Iris, No. 15
Date:1991
Organisation: Sinn Féin
Publication: Iris
Issue:Number 15
Easter 1991
Contributor: Info
Mitchel McLaughlin
Collection:1916 Easter Rising: Anniversaries and Commemorations
Type:Publication Issue
View: View Document
Discuss:Comments on this document
Subjects: 1916 Easter Rising

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Commentary From The Cedar Lounge Revolution

27th August 2012

Many thanks to Jim Monaghan for donating this to the Archive. This is an addition to the other copy of Iris published by Sinn Féin that is in the Archive. And being the Easter 1991 edition it commemorates the 75 years from 1916 to 1991. As such it contains a broad range of articles on 1916, and - as interestingly - the years subsequent to that date.

The introductory Viewpoint contextualises the issue.

Our celebrations are inevitably tinged with regret, however, that the programme of those revolutionaries, enshrined in the Proclamation, has yet to be implemented. We also regret the reality that nationalist Ireland as a whole will not be commemorating this anniversary and that the revolutionary successors of 1916 are themselves a despised and slandered minority.

And it stresses the radical nature of the conflict.

The Proclamation was a radical document in the Ireland of 75 years ago and it remains so to this day. It was considered subversive then and is considered equally subversive today. Yet the demands it makes are for basic national and human rights. Failure to active these demands has resulted in tragedy for all the people of this island.

Which it then seeks to place within a then contemporary context.

Small wonder that its establishment [in the RoI] prefers to ignore the message of freedom and equality of the Easter Rebellion, given their continued subservience to Britain and we see a society where more and more people are forced to exist on meagre welfare payments while others accumulate massive wealth. Lip service is paid to the notion of equality but nothing is done to bridge the widening gap between rich and poor.

The approach to Unionism is interesting.

For the unionist population of the Six Counties, partition and the denial of Irish self-determination mean that they have been locked into the carnival of reaction that James Connolly warned of. They continue to allow Britain to divide them from their fellow countrymen and women, and remain trapped in a paranoid and reactionary statelet, suspicious of both their British masters and hostile to their nationalist neighbours.

And there are notes of pessimism and optimism.

At times this task seems hopeless, but a week is a long time in politics. The Berlin Wall has gone and Britain’s border in Ireland will go also. But there is much groundwork to be done first, particularly in the 26 Counties, if the present climate of opinion is to change.

Other articles include ‘A Pictorial View of 1916’, ‘1916 - What did it mean for Irish women?’ and ‘The radical years - The Labour Movement and 1916’. Also it has ‘The Betrayal of 1916 - Revisionism exposed’. Indeed the emphasis is markedly on the left aspects of the 1916, including an article by Mitchel McLaughlin on ‘The 1916 Proclamation - A revolutionary document’.

Also in the magazine is the Armed Struggle section with a piece on ‘sustained guerrilla campaign’ and ‘War News’.

More from Iris

Iris in the archive


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  • By: Roasted Snow Mon, 27 Aug 2012 01:38:19

    I won’t send you this copy then WBS. But spot on article on the Irish Labour leader Johnson. Nothing changing there with the bould Pat R at the helm.

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  • By: Roasted Snow Mon, 27 Aug 2012 01:42:27

    I rest my case.

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  • By: Padraig O Donnell Sun, 02 Sep 2012 21:35:31

    My apologies but how do I go about stopping your e-mails to me ? as informative as these are and I do recall requesting them but I’am overwhelmed with e-mails ! your assistance appreciated.

    regards

    P

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  • By: WorldbyStorm Sun, 02 Sep 2012 22:03:49

    In reply to Padraig O Donnell.

    Is this from the site or from Facebook or Twitter? There should be an unsubscribe option somewhere or another in each of those, but if there’s not email me.

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  • By: Starkadder Sun, 02 Sep 2012 23:25:30

    Are the Shinners taking a leaf out of their Sticky rival’s
    idea? I’ve seen the current issue of IRIS on sale in Eason’s,
    joining “Look Left” on the stands.
    The New Internationalist is still there as well, but Eason’s
    seems to have stopped carrying “Peace News”. 😦

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  • By: Some interesting documents posted up in the Left Archive over Summer 2012 « The Cedar Lounge Revolution Mon, 24 Sep 2012 03:59:35

    […] Iris-1916-1991 is a commemorative edition of the SF published magazine. […]

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