| Connolly Youth Movement Ógra Uí Chonghaile | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1963 |
| Preceded by | Northern Ireland Young Communist League |
| Ideology | |
| Mother party | Communist Party of Ireland (1963–2021) |
| International affiliation | WFDY |
| Magazine | Forward |
| Website | www |
TheConnolly Youth Movement (CYM,Irish:Ógra Uí Chonghaile) is an all-Irelandcommunist youth organisation named afterrevolutionary socialist,James Connolly. From its founding in 1963 until 2021, CYM was affiliated with theCommunist Party of Ireland.[1] The CYM isMarxist–Leninist,[2] supports aunited Ireland, and opposes theGood Friday Agreement andEuropean Union. It is a member of theWorld Federation of Democratic Youth.[3]
The Connolly Youth Movement (CYM) was founded in 1963 by young people who were influenced by the Communist Party during theDublin Housing Action struggle.[4] In 1970, with the merger of theIrish Workers' Party andCommunist Party of Northern Ireland, to form the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI),[5] theNorthern Ireland Young Communist League joined the CYM,[6] withMadge Davison as its general secretary.[7] The CYM disbanded in 1991 due to a reduction in membership following thedissolution of the Soviet Union andeastern and central European bloc and the resulting political crisis in theWorld Communist Movement.[4] However, following the resurgence of the left andanti-capitalist movement in Ireland, the CYM re-formed in 2002,[4] grouped mainly around young members of the Dublin Branch of the CPI and student activists atNUI Galway. The Connolly Youth Movement has relations with several youngcommunist organisations around the world. The CYM attends theMeeting of European Communist Youth Organizations (MECYO).[8]
The CYM supported the programme of the Communist Party of Ireland until a vote of the membership rescinded it at an Extraordinary Ard Fheis on 9 January 2021.[1] The Communist Party issued a statement saying that, shortly before the split, several dual (CPI-CYM) members had been expelled for breaches of discipline and factional behaviour.[9]
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The CYM is constitutionally aMarxist-Leninist organisation.[10] It opposes theGood Friday Agreement and theEuropean Union.[11] In July 2022 it published a new programme,Cause of Youth, Cause of Ireland. This included a commitment toIrish unity, revival of Irish culture and promotion of the Irish language, civil rights, free education, free healthcare on an all-Ireland basis, action on climate change, a public housing programme, international solidarity, and "a comprehensive system of worker's rights".[12]
In 2020, CYM's then General Secretary Alex Homits stated that "poverty and trafficking are the leading creators of sex workers."[13] The CYM have offered solidarity to those engaged insex work, and support for decriminalisation of the purchase of sex.[14]
The CYM condemned theRussian invasion of Ukraine as an "inter-capitalist conflict" and a "highly dangerous and irresponsible course of action which will lead to the loss of many lives and create a fusebox of conflict". It criticised the Ukrainian government and said the eastwardenlargement of NATO was a cause of the war. The CYM also recognises the Russian-controlled breakaway states of theDonetsk People's Republic and theLuhansk People's Republic in Ukraine.[15]
The CYM has denied China'shuman rights abuses against Uyghurs.[16]
The CYM opposed theIsraeli invasion of Gaza, calling it a genocide,[17] and supported calls to expel the Israeli ambassador.[18] Previously they have also called for the release of Palestinian political prisoner and expressed support for Palestinian self-determination and opposition to Israel'sillegal settlements in the West Bank.[19] The CYM is also a supporter of theBDS campaign.[20]
In 2017, members of the Cork branch of the Connolly Youth Movement occupied and re-purposed three derelict buildings nearUCC as part of an initiative to highlightrising levels of homelessness.[21][22] In 2018, two of these buildings were repossessed by theGarda Emergency Response Unit acting in conjunction with a contractor for the O'Dwyer Asset Management Company that owned the vacant properties.[23][24][25] The first occupation, still ongoing as of 2021, is referred to as Connolly Barracks by the organisation.[26]
The Connolly Youth Movement was involved in highly publicised instances ofdirect action in 2018[27] and 2019[28][29] when members of the movement disruptedFine Gael public meetings in Cork in protest of government policy on homelessness and wealth inequality. One such action was criticised by TaoiseachLeo Varadkar, who stated "I think no matter what political party you come from or what your political views, we should all be committed to democracy and freedom of speech and trying to shout other people down and trying to shut down their meetings is profoundly anti-democratic".[30] The CYM responded that it had a right to challenge and question the government on policy issues.[31] In a March 2020 interview, CYM General Secretary Alex Homits said "Socialism will not and cannot be delivered through the ballot box and the CYM and its membership will not lie about this or endorse those who do".[13]
In July 2020, Connolly Youth activists, supported by members ofSaoradh, theIrish Republican Socialist Party and Lasair Dhearg, smashed anIrish Freedom Party stall in Belfast.[32]
In March 2023, members of the Connolly Youth Movement disrupted an event inDublin City University whereBertie Ahern was receiving an honorary doctorate, calling him an "architect of the financial crisis" before being removed from the venue.[33]
In June 2023, Connolly Youth activists holding an anti-NATO banner disrupted a forum discussing Irish defence policy.Micheál Martin, who was giving a speech, accused them of being undemocratic and trying to shut down debate.[34]
The CYM publishes a print magazine titledForward, with online articles published under the same title.[35]
Between 26 and 28 June 2022, members of the Connolly Youth Movement took part in the Committee of Europe and North America (CENA) Camp in Madrid, organised by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY).
The Connolly Youth Movement (CYM) is an all-Ireland socialist youth organisation supportive of the Communist Party of Ireland. It was originally founded in 1963 by a group of young socialist republicans inspired by the Irish Workers' Party (forerunner of the CPI) who were involved in the Dublin Housing Action Campaign. Following the crisis in socialism in the early 90s, the CYM declined in membership. However, in 2002, it was revived.
Alex Homits: This congress coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first all-Ireland one in 1970. In 1970 the Young Communist League of Northern Ireland and the southern connection that was the Connolly Youth Movement unified.
In 1970, the Communist Youth League merged with the Connolly Youth Movement (founded in 1963), and Madge Davison became the first general secretary of the all-Ireland CYM.
The Connolly Youth Movement is a Marxist-Leninist Socialist Republican organisation and must remain so.
Members of UCC's Connolly Youth Movement, protest for Palestinians and call for Israeli ambassador to be expelled.
We take this opportunity to reiterate our condemnation of the genocidal policy of the Zionist State of Israel against the Palestinian people, as well as our firm solidarity with the Palestinian cause and their legitimate struggle against the Zionist occupation, the right to self-determination and the return of Palestinian refugees to their lands.
That is why CYM activists have consistently engaged in and supported actions calling for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, such as those being carried out regularly in Belfast.
