Irish Republican Terrorism and Politics by Rekawek Kacper;

Author:Rekawek, Kacper;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Published: 2011-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Failed reconstitution – ending of political evolution

Parliamentarians’ seized upon Harris’ ideas about the state of the world's left and used them in their drive to ‘reconstitute’ the party, effectively a ‘reregistration’ process which would equal a declaration of ‘a new beginning’ by party members (de Rossa 1992). Allegedly, they wished ‘not to do away with the organisation. The organisation still had credibility and it was repairable’ (Lynch 2007a) but members associated with the ‘revolutionary party’ saw it differently: ‘you had to reconstitute yourself, adopt to a new situation. Purge yourself…. [The vetting committee] was the proposal as well. A new executive would be elected, every individual member would re-apply’ (Lowry 2007c). That signalled the end of the party's clandestine approach to doing things and would simply push many of the informal but connected with Group B members and sympathisers out of the new organisation. It was also an attempt to dramatically reshape the public image of the party which for years was taunted by its links with the OIRA. What the parliamentarians were proposing was a final severance with anti-state, criminal and terrorist activity often perpetrated behind the scenes by the party's faithful and as a result of this the termination of the Official republican post-ceasefire evolution in the field of militarism or terrorism.

Instead of this, the vote at the 1992 Special Ard Fheis fell short of the required two-thirds to change the WP's constitution. Thus the party's ‘reconstitution’ failed and that effectively ended this Irish republican faction's political evolution as it was unable to shed certain structural and ideological vestiges associated with its ideology before 1969. Moreover, this result might have actually been the best outcome for the parliamentarians who were no longer keen on remaining in the same party with the more traditional or Group B-oriented members. In fact, the splinters were regarded as those who ‘all had made great careers for themselves and we [Official republicans] were left over again’ (Donnelly 2007). The feeling of bitterness and betrayal was compounded by MacGiolla's conviction that if he ‘hadn't resigned, I [he] would have held that fucking party together. I held it together during great difficulties. We had many difficulties throughout the years, we held together, saw things coming, and we discussed and talked’ (MacGiolla 2008).

This time the talking led to a vicious split. The ‘revolutionary party’ never disbanded itself and members associated with it still yield power in the WP apparatus. The WP indeed has come a full circle and its position, standing and even policies (up to a certain extent more traditionally republican than before 1992) resembles that of the early 1970s when OSF was a party that hardly anyone bothered to notice and regard as a future political contender. Almost two decades passed since the 1992 split and ‘the old masterplan … [of Sean] Garland, [Cathal] Goulding, [Tomas] MacGiolla and co’, with two of them now dead, seems incapable of being utilised once again as

following the schism … the party had transformed overnight. From being active and dynamic it slowly became moribund; an old comrades association….

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