland, to substitute the common name of Irishman in place of the denominations of Protestant, Catholic and dissenter; he died as an Irishman attempting to break the connection with England, and in the 225 years since his death, a second nation has not been established on this island. Shortly, we will honour his sacrifice by unveiling the refurbished monument at the bridge at Toome, and I want to commend the local society for the work they’ve done on the project. That analysis was also rejected by the signatories of the 1916 Proclamation when they proclaimed that they were ‘oblivious to the differences carefully fostered by an alien government, which had divided a minority from the majority in the past’.A chairde, the Good Friday Agreement has failed to deliver any tangible progress towards an all-Ireland Republic. That was its raison d’etre – to yet again pacify Ireland. The British have always been masters of co-opting former adversaries into administering their colonial rule on their terms and in doing so, they have converted former Irish Republicans into constitutional puppets. It is a fallacy to believe that a British-controlled border poll will secure Irish freedom. We, who assembled here today, reject Britain’s latest pacification strategy. We have a moral duty to renounce a process that cannot lead to the objectives the men and women resting here in this graveyard fought and died to achieve. So where do we go from here?

We in the 1916 Societies believe that the tarnished status quo does not have to remain in place. We believe we have a better way forward with our One Ireland One Vote campaign. We believe that the Irish people and the Irish people alone must decide our own future without interference from the British. We believe that the votes of people from Kerry to Derry and Antrim to Wexford should count equally in a people’s referendum. Our OIOV campaign rejects sectarianism and any attempt to divide the Irish people on ethnic or religious grounds. Britain should not be allowed to control who votes in a referendum on Ireland’s future, let alone be able to veto the vote. That is where the OIOV campaign differs fundamentally from a border poll. The title border poll is in itself misleading, as it suggests that it’s a poll to remove the border. What it actually means, is that only the people here in the occupied six counties can vote in that poll, thereby excluding the people in the rest of Ireland. I, being from Dublin would not have a say on the future of my country. A border poll completely disenfranchises the majority of the Irish people, who, as we know, want a united Ireland. It is really a simple choice; a British-controlled border poll where they completely control – if and when a poll will be called, the wording of said poll, and who can and who cannot vote. Even in the unlikely event of the British granting a poll, the result would have to be ratified in both British houses of parliament, and they would have the final say. Who, here, would trust the British to be honest and treat Ireland with fairness?

The British Labour party, who co-signed the GFA, with war criminal Tony Blair as leader, declared that they would be neutral on the issue of Irish unity. Now, under genocide enabler Keir Starmer they have produced a policy document entitled ‘strengthening Northern Ireland’s position in the UK’ and have stated that they ‘will never be neutral on the issue of Irish unity’. The policy further states that, ‘On the basis of all recent polling, the government sees no realistic prospect of a border poll leading to a united Ireland. We believe that, following the restoration of the devolved institutions, Northern Ireland’s future in the UK will be secure for decades to come and as such the conditions for a border poll are unlikely to be met.’ British Secretary of State Hillary Benn, who has refused a public inquiry into the murder of Sean Brown, said ‘there is no prospect of a border poll for decades’. He does not have a single vote on this island, he has no mandate to dictate anything to us .We call on the people to reject the offer of crumbs off Westminster’s table at some unspecified time in the future and to reject the democratic deficit and sectarian dynamic of a British-controlled border poll. Join us as we aim to re-establish the Irish Republic of 1916, and reinstate the Proclamation as the template for equality for all the people living on this island. We respectfully request your endorsement and support for an All-Ireland referendum on Irish unity. I will finish with the words of one of Ireland’s greatest fighting sons Francis Hughes

“I have no prouder boast to say I am Irish and have been privileged to fight for the Irish people and for Ireland. If I have a duty I will perform it to the full with the unshakable belief that we are a noble race and that chains and bounds have no part in us”.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh. Saoirse don Phalaistín agus Saoirse na hÉireann! An Phoblacht abú!

Eire Nua - Easter statement

On this the 109th anniversary of the Easter Rising the leadership of Éire Nua extends greetings to its friends, activists and supporters at home and abroad. We salute them and commend them for their continued support and assistance.

To all imprisoned Irish Republican POWs and their loved ones and families we extend continuing solidarity and support. We salute them.

As we commemorate the Easter Rising we remember especially all those who have died for Irish freedom and in doing so we continue in that struggle for Irish independence as we must not let our comrades die in vain. In the spirit of 1916, where many groups came together for the common good of Ireland we call on all Republican revolutionaries to unite as division is counterproductive and plays into the hands of our enemies.

The Republican Movements mandate for any armed action derives from Britain’s denial of the fundamental right of the Irish people to national self-determination and sovereignty.

So long as Britain persists in its denial of national and democratic rights in Ireland then there will always be those who will continue to assert those rights. The British and its proxies should never forget, the Good Friday Agreement was a truce not a settlement.

Time is ticking and the Republican demand for an Irish Unity referendum is growing.

Éire Nua are ready to help in developing the conditions which will allow for a meaningful process free from preconditions of any kind through the Irish Unity Program which we are very happy to launch here today.

We must remind people that the British have no mandate or right in Ireland and they will not be permitted to set any preconditions.

It is self-evident that the British denial of democracy in Ireland is at the core of the conflict and republicans must continue to challenge this. The resolution of that conflict demands justice and the fundamental right of the people to decide.

Éire Nua demands that the British face up to their responsibilities and set a date for a referendum on Irish Unity.

Comrades, as we commemorate our dead we reaffirm that the republican struggle remains confident. Éire Nua have Cumanns opening up all over Ireland and we are rapidly growing in numbers.

We call on all republicans that have nowhere to go to come our way.

Éire Nua will face the challenges which lie ahead with the same spirit of unity and determination which have sustained our position in the face of massive British pressure down the long decades of occupation and oppression.

Republican Unity is an important pre-cursor to Irish Unity, it is important that Republicans put forward a strong argument for the future vision of a United Ireland.

Éire Nua today brings forward our vision to all the people of Ireland with our new document, The Irish Unity Program which will put forward the case for a Federal Democratic Republic of Ireland in the context of Irish unity.

It is our desire and resolve that all Revolutionary Parties in Ireland will come together in an Assembly to create circumstances for which will allow for the core issues at the heart of the conflict to be addressed and resolved as the GFA has failed to do this and is merely a tool to cement British rule in Ireland.

All who seek a genuine and lasting peace in Ireland should work with Éire Nua for that same end and help promote the Irish unity program.

Éire Nua are ready to meet our responsibilities. Others, not least the British and the Free State Government, the reformists of failed partition must do likewise.

Éire Nua seeks to end Ireland’s partition and establish a 32-County Federal Democratic Republic which will empower the four historic Provinces while addressing the conflict in the Six Counties through decentralised Government.

Such a new system will be outlined in the Irish Unity Program. It is vital we see a restoration of true democracy. Ireland’s future depends on it. Ireland is being ruled to ruin, carved up between warmongering EU bureaucrats and British imperialists.

In denying the People of Ireland true democracy the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independent coalition are abusing a super-majority position in Government. By the end of this year Irish neutrality, the popular position of the Irish People may very well be a thing of past as this coalition of the blind seek to abandon the Triple Lock guarantee to Irish neutrality. They are denying the Irish people any say on this matter.

When Irish Unity comes around, the People of Ireland will have their say in the adoption of a new all Ireland Constitution. Neutrality we propose should be a core part of that Constitution.

However if neutrality is removed, if the defence forces within the Irish State are integrated into NATO or a possible EU Army entirely, it will be a massive struggle to exit.

Éire Nua opposes any changes to the triple lock system and call on all to join Éire Nua today.

Our organisation promotes Republican principles and Irish history, culture and language, we honour those who sacrificed all for Irish freedom while fostering community activism.

Éire Nua envisions a fairer society with federal parliaments to empower local governance, address economic imbalances between Ireland’s east and west, and ensure participatory democracy.

Over a century of partition we see the effects of division remain visible in political instability, economic disparities, and social fragmentation.

Our Irish Unity Program will offer a revolutionary solution: a federal Ireland where power is shared, and unity is forged through collaboration and respect for diversity.

We are very excited about this as there has been a lot of work that has gone into the construction of this document.

Finally comrades, Éire Nua call on all the citizens of Ireland this includes fellow Republicans to come and join us on the redevelopment of the Republican Movement and to join Éire Nua today.

Onwards to a new Ireland. Beannachtaí na Cásca daoibh go léir.

32 County Sovereignty Movement - Easter oration

Standing here today does not make you an Irish republican. If we choose to stand in this hallowed spot as Irish republicans then we must relay to the Irish people, in clear and concise terms, our justification and credentials for doing so.

We cannot claim to act on behalf of the Irish people if we cannot explain to them why and how a sovereign Irish republic affords our people the political, social and cultural framework within which Irish society can progress along genuine republican principles.

The supreme lesson bequeathed by those who fought in 1916 is a line of clarity, a fundamental starting point from which Irish republicanism must commence, and from there, cultivate its core philosophy to impact on the current political climate in which we find ourselves.

That line of clarity determines that the Irish people must reject any British dimension, influence or agency in the sovereign affairs of the Irish people. It also declares that no such interference can form any part in a just and democratic conflict resolution process. In the words of the 1916 Proclamation Irish sovereignty is inalienable and indefeasible; it cannot be bartered or given away for any purpose especially for political and constitutional expediency.

Grattan’s Parliament, Home Rule, Partition, Leinster House and Stormont are all manifestations to serve British strategic interests in our country. They originated and were nurtured with the direct and dependant collusion of a domestic Irish politics which has flourished for its own ends and has placed its own welfare above the welfare of our people.

But it is not enough for Irish republicans to simply quote from those who went before us. All generations of our people have the inalienable right to exercise their sovereignty in the face of the circumstances in which they live. And equally, all generations of Irish republicans have a right and duty to articulate their voice so that those generations take notice of it. History has given us our foundations; what we build on them is a matter for us.

Where is the voice of Irish republicanism today? What are we saying that is remotely quotable to those who will come after us? What ideas do we possess to advance the objectives of those buried here, who faced British firing squads in the sure confidence that such ideas would follow and secure the Republic they died for? If you cannot answer these questions, then you must remain silent. Marching bands are not a republican dialogue.

Our first task is to liberate Irish republicanism itself. We have mired it so deeply in the past that we have strangled any relevance it can have today. We have surrendered its future to historical decisions that were noble and relevant to their time but are, nonetheless, done and receding. There is no redemption in pointing at betrayal, in the comfort blanket of ideological purity or claiming heredity succession, which in itself is a deeply anti-republican concept. The core reasoning of republicanism is not traditional opposition but pragmatic progression.

The Republic proclaimed in 1916, democratically ratified in 1918, convened in 1919 and usurped in 1922 no longer exists both in fact and influence. The Proclamation of 1916 has been neutralised by the current political class who can claim empathy with its sentiments but will suffer no political consequences by refusing to pursue them. If we do not accept this reality, then we cannot begin to address the current realities which Irish republicans now face. It is not a question of republicanism going back to basics but rather Irish republicans taking those basics and moving forward.

If Irish republicanism is to have any chance to progress it needs to close the chapter on the First Republic, and the unsuccessful struggle to re-establish it, and open a new chapter for a Second Republic and initiate a new struggle to realise it.

The struggle to end the violation of our national sovereignty by the Westminster Parliament and the struggle to forge a viable and functioning Republic are one and the same. A so-called United Ireland is too vague a description to render it an objective, in any sense, of Irish republicanism. Building what we mean to establish is the surest means of defeating all those who stand in our way, both British and Irish.

By seeking to establish a Second Republic we address our people from a starting point of modernity. We make events in their lifetime relevant to their future and in turn to the republican project itself. Our duty to republican history is fulfilled because only those who have ideas to advance that history can inherit its mantle.

A Second Republic must serve its people and not itself be a servant to the political class; its own proclamation must state this and how it means to achieve it. It is not an altar at which to exalt historic patriotism but a living blueprint to build, foster and administer genuine republican ideals. The Proclamation of 1916 did not discard the Fenian Proclamation of 1867, it was a natural progression of it. That natural progression, once again, needs to be made manifest if the status quo is to be effectively challenged.

The Ireland of today is far removed from the vision of either proclamation, and more alarmingly, drifting ever further away. And once again British strategic interests have their hand on the tiller.

The political reasoning behind partition alters and adapts to the differing needs of the British establishment to preserve it. And because the Good Friday Agreement does not oblige the Twenty-Six County State to pursue the ending of Partition those British needs will go unchallenged.

More nefariously the dominant narrative on the constitutional question is now ingrained with the flawed need for a British citizen dimension to any future 32 County State. It is abundantly clear that British long-term thinking is looking beyond partition and modeling a so-called unitary state that will continue to serve its strategic interests in Ireland.

The British are no longer dependent on Unionist consent to guarantee its strategic interests in Ireland because under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement they have secured nationalist consent for the very same ends.

This British strategy is clearly audible in the language and actions of constitutional and establishment nationalists. Gone is the language of sovereignty and self-determination instead replaced with terminology such as ‘Agreed Ireland’ and ‘Shared Island’ couched in the emotive rhetoric of peace and reconciliation.

The relentless assault on the policy of neutrality, to enmesh present and future Irish Armed Forces in Western Military Alliances, further underscores Westminster’s long-term intentions and nationalist compliance with same.

This is precisely why the British retained complete control over that aspect of the Good Friday Agreement which deals with constitutional change. The primary purpose of a Border Poll is not what establishment nationalists hail it to be, but rather a mechanism by which the British can determine the nature of any state that results from such a poll.

This is an Ireland in the Commonwealth. An Ireland as the western flank of NATO or some other Western Military Alliance. An Ireland as a tactical supporter and ally of Zionism. An Ireland as a sub-entity in a capitalist financial system, subjugated in a Federal Europe. An Ireland whose ancient culture and identity will be deliberately eroded for political expediency and corporate compliance.

We say to the Irish people that if you march in your thousands to support the sovereign rights of the Palestinian people then you must march in your tens of thousands to demand Irish neutrality. And if you truly champion these noble causes then you must march, in your scores of thousands, to remove from British control the sovereign destiny of your country.

Here is where the Republican Movement must step up to the mark. Any republican critique of the British occupation of our country must be cognisant of British long-term planning and its use of domestic Irish politicians to make that planning effective.

If the British establishment is thinking forward to shape future events so too must republican strategies to challenge them. Waving history at the British is as effective as using old medicines to treat modern ailments; if anything, British history has taught us this.

What we are witnessing in Ireland today is the counter-democratic outworking of the Good Friday Agreement. Even if the terms of that agreement fall into obscurity the political direction it initiated will continue to prevail.

The strongest argument that Irish republicanism currently possesses is a democratic one. We must now focus our attentions and resources into developing this argument to its fullest potential. As it stands, Partition is seen as being democratically endorsed via the so-called principle of consent. Achieving that consent is the red herring which both governments would have all interested parties endlessly but fruitlessly pursue.

A modern Proclamation, setting out in clear and precise terms, the sovereign democratic premise upon which a Second Republic must be founded, should by default graphically expose the counter-democratic nature of this consent fallacy.

If we resort to ideological abstractions or historical rhetoric as the primary focus of our efforts, we will only be talking to ourselves; an ever decreasing and irrelevant circle. What we need to articulate is not what the principle of consent is supposed to give us, but what it actually denies us, in real terms.

Peace on the island of Ireland should not be held hostage to a compromise on the integrity of our national sovereignty. If, as republicans, we recognise the people as the nation then it is through the people that our vision of nation and statehood must traverse if it is to have any relevance to them at all.

And for this to happen we must speak and understand the language of the people, the language of need, of necessity and of priority. The welfare of the people must constitute the social imperative of the Second Republic.

IRSP - Easter oration

We stand together once more in this place of remembrance — not out of tradition alone, but out of duty. Duty to those who came before us, and to the struggle that continues. Easter is not just a time of commemoration; it is a time of reaffirmation. We gather here not to mourn, but to honour — not to dwell in the past, but to carry forward the revolutionary legacy of those who rose in 1916, and all who followed in the cause of National Liberation and Socialism.

The volunteers of the Easter Rising struck a blow not just for independence, but for a future radically different from the colonial reality imposed on our people. That spirit carried through the generations, from the streets of Dublin to the doorsteps of working-class communities across Ireland. It lived in the hearts of our comrades in the INLA and IRSP, who stood tall in the face of overwhelming force, never flinching in their defence of the working class and the dream of a Socialist Republic.

Each name etched on the roll of honour represents a life given for justice, for freedom, and for the belief that a better Ireland — a fairer Ireland — is not only possible, but necessary. These were ordinary people who made extraordinary choices, and we carry their hopes with us today.

And while our focus is always on Ireland, we do not forget those across the world resisting imperialist aggression — from Palestine to Yemen, from Lebanon to Donetsk. Their struggles are our struggles, and our solidarity is unwavering.

This year holds special significance as we mark the 50th anniversary of the assassinations of Hugh Ferguson, Danny Loughran, and Brendan McAnamee. Three brave men, murdered by counter-revolutionaries determined to kill the Republican Socialist Movement at birth. But here we are, comrades — fifty years on — still standing, still organising, still fighting. That alone is testament enough to the strength of our cause and the sacrifice of all those who gave their lives in its defence.

But remembering these comrades is not enough. True remembrance means carrying forward the work they died for — the realisation of a 32 County Socialist Republic. Nothing less.

Twenty-seven years ago, this movement — with sharp political foresight and revolutionary discipline — recognised the changing landscape. Through its political and military leadership, it pivoted toward a peaceful and political path to our ultimate goal. Other Republican groups reached the same conclusion: that peaceful and political struggle could — and should — lead us to national liberation.

It was on that basis, in 2016, that the IRSP launched Yes For Unity — a working-class initiative to push forward the call for a Border Poll on Irish Unity.

Today, with the demographic shift undeniable, Britain still clings to its colonial role — still denies democracy in Ireland. They still refuse the people here a voice on their constitutional future. We need to be clear: Republican engagement with the idea of a Border Poll was always conditional — based on the promise that democracy would be respected. If Britain continues to block that pathway, Republicans will be forced to explore other politically driven alternatives.

We want democracy.

We want a vote.

And we want Britain out of Ireland.

The Irish Republican Socialist Movement supports a Border Poll — but we are under no illusions. It is a tactic, not the endgame. It’s a means, not the solution. Our vision and our strategy go far beyond it.

In the last year, the people of the North of Ireland have once again felt the full weight of London-imposed austerity. This time it’s delivered by the so-called Labour Party. Economic terror rains down on our most vulnerable — and the local Stormont administration is powerless, or worse, complicit.

In 2015, they embraced austerity and opened the door to Tory-led privatisation of our public services — all for a few scraps under the Fresh Start Agreement. And what’s changed since? We’re still without a meaningful Irish Language Act. We’re still waiting on vital infrastructure projects. The North West remains abandoned, both economically and politically.

The PSNI continues to operate without oversight or accountability. It remains riddled with the legacy of the RUC, hiding collusion, covering up sectarian murders, and targeting Irish Republicans to this day. Controlled by MI5 and protected by a political establishment, they are beyond reform — and beyond trust.

We cannot stand here today without challenging the growing attempts by the PSNI to criminalise Republicans for honouring our dead. Across the country, we’ve witnessed a disturbing increase in harassment targeting those who dare to remember our fallen. Commemorations are being policed like crimes. Republicans are being charged and convicted for simply carrying flags, wearing emblems, or attending memorials.

Let’s be clear — this is a deliberate campaign to criminalise our memory, our history, and our identity. And it is being allowed to happen.

Stormont — in all its hollow posturing — has failed to protect even the most basic rights of Republicans. They have stood silent as our struggle is once again subjected to the tools of criminalisation — a direct continuation of Thatcherite policy, dressed in a new uniform.

The IRSP stands firm: no matter your political affiliation, everyone has the right to honour their dead. We will not be bullied. We will not be intimidated. You failed to silence us in 1981, and you will fail again today.

We rejected the 6-county institutions in 1974.

We rejected them in 1998.

And we reject them today — not out of dogma, but because of cold, hard political reality.

And what of the South? We saw the re-election of the gombeen elite — the political class wedded to vulture capitalism. The state’s media machinery rolled into action, criminalising dissent and scaring the public into voting against their own interest.

The IRSP has made our position clear on immigration: the Irish Republic has the right to control its own borders to protect the working class and to shield the world’s most vulnerable from being exploited by the capitalist system. But we absolutely reject those who seek to twist that crisis into an excuse for racism or sectarianism. They are not our allies. They are not welcome.

It’s only by convincing others of the IRSP’s progressive political programme that we can grow the struggle for national liberation and socialism. Our vision for this island and its people must be confident, vibrant, contemporary, and revolutionary. In the heart of every “Irp” lives a deep contempt — not just for British rule, but for the arrogant elites who’ve hoarded wealth and power in this country for centuries.

That same contempt fuelled the United Irishmen in 1798.

It drove the volunteers of 1916.

It inspired the formation of the INLA and the IRSP in 1974.

And it lives in us today.

So let us leave this sacred place not just with memories, but with renewed conviction. Let us organise, agitate, and educate. Let us raise our voices louder, carry our banners higher, and keep our eyes fixed firmly on the goal.

The struggle continues. The future is ours.

Victory to the working class — and

Saoirse go deo!

Urgent Appeal