Éirígí - For A New Republic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Brian Leeson |
| Founded | 24 April 2006 (2006-04-24) |
| Split from | Sinn Féin[1] |
| Headquarters | Dublin |
| Ideology | Socialism Irish republicanism Left-wing nationalism Anti-imperialism Euroscepticism[2] |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| Website | |
eirigi | |
Éirígí (Irish pronunciation:[ˈeːɾʲiːɟiː]), officiallyÉirígí For A New Republic, is a socialistrepublicanpolitical party inIreland.[3] The party name,Éirígí, means "Arise" or "Rise Up" inIrish, and is a reference to the slogan "The great only appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise!" used by Irish socialistsJames Connolly andJim Larkin.[4] Éirígí was formed in 2006 by a group of community and political activists who broke away fromSinn Féin, believing that party was not committed enough to socialism.[1]
Éirígí was formed by a small group of community and political activists who had leftSinn Féin inDublin on 24 April 2006,[1] shortly before the 90th anniversary of the 1916Easter Rising, as a political campaigns group. On 12 May 2007, at the party's firstArdfheis (conference), its members voted to become a full-fledged political party,[5][6] and at its 2009 conference passed a motion to register as a political party in theRepublic of Ireland.[7]
It gained its first local councillors in 2009, when two formerSinn Féin councillors,Dungannon councillor Barry Monteith andDublin City Councillor Louise Minihan, joined the organisation.[8] Former Wexford county councillor for Sinn Féin and New Ross town councillor John Dwyer also joined Éirígí. It registered with theElectoral Commission (United Kingdom) in 2011, standing for election in Northern Ireland for the first time in the2011 local elections, citing dissatisfaction withSinn Féin's involvement in theNorthern Ireland Executive, and claiming there was "a real appetite for a radical voice" in Northern Irish politics.[9] The party ran candidates for the first time in the Republic of Ireland during the2014 local elections in Ireland,[10] simultaneously running two candidates in the2014 Northern Irish local elections.[11] The party didn't succeed in getting any of its eight candidates elected in the 2014 local elections, leaving it without elected representation.[12] Three candidates ran for the party in the2019 local elections in Ireland, none were successful.[13]
The party has become known for the use ofnonviolent direct action and regular protests inBelfast,[14]Dublin,[15][16] and elsewhere.[17] It has launched amobile app aimed at telling people their rights when they are stopped by the police.[18] Éirígí has organised protests against the visits of Britain'sQueen Elizabeth andPrincess Anne to Ireland.[19] In May 2011, Éirígí organized protests against Queen Elizabeth II's state visit to Ireland,[20] including a public march on Dublin Castle and the establishment of an "Irish Freedom Camp" near the Garden of Remembrance. The group issued flyers and statements criticizing the visit as a celebration of British imperialism and calling for Irish unity and sovereignty.[21]
In 2012, Ursula Ní Shionnáin (also known as Ursula Shannon[22]), a member of Éirígí,[23] was among four people charged under theOffences against the State Act with possessing weapons at Tullybeg,County Offaly, following an investigation by the GardaSpecial Detective Unit. Ní Shionnáin and others were convicted by the Special Criminal Court in 2014.[22][24] The party's press officer, Stephen Murney, was also taken into custody in November 2012 by thePSNI on terrorism charges for owning and publishing historical photographs of police officers on duty,[25] though he was later acquitted and cleared of all charges.[26]
In 2021 Éirígí successfully brought legal action against the Irish state broadcasterRTÉ after the programmePrime Time featured a segment in which social commentatorJohn McGuirk stated that members of Éirígí had been involved in the murder ofLyra McKee. McGuirk admitted after the programme that he had meant another republican group,Saoradh, not Éirígí. RTÉ agreed to a settlement with Éirígí that saw RTÉ pay €20,000 to three charity groups; Inner City Helping Homeless (€5,000), the Capuchin Day Centre (€5,000) and the Lyra McKee Investigative Journalism Training Bursary (€10,000).[27]
The party seeks the removal ofNorthern Ireland from theUnited Kingdom,[28] and the establishment of a32-county republic based onsocialist principles. Éirígí has participated in a range of campaigns, includingShell to Sea andReclaim the Republic (which involved the organisation distributing 60,0001916 Proclamations nationwide),[29] the Right2Water Campaign, the campaign to Repeal The 8th Amendment, and their UP Housing campaign, which calls for the state to introduce a universal public housing system where all citizens have the legal right to rent a high-quality, affordable home regardless of their income. They also actively promote the restoration of theIrish language to widespread everyday use across Ireland.
The party opposes theIsraeli occupation ofPalestine, and supports theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.[30]
The twentiethIndependent Monitoring Commission report of 2008 said the group is "a small political grouping based on revolutionary socialist principles". While it continues to be a political association, albeit, with aggressive protest activities, it was not seen as paramilitary in nature.[31]
Éirígí campaigned for a No vote in Ireland's2009 Lisbon Treaty referendum.[32] It campaigned for the United Kingdom toleave the European Union, describing the EU as "very much anchored inNeo-Liberal policies such as privatisation and austerity and programmes that have been enforced on countries such asGreece andSpain".[33]
Éirígí's National Executive is responsible for the day-to-day running of the party between meetings of theArdfheis (Party conference). It is elected by the membership annually on a 'one member – one vote' basis. The chairpersons of each local branch are also members of the National Executive.
| Election | Candidates | Elected | ± | First Pref votes | % | Rank | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 Northern Irish Local | 2 | 0 |  | 2,062 | 0.03 | 12th | Brian Leeson |
| 2014 Northern Irish Local | 2 | 0 | | 1,756 | 0.03 | 13th | Brian Leeson |
| 2014 Irish Local | 6 | 0 | | 3,120 | 0.18 | 14th | Brian Leeson |
| 2019 Irish Local | 3 | 0 | | 1,547 | 0.09 | 16th | Brian Leeson |
the socialist republican grouping Éirígí...which split from [Sinn Féin] in 2006 because it was not fully socialist
On the base is written the famous slogan that James Connolly opted to use above the 1896 manifesto of the Irish Socialist Republican Party, as well as beneath the masthead of his Workers' Republic newspaper: 'The great only appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise!' This slogan, which Larkin was fond of including in his speeches, is usually attributed to French revolutionary Camille Desmoulins (1760–94). It
