The Irish Republican Digital Archive

Is mian le Comhairle Airm Sealadach Óglaigh na hÉireann beannachtaí a chur chuig baill Ghluaiseacht na Poblachta agus chuig gach uile Éireannach sa bhaile agus i gcéin ar an lá cuimhneachán seo. Glacaimid an deis seo le cur in iúl go seasaimid leis na cuspóirí náisiúnta, saoirse iomlán na hÉireann agus ath-bheochaint na Gaeilge, agus go bhfuil gach dícheall á dhéanamh againn chun iad a bhaint amach.

Tá tábhacht faoi leith ag baint leis an nGaeilge. “Dá gcaillfí an Ghaeilge do chaillfí Éire,” a dúirt an Piarsach, agus is mór an baol go gcaillfear an Ghaeilge roimh dheireadh na haoise seo. Is inti atá dlúth agus inneach na náisiúntachta agus ba mhaith linn a tábhacht a mheabhrú do Phoblachtaigh agus do mhuintir uilig na hÉireann. Níl aon bhealach is fearr chun na Gaeilge a neartú ná í a labhairt ar gach ócáid is féidir. Tá dualgas faoi leith ar lucht cinnireachta sa chás seo an dea-shampla a thabhairt.

On this the 54th anniversary of the Rising of Easter Week 1916, the Provisional Army Council of Óglaigh na hÉireann sends greetings to all Irishmen and Irishwomen. The Provisional Army Council gives its allegiance to the Irish Republic which was proclaimed in arms in 1916 and subsequently established by the majority vote of the Irish people in 1919. The Irish Republican Army has never accepted the Partition system of government imposed on us by England in 1921, but seeks to achieve full and complete Irish freedom, political, economic, social and cultural.

Our aim is to make the Irish people masters of their own destinies, controlling all the wealth of the nation, material and spiritual, in an independent Republic of 32 Counties, in which Protestants, Catholics and Dissenters will all have equal rights. The free Republic we seek will not be won by recognition of and participation in the institutions which were set up by England to overthrow the Republic, but by leading the Irish people in the building of an alternative 32-County Parliament. We say also that Irish freedom will not be won by involvement with an international movement of extreme Socialism.

At the moment the greatest need of all is for assisting our people in the Six Counties in their demand for Civil Rights. Not only that, but we must insure adequate protection and defence for them so that they are not left at the mercy of Crown Forces or sectarian bigots.

In the struggle for Civil Rights the abolition of Stormont would, as an interim measure, be a step forward. It would make much easier the achievement of full rights and would bring us into direct confrontation with Westminster. English imperialism, both in its old and new forms, has been the root cause of Ireland’s ills.

The national objective of ending English rule in Ireland has been obscured since 1921. The removal of Stormont would make the issue much clearer, would considerably raise the morale of our people in the North and would make much easier the task of rallying all the Irish people for a final assault on the forces of imperialism and neo-colonialism.

One of the biggest factors in the success to date of the Civil Rights movement has been its broad and democratic base. It is to be hoped that the present unsatisfactory position in the movement will be rectified by the members themselves and the broad base of the movement restored.

The Provisional Army Council confidently calls for the support of the Irish people at home and in exile for its efforts to achieve Irish freedom. At the graves of our martyred dead we call for a dedication to Republican objectives and principles and for a pledge of unstinted support for our efforts. In conclusion, the Provisional Army Council assures the Irish people that no opportunity of furthering the cause of Irish freedom will be lost and that at the opportune time appropriate action will be taken to achieve full national independence.

Issued by the Provisional Army Council of Óglaigh na hÉireann, and distributed by the Irish Republican Publicity Bureau. Easter 1970.

The message of Easter 1916 has relevance for the Irish people to-day which needs to be underlined. Pearse and Connolly declared: “The right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible.”

They stated that the long usurpation of that right by a foreign people and government had not extinguished the right nor could it ever be extinguished except by the destruction of the Irish people.

The essential truth of the Easter proclamation has withstood the test of time. Fifty years of so-called independence has been exposed and shattered for the evil it is, and Britain in typical Tory tradition, has assumed direct military control of the occupied part of our country, and indirect political and economic control of the rest. The arrogant British claim to rule our country now stands exposed before the world, and in conflict with it is the assertion in arms of the God-given right of our nation to be master of its own destiny.

The Republican Movement has been consistent in maintaining the fundamental right of freedom and sovereignty. Acknowledgment of that right by Britain has been and still is the key proposal of our peace plan. History, truth and justice sanctions no other course and bitter experience has taught us that without freedom there will never be peace in our land. Great sacrifices have been endured over the last three years for that basic truth: almost one hundred of our Volunteers have died in action, nearly a thousand linger in prison camps and heroic splendid people of the North have withstood the terror of an Imperial Army.

The enemy has paid a high price for its action against our people. The casualties inflicted and the toll taken of British wealth and prestige have demonstrated the capacity of the Irish people to win their country’s freedom. Our Volunteers have fought hard, conscious of the obligation to protect civilian lives and unmindful of the sacrifices they themselves have incurred to achieve final victory. Their dedication, courage and fighting ability have made them the true successors of the men of 1916 and assured for all a future in a new and free Ireland.

The movement has outlined its political and economic proposals for the New Ireland. Account has been taken of the diverse traditions in our nation and we are confident that those Ulster Loyalists who have suffered insult and infamy at the hands of the Imperial Government will come to realise that their future lies with the family of the Irish people as a whole. The positive, practical proposals of our Movement surpass all others put forward to date and we urge all Irish people to work for their speedy implementation.

As in previous generations, certain sections of our people remain aloof from the struggle, while others actively oppose it. Church leaders in particular have developed a dual standard of morality, condemning the actions of resistance, while excusing the brutality and murder of the enemy. When this war is over, those people shall stand indicted before history for the wrong they do to their own people and the comfort they give to the enemy.

In conclusion, we affirm our pledge of loyalty to the people of Ireland. We are conscious of the grave responsibilities which weigh upon our shoulders. We are no different from previous revolutionaries in being condemned by the unthinking malicious and hostile. We are confident of the ultimate success of our struggle and we will pursue it until our ancient enemy recognises that peace must be based on justice; it cannot be founded on bayonets.

The struggle for Irish freedom has gone on a long time. It will be brought to a successful conclusion in our day with unity in our ranks, strength in our arms and the active support of our people. We have received it in the past, we enjoy it today and we ask for a greater measure in the future.

Irish people throughout the world unite at Eastertime in communion of spirit with those who have made the supreme sacrifice in the long struggle for freedom. In every generation, the right of our nation to full freedom and sovereignty has been asserted and the willingness of our citizens to sacrifice themselves for the common good has given us a tradition of unyielding opposition to foreign rule. Deriving strength from that tradition, we proudly pay homage to our fallen comrades and pledge ourselves to pursue the struggle until freedom is secured.

Our struggle is fought on many fronts today. Foremost is the war against the forces of the British Crown. During the last twelve months, the Irish Republican Army have struck telling blows at the enemy and proved to the world that an army of occupation cannot defeat the guerilla army of a risen people. The greater the enemy pressure, the harder our fighting units strike. We shall sustain relentless pressure on the British until the London Government commits itself to a planned and orderly withdrawal of its forces from Ireland. The English presence in Ireland is a travesty of justice and we shall not rest until it is removed.

In common with Republicans of every age, we believe the Irish people alone have the right and duty to fashion their own institutions of government without any interference from an outside power. We recognise that diverse elements constitute our nation and the positive traditions of each can be developed for the benefit of all. We also hold that no section be it Catholic or Protestant has a right to perpetrate English rule under any guise and thereby continue the enslavement of the entire nation. The welfare of all our citizens can only be secured by we ourselves determining our own future and taking into public ownership the material wealth of our country to ensure its proper exploitation for the benefit of all our people.

For five years our enemies have waged a campaign of slander against the heroic people who resist aggression. The British have been well served in their propaganda war by some Irish church and political leaders. Those people wilfully ignore the fundamental evil of English rule and the decades of death, destruction and oppression it imposed upon our people. The uprooting of 60,000 people, the jailing of 2,000 and the killing of hundreds has received no condemnation from either church or state. The hypocrites of these bodies may condemn us now but we are confident that truth will yet prevail and those who have made an art of misrepresentation shall be exposed for what they are.

Freedom for our country must begin with freedom for those now in prison. The prison gates must be opened so that mothers and fathers, sons, and daughters can return to their homes. The suffering of all our jailed comrades and particularly those in English prisons, strengthens our resolve to bring the war to a successful conclusion. Our victory is assured by the unflinching support of the thousands who actively assist our fighting units. We have all been drawn together in a great historic task and the hands of comradeship forged over the last few years have made us invincible. Let us honour our martyred dead by securing the freedom for which they gave all.

Easter Sunday is the traditional day for commemorating the patriot dead of our country. The occasion has a particular relevance today because the Republican movement remains the only significant body which sets aside a day of national commemoration for the soldiers of the Irish Republican Army who gave their lives in the fight for freedom. The movement’s loyalty, fidelity and service to the ideals of 1916 have been amply demonstrated during the last five years.

Nearly one-hundred-and-fifty of our comrades have died during those years. Most died on the battlefield fighting against our ancient enemy: others died in Free State and British jails upholding the Code of Honour of soldiers of the Irish Republican Army. We salute their memory today: together with comrades of former generations, they shall remain our inspiration and strength in completing the task they so nobly served.

We have witnessed major developments during the last year. The assembly of power seekers crashed to the ground and direct British rule was imposed again. Increased enemy pressure was answered by decisive blows to the enemy in his homeland and in the occupied area. The world witnessed the grim determination of the Irish Republican Army to pay any price to smash British rule in Ireland.

Our military action had the desired effect. The British Government indicated a willingness to give serious consideration to the three basic demands of the Republican movement for a lasting peace in our land. This development was assisted by the courageous action of the Feakle churchmen. The Army Council of Óglaigh na hÉireann decided to negotiate an agreed truce with the forces of the British Crown and thus give the British Government an opportunity to grant justice to the Irish people without further loss of life.

That position obtains today. Its continuance depends on the willingness and sincerity of the British Government to withdraw its forces from Ireland. The Irish Republican Army will settle for no permanent agreement which does not include a programme of planned and orderly withdrawal of the English establishment from our country. The Republican movement has been unflinching, in war and in peace, in demanding the withdrawal of the British presence, and to that basic tenet of Republicanism, the leadership of today remains completely committed.

Britain experienced our determination in war to secure a Declaration of intent: today she witnesses our control, discipline and patience in securing the same objective. There is a limit to our patience and if it becomes war again, the responsibility will rest firmly with the British Government.

It will stand to the eternal shame of the Irish elements who did their utmost to wreck the present truce. Foremost amongst them is the Dublin regime who did everything possible to get the British Government to renege on the truce agreement. History has given us many traitors but few would equal the fascists who rule in Dublin today. The Dublin Government does not want peace in our land: it is determined to create toil and strife across the island in a blind orgy of attempting to destroy Republicanism.

The Dublin Government is assisted by the power seeking politicians of the S.D.L.P. Those politicians of violence fear the day when genuine peace pervades our land. There will be no future in the new Ireland for men who grew wealthy and treacherous on the backs of a suffering people. Despite the actions of disestablished politicians and gangsters who masquerade under various labels, the peace initiative of the Republican movement has held and brought a glimmer of hope to the thousands who still suffer under English rule that freedom will be secured and with it a new society will evolve in our country. The responsibility for creating new institutions of government rests solely with the Irish people alone. It is no concern whatsoever of any outside power. For that reason, the Army Council endorse the decision of Sinn Féin to ignore the forthcoming convention elections. It is an arrogance on England’s part to summon any convention in Ireland and exercise an absolute veto over the results. Irish sovereignty belongs to the Irish people: it does not rest with any British Parliament.

It is futile also to expect normal political development while the jails, north and south, are full with political prisoners. The hardship which these comrades endure was borne out recently by the murder of one of them in Portlaoise. The courage of the prisoners and their tremendous loyalty to their movement is one of the outstanding features of this struggle. Until all the political prisoners regain their freedom, there is no question of a permanent ceasefire.

Finally, the army council takes this opportunity of expressing sincere thanks to all those who have played a part in the war of liberation. We salute those who have borne the loss of their kith and kin in this war. We express our admiration for the volunteer soldiers of the Army whose discipline during the last few weeks has been an example to all. To the people of Ireland we pledge the loyalty and service of the Republican movement in the pursuit of our National Freedom.

On this the 60th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic on Easter Monday, 1916, the Leadership of the Republican Movement sends greetings to all the Irish people, at home and in exile. The memory of our patriot dead continues to inspire us to work to make that Proclamation a living reality. The years immediately after 1916 saw the greatest and most sustained effort in almost 800 years of history to win our freedom. The past six years have seen an equally mighty effort in the same cause, with the men and women of the Six Occupied Counties bearing the brunt of the struggle. The Republican Movement has spearheaded the fight to end English rule in our country and to replace both partitioned states with an Irish Republic which would guarantee an equitable distribution of wealth to all our people.

During the past year the Movement has shown clearly its desire to bring the conflict to an end and to create the conditions for a just and lasting peace. Unfortunately, the English Government has failed to grasp the opportunity offered to it of ending the age-old conflict; it has preferred instead to work with the party politicians who seek to maintain the status quo, and have tried to impose English-designed solutions which have been doomed to failure, because they all deny the historic and God-given right of the Irish people to sovereignty.

We believe that the only basis for a just and lasting peace in our country is to be found in the three demands which the Movement has put to the English Government. It is appropriate that on the anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic we should reiterate these three demands: a declaration of intent to withdraw from Ireland; an amnesty for all political prisoners; recognition of the sovereign right of all the Irish people to decide the future of Ireland.

The Republican Movement has not just survived the might of the English war and the collaboration of treacherous party politicians in the 26 Counties. The Movement is in fact stronger now than ever. In the past year it has demonstrated both its ability to negotiate and it’s capacity to strike telling blows at the enemy’s army and administration in Ireland.

Nobody should be in any doubt as to the determination and capabilities of the Movement to pursue the struggle until final victory.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those at home and in exile who, in spite of harassment, torture and intimidation, have given us such tremendous support during the past year. Without that support our efforts would have been very much less fruitful, now with victory within our grasp we appeal for an even greater measure of support in the immediate future.

Today we honour all our patriot dead of every generation and especially those volunteers who have died in the most recent phase of the struggle. We pledge ourselves to ensure that their sacrifices have not been in vain. To the Republican prisoners at home and abroad we send greetings and we assure you that the fight goes on and we pledge that the struggle they ably served will be pursued to ultimate victory.

The Leadership of the Republican Movement extends greetings to comrades, friends and supporters at home and abroad on this, the 61st anniversary of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.

At the gravesides, in prison cells and at commemoration parades, throughout the world, Irish Republicans unite today in paying tribute to fallen comrades. We come together spiritually as we remember these men and women who have fallen during the present phase of our long war. We recall also those comrades who have fallen throughout the years since the Irish Republic was first established, in arms, as a sovereign independent state by the Provisional Government of 1916. This Government and the Republican proclamation which was ratified by the Irish people when they established a 32 county Republic, is the kind of social democracy for which we struggle.

The sellout of this Republic and the prostitution of the Republican philosophy by successive Free State regimes, collaborating with the military might of the British war machine, have not extinguished the sovereign and indefeasible right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of their own destinies. Thus in every decade the call to arms has been answered and men and women have come forward, prepared to sacrifice themselves in the common good. The present war is the continuation of this long struggle. A struggle which stretches back to 1916 and beyond. The Leadership of the Republican Movement, recognising this, salutes not only those engaged at every level in the struggle today, but we salute also the valour and courage of those people who strove throughout the years, in a gallant and continuous effort to make the Republic a reality.

Today, on Easter Sunday 1977, we declare as the generations before us declared, the struggle will continue. We pledge ourselves to the people of no property. We stand, like the men and women of 1916, with the ordinary people of Ireland. We recognise that the age-long fight of the Irish people against their oppressors resolves itself in the final analysis into a fight for the mastery of the means of life and the sources of production in Ireland. We are determined to restore the ownership of Ireland and the control of our social, cultural and economic destinies to the Irish people.

This cannot be achieved within the British partitionist set-up nor within the ever tightening strait jacket of the E.E.C. Our people, North and South, face economic disaster, increasing unemployment and the continuing sell-out of our natural resources. Economic, spiritual or material prosperity cannot be attained or maintained within the present imperial structures. Both the quisling regime in the Free State and the colonial regime in the Northern war zone have failed to produce a lasting solution.

The war will continue therefore until these structures are demolished, because the conditions created by the British presence and by the treachery of the Free State regime make war inevitable.

We reiterate the main demands of the Republican Movement. They are: the British Government must withdraw its army and administration from Ireland. All political prisoners must be released. The Irish people as a national unit must decide and have control of their own destiny.

Upon the success of this stage of the national struggle depends the prosperity of our country. Only with national freedom, only with political independence can peace and economic prosperity be established and maintained. Only when the people are in power can a New Ireland be built. We demand a British withdrawal as a necessary first step and pledge ourselves to continue the war in pursuit of this objective. We appeal for support and unity on the withdrawal issue, among those genuinely opposed to imperialism, North and South.

We extend this appeal to all Irish people, regardless of the “religious” differences which have been used to divide us in the past. There is no longer any reason for loyalty to Britain from either the Protestant or Catholic people. The British Government have shown that. We extend the hand of friendship to people in the Loyalist camp. Let us unite against reaction, sectarianism and imperialism. Let those with a vested interest in maintaining an ascendancy class be seen clearly as sectarian fascists, the rest of us have nothing to lose from a British withdrawal. The Republican people have everything to gain.

As a gesture of solidarity with imprisoned Republicans and in order to stop the maltreatment of political prisoners we call also for support for the men and women in Free State, 6 county and English jails. For as long as the British connection has lasted there have been Irish P.O.W.s. While pursuing the demand for a British withdrawal (and an amnesty, as a natural and necessary consequence to this) we demand, in the meantime, an end to the ill treatment and torture of prisoners. The prison regimes and their masters are breaking their own laws in an effort to smash resistance within the prisons and concentration camps. Only the mobilisation of public opinion can stop them. Continued resistance to the establishment, on the outside, by Republican forces will ensure a high morale among our prisoners, but only public support for hunger strikers in Portlaoise, for those protesting in the H Blocks (Long Kesh) and the prisoners in England, can keep these men and women sane and alive.

The Republican Movement, in the year ahead, must mobilise public opinion in defence of the prisoners and build up the resistance of our people, in the long term, in defence of their own rights and towards the re-establishment of the Republic.

Let there be no doubt as to our intentions. In the last twelve months there has been a concerted and protracted effort by British and Free State elements to distort, misrepresent and confuse the Republican position. For our part we are clear in our objectives and united in our determination. All resources at the disposal of Óglaigh na hÉireann are geared to the attainment of these objectives. The war which is forced upon us will continue in pursuit of the true peace and prosperity which our people deserve.

Finally we extend and declare our support for those throughout the world engaged in struggles for national liberation and invite their explicit support for the struggle in Ireland. We extend our thanks to foreign friends for both financial and other assistance. We salute the people of the North for their bravery and endurance, appeal for resistance to national treachery and economic sell-out from the people in the South and extend fraternal greetings and thanks to supporters and friends throughout Ireland.

In the year ahead let us move forward. We have the will to succeed. We have also the endurance. Let our Republicanism be the Republicanism of the people, the Republicanism of victory. Let us make the Republican Proclamation a reality.

Ansin beidh an bua againn.

The Leadership of the Republican Movement extends greetings to comrades, friends and supporters at home and abroad on this the 62nd anniversary of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.

We remember with pride our fallen comrades, whose tragic and untimely deaths have caused sorrow and suffering in many homes. The British presence has ensured this tradition of violent death, sorrow and suffering in every generation. We remember also the untimely deaths of many of our citizens, who died as a result of British interference in our country.

The Leadership of the Republican Movement on this Easter Sunday sends greetings to all the prisoners in England, Ireland and America and pays special tribute to our courageous comrades who are protesting in naked, solitary confinement for prisoner-of-war status inside the jails in the occupied Six Counties.

It has taken eighteen months for the name of H-Block, and the British brutality it represents, to seep through to the media. H-Block has been eighteen months of immeasurable inhumanity for almost 300 young Irishmen. Their long suffering has only slowly cut its way through the usual mediocre accounts of life in the north, behind which British repressive rule hides.

H-Block is brutally consistent with this final stage of British imperialist rule. It is an issue for which an ashamed English people in the future will plead ignorance, but for which for us at present is a living reality. H-Block is directly linked to the division of Ireland, to partition, to the British denial of Irish sovereignty.

The world should be in no doubt that the length of the war of national liberation and the strength which the Irish Republican Army can exert are proof that we command mass support in the occupied north. We wish to stress the determination of the Irish Republican Movement to continue the struggle for an end to British rule. Irrespective of how long it takes, our units will strike at enemy forces until England declares openly and honestly that she is withdrawing from Ireland. Throughout Ireland repressed and struggling people, besides Republicans, are coming to support the Republican Movement because it lies their only ultimate hope of peace and prosperity.

Sixty-two years ago a handful of revolutionary visionaries declared the Irish Republic and their action was condemned as a futile use of force. Those that gained from the struggle which Easter 1916 initiated, have condemned with a glaring disrespect for the lessons of history, today’s legitimate use of force.

No-one who has the experience of uninterrupted loyalist rule, pogroms, curfews, armed British repression in support of sectarianism, state sanctioned torture and murder, could be proud of Jack Lynch’s nationalism. The pride of the Irish nation lies in the revolutionary Republican Movement and in the people who support the armed struggle, and who resist tyranny.

Besides the changed circumstances of solid Fianna Fáil rule in the 26 Counties, the last few months have also seen a movement towards Irish nationalism not just from Lynch but from Fine Gael in opposition.

The reasons for this movement need to be nailed firmly to the mast. Jack Lynch and Fine Gael see that the IRA cannot be defeated and that continued British rule in the Six Counties is patently impossible without greater resort by the British to murder and torture and which would provoke world opprobrium. Jack Lynch and Fine Gael see that growing nationalist sentiment threatens their own existence. So their recent reaffirmation of Irish nationalism is an attempt to capitalise on the developments which our armed struggle have created. Had our armed struggle failed then the nationalist people in the Six Counties would be walked upon by strutting loyalists, and Lynch would still be standing idly by.

As it is, the armed struggle has neither failed nor diminished despite fatalities and imprisonments of political activists. In eight years of guerilla warfare the rate of attrition has never exhausted our manpower resources, and now we are entering a new generation of strength. Recently we have acquired new war materials which are an indication of our determination to continue the long struggle. The people are armed through the Irish Republican Army and there is no measure of British terror which can defeat this growing force.

The momentum towards a British withdrawal cannot be stopped. With its realisation, the Irish people will have, for the first time in sixty years, the freedom to choose their own form of government without any outside interference. Our Movement has outlined proposals for a new federally structured Ireland and we look forward to the day when we can freely present those proposals before the whole Irish people for their consideration. Our concept of Éire Nua allows for the diverse traditions of our nation and embodies the basic principles of the 1916 Proclamation and the Democratic Programme of the First Dáil Éireann. The New Ireland we strive for is one in which Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter can be proud of the common name of Irish people.

The Leadership of the Republican Movement on this the 63rd anniversary of the Easter Rising sends greetings to all involved in the struggle to rid our country of British Rule and set up a Democratic, Socialist Republic based on the 1916 Proclamation.

We send greetings especially to our imprisoned comrades in jails in Ireland and England, and we proudly congratulate the heroic Blanket-Men who, by their resistance to the crucial “criminalisation” of the struggle in the north, share the front line with active-service Volunteers.

Greetings also to our many support and solidarity groups throughout the world, particularly those in America, Australia and in Europe. We fully appreciate the importance of your efforts to highlight British terror in Ireland and to aid Irish resistance to that terror.

In the last year we have continued to gear our resources and reorganisation into the needs of a long struggle to which we are fully committed. We congratulate our people for mentally readjusting to this strategy. Far from being war-weary, the oppressed people take comfort from the successes of other oppressed peoples throughout the world, who fought and resisted without rest or compromise until they were victorious.

Roy Mason who came here with so much confidence and so many boasts departs very soon as a defeated man, and we will grind the next British War-Lord into the ground as we have done with Mason! It matters little who rules at Westminster; they’ll still send their gunmen and tanks and SAS murderers to repress the Irish people. But by a combination of political work, street resistance and uncompromising revolutionary guerilla warfare we will inflict a political defeat on the British government’s will to stay in Ireland.

We shall make their occupation of Ireland so costly in terms of moral corruption and political bankruptcy that it will be domestically and internationally unacceptable. And to highlight the question of British occupation in Ireland we are now quite capable of striking at British targets wherever they can be found.

As a socialist movement we are in solidarity with other struggling nations. In the words of Connolly: “We mean to be free, and in every enemy of tyranny we recognise a brother, wherever be his birthplace; in every enemy of freedom we also recognise our enemy, though he were as Irish as our hills.”

In the philosophy of Loyalism is an enemy of Irish freedom. We are opposed to Loyalism and we are opposed to the setting up of an independent Six Counties. Loyalists had an independent Six Counties for over 50 years and practised sectarianism and discrimination.

Peace will only come about when Britain stops interfering in our country and when our people can determine their own future. Those that resist the development of a democratic and peaceful Ireland are out to maintain privilege, division and sectarianism and are tools of Imperialism.

Because we are engaged in a national war of liberation against Britain, the colonial power, we have no intention of going to the proposed Washington “Peace Forum”, where she will not be present. The substitute of Loyalist delegates for British government representatives deliberately projects the war in Ireland as a “Religious Quarrel”, and not as a colonial problem in which the British government and army has provided succour for Loyalism.

We are out to break the back of British Rule in Ireland, a process which inevitably involves the disintegration of Loyalism as a racialist, sectarian philosophy.

Another enemy of freedom which we clearly recognise as our enemy is the Free State Fianna Fáil government. They are opposed to the development of a united Ireland based on the 1916 Proclamation because it would spell an end to their corrupt, collaborationist party. Traditionally they have exploited the working-class in the 26-counties by offering, but only paying lip-service to, Irish Unity. Their repression of Republicans, in common with their opposition to the legitimate demands of workers, will intensify in the months ahead as we increasingly expose their hypocrisy and offer the underprivileged and oppressed sections of the community an independent banner around which to rally. As we break British Rule we break Fianna Fáil and all other reactionary interests in Ireland.

We demand a British Declaration of Intent to withdraw, an Amnesty for all political prisoners and recognition of the Irish people’s right to self-determination. Backing up those demands will be the muscle of the Republican Movement drawing its support and personnel from the courageous ranks of the oppressed. There will be no capitulation, no respite. In the immortal words of Pádraig Pearse:

“We have the strength and the peace of mind of those who never compromise….”

The Leadership of the Republican Movement on this the 64th Anniversary of the Easter Rising sends greetings to the oppressed and struggling Irish people, to our imprisoned comrades in jails in Ireland and England, and to our support and solidarity groups throughout America, Australia and Europe.

With the dawning of a new decade, comes a new record of resistance to British imperialist rule. This generation of Volunteer soldiers and the population which supports the war, in sacrifice and in suffering, is proving to be too much for British rule. Our Movement which is geared for and dedicated to a long war, will nevertheless see gains along the road to final victory and the last twelve months especially have seen us take military and political strides.

The Irish Republican Army as a revolutionary guerrilla army is organised for operations in every county in the war zone. In the past year we have inflicted serious blows on the British government and its troops. Not only have we carried out highly successful operations in Ireland but we have struck at British targets in England, West Germany, Belgium and in Holland.

Politically also the movement has advanced. There is a general realisation of the need not only to build on IRA victories but for our movement to become the voice of all the oppressed people throughout Ireland. We urge all our supporters to embrace the small struggles going on in the community around them. Just as Pearse embraced the cultural struggle and as Connolly led Labour, so too we must tie together all aspects of nationalism and socialism, and all the strands of rural and urban discontent into a surging wave of Republicanism.

This Eastertime the conditions under which the British hold our imprisoned comrades in Ireland and England are of grave concern to us all. For four years the blanket-men have led a heroic protest in the H-Blocks which has been of immense inspiration to their comrades on the outside.

For the last two months now the blanket-men have been joined by their female comrades on protest in Armagh jail who are now experiencing similar conditions and constraints forced upon them by a brutal prison regime.

At this point in time we would like to publicly salute our women comrades throughout all sections of the movement, at large or in imprisonment. Your voice, the sound of which has raised many eyebrows, is increasingly heard within the movement today. This is another step in political progress which we have made. This is not a man’s war but a people’s war, and very, very much suffering has been borne by the women, be they mothers, wives, political activists or Volunteers, and we ought to remember that without the sacrifices of the women there would be no struggle at all.

Many people, be they in government or in the churches or in political parties, have attempted to “correct” our ways for us. The British do it by torturing and jailing our people, and the churches, especially the Catholic Church, advise us that we are wrong to struggle against an army of occupation. But we are convinced in our consciences, as the men and women of 1916 were, that what we are doing is right and that we will be vindicated at the end of the day. No one else has a solution to the cause of the violence in Ireland, British interference, and those who pose as being close to the solution, a British withdrawal and Irish unity, do absolutely nothing about resolving the situation.

Only the Republican Movement has worked and struggled for this end, which the British government, Fianna Fáil and the SDLP know is the only solution.

The British government is bankrupt as could be seen from the recent Stormont conference which never came alive. But for participating in that conference and giving credibility to the British government when it was being exposed internationally, and while it continued to torture defenceless prisoners, the collaborating SDLP leadership deserve to be roundly condemned and they will be remembered.

They know that their participation in British structures is only protracting the agony.

Similarly, Fianna Fáil is bankrupt. Claiming to be the Republican heirs they beg England to show an interest in Irish independence, whereas those whose inheritance they claim, the men and women of 1916, just gave notice and struck for freedom, a struggle which we continue today. If Fianna Fáil wants Irish unity it should force the British government to pack its bags. Instead it uses Free State troops and police to help maintain the British presence.

Just as we are opposed to a sectarian Six-Counties so too would we be opposed to a sectarian 32-Counties where the civil and religious liberties of the Protestants were in any way restricted. We do not believe that unity and peace between Catholics and Protestants is possible within the Six-Counties (and it is not our struggle which is the fundamental cause of the division) but we firmly believe that such unity is possible, in fact only possible, in a 32-County, Democratic, Socialist Republic. The 1916 Proclamation says: “The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens, and declares its resolve to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and all of its parts…”

We stand by that and we guarantee those people in the north, constituted presently as Loyalists, their rights in a secular and pluralist society.

The British government has historically fostered division in Ireland so that it could conquer Ireland. It has no healing powers in Ireland and the only contribution it can make to peace would be to withdraw. The Thatcher government had no problem in publicly recognising the armed struggle of Robert Mugabe’s Patriotic Front and treating with that party.

Let the British government also be bold enough to recognise the Irish people’s right to self-determination and usher in the first hope of peace in Ireland in the last 800 years.

We demand a British Declaration of Intent to withdraw, an amnesty for all political prisoners and recognition of the Irish people’s right to self-determination.

The alternative is for Britain to continue repressing the Irish people, and in response to that the Irish Republican Army will wage war with a vengeance. We know we are winning. We have the determination to see this through. And we shall!

Victory to the Irish Republican Army! Victory to the Irish people!

On this, the sixty-fifth anniversary of the proclamation of the Irish Republic, the Irish Republican Army extends greetings to friends and supporters at home and abroad, to struggling peoples throughout the world, to the Irish people, to Volunteers and political activists and to the political prisoners and their families.

We pay a special tribute to Irish women: mothers, wives of prisoners and active service Volunteers, and to those women who have taken their rightful place alongside the men in the people’s struggle for independence.

The sacrifices of our supporters and your commitment to the Republican cause and to the struggle for the thirty-two county Republic declared in arms sixty-five years ago has been unselfish and uncompromising, one more indication of the political and national integrity of our people.

Your support for the political prisoners, especially for our protesting brothers and sisters in Armagh and the H-Blocks of Long Kesh, has been rewarded by the solidarity, the unbreakable bond, which has been forged between the people and the prisoners, a bond which denies Britain’s propaganda assertion that the political prisoners are criminal.

Now into the fiftieth day of the second hunger-strike we must redouble our efforts on the prisoners’ behalf. The election of Bobby Sands by 30,492 votes has shown the British government that the people support the prisoners. We and the prisoners never doubted that fact.

The electorate of Fermanagh and South Tyrone were asked to act by proxy on behalf of the Irish people. They have given a lead to the rest of us and an answer to the British government who showed yet again, as they did after the general election of 1918 and the setting up of Dáil Éireann, that they are not prepared to recognise the will of the people even when that will is expressed peacefully and democratically. That clearly leaves armed struggle as the only other option, an option tried and trusted in Ireland and by other peoples throughout the world.

Only through armed struggle will we be listened to, only through the struggle waged by the Irish Republican Army can we win national freedom and end division and sectarianism in Ireland.

Whilst attention has been of necessity focussed on the H-Blocks and Armagh prison our comrades imprisoned in Britain itself are never far from our thoughts. Despite their deprivations they too have been primarily concerned with and have followed with intense interest the prison struggle waged in the North.

In British prisons they maintain their Republican principles, their political ideology even rubbing off on ordinary prisoners whom the various penal administrations have abused and humiliated, and often used to persecute Republicans. While the public focus has not been upon the Irish political prisoners in Britain, we do not forget them or their families. To you all goes our solidarity and admiration. Beir Bua.

While the last twelve months has to a large extent seen a public focus upon the plight of the prisoners, we take this opportunity to re-emphasise our commitment to the complete destruction of British rule in Ireland and to the reconquest of Ireland by the Irish people.

We demand the immediate and complete withdrawal of British forces as the first step in this process. And realising that a demand is only as strong as it is pressed the Irish Republican Army stands willing, ready and as able as ever to press throughout the countryside and in the city street our political war against the British occupation forces and the loyalist RUC and UDR.

Charles Haughey and Margaret Thatcher, despite Paisley’s protestations, are not on the road to a united Ireland, as sought by the vast majority of Irish people. It is not in their interests to do anything other than to attempt to secure, at the utmost, a neo-colonial arrangement whereby British interests would be protected with an economy of British lives.

Haughey’s efforts to create the illusion that his collaboration with Thatcher is seriously aimed at seeking Irish unity is an extremely dangerous development based on fraudulence and deception. The hand-in-glove relationship between the Dublin and Westminster governments has led, among other things, to a situation where the taxpayer in the twenty-six counties is now actually paying more for the maintenance of partition and the British presence than the taxpayer in Britain itself.

This and the orchestrated argument over so-called ‘neutrality’ is no more than a rather feeble attempt to divert public attention away from Dublin’s failure to deliver on the national question and from the worsening economic and unemployment situations; a situation thrust upon both partitioned parts of this island and the Irish people by a ruling class which has more in common with the British ruling class than with its own working class.

The Dublin government has never taken a ‘neutral’ attitude to British involvement in this country. Instead, while pretending to seek an end to that involvement, the Free State has actively aided and abetted the British military, political, economic and cultural presence and influences on this island.

In world terms, the Dublin government has increasingly aligned itself with the military bosses of NATO. The Republican Movement warned that Irish entry into the EEC would lead not only to the selling-off of Irish natural and human resources but also to a military alliance of those former colonial powers which make up the EEC. Haughey’s assertions that Free State neutrality is not at stake is a nonsense. It has never existed in anything but in name.

Verbalised nationalism has never achieved peace and freedom and has never yet completely camouflaged the contradictions inherent in Dublin’s pro-British stance. Republican opposition to Haughey rests on this incontestable fact which in the end will serve also to destroy the myth of ‘Haughey, the Republican’. Results count and the fact that Haughey cannot deliver Irish unity will become apparent in the next year to all who wish to see.

In the meantime, against the background of armed struggle, the Republican Movement commits itself to securing the political leadership of the whole people of Ireland. Sixty-five years after the Easter Rising of 1916 and following twelve years of bloody and courageous struggle we are determined to secure conditions in which all the people of the country will unite in a thirty-two county, democratic, socialist Republic. Nothing less will suffice. Nothing else will be accepted.

Nothing else can make up for the deaths, the sufferings and the self-sacrifice of our people, and nothing else can guarantee the unity and freedom, both spiritual and physical of the whole Irish people.

Caithfidh muid a bheith saor agus gan amhras beidh muid saor. Le cuidiú Dé, tiochfaidh an lá. Our struggle is hard and long but it is just and it will be victorious!

Beir Bua! Victory to the Irish people! Victory to the Irish Republican Army!

On this, the sixty-sixth anniversary of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, the leadership of the Republican Movement extends greetings to friends and supporters at home and abroad, to struggling peoples throughout the world, to the Irish people, to IRA Volunteers and political activists.

We pay a special tribute to the political prisoners and their families, especially to the families of the hunger-strikers and to the families of all those who have died since Easter 1981.

The sacrifices of our supporters and your commitment to the republican cause and the struggle for the thirty-two county republic, declared in arms sixty-six years ago has been unselfish and uncompromising, especially during the traumatic months of the epic and historical hunger-strike.

Whilst attention since last year has, through necessity, focussed on the H-Blocks and Armagh prisoners, our comrades imprisoned in Britain itself are never far from our minds and we draw your attention, at this time, to the plight of men and women incarcerated there. In British prisons, in a totally alien environment, they maintain their republicanism and while the public focus has not been upon the Irish political prisoners in Britain, we do not forget them or their families.

Beir bua a chairde, tiocfaidh bhur lae.

This time last year, our brave comrades in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh were alive. Their lingering fast to assert their integrity as political prisoners had yet to claim a life. Within four months ten of them were to die, martyred in the face of a British desire to inflict a psychological defeat upon the nationalist people of the North.

You, who experienced those four tragic months, saw clearly how the Dublin government, the SDLP and the Catholic hierarchy united with British policy-makers in their futile efforts to inflict such a psychological defeat upon us all. As Bobby Sands stated, “I am dying not just to attempt to end the barbarity of H-Block, or to gain the rightful recognition of a political prisoner, but primarily because what is lost in here is lost for the republic.”

Those who sided with the British government, the pseudo-nationalists and craw-thumpers, clearly represent those forces ranged against the republic. They saw, as Bobby Sands did, what exactly was at stake and they took sides accordingly.

The lesson, an age-old one in Ireland, is clear for those who wish to see it. The ‘stake-in-the-country’ people, those whose interests coincide in the long run with British interests were, and are, never for the republic or the republican struggle even when that struggle manifested itself in a morally correct hunger-strike for just and reasonable demands.

This, more than anything else, was what motivated the Irish establishment and all its representatives, North and South, political and clerical, to assist the British government in its refusal to concede the political prisoners their demands. Such collaboration and assistance cost the nationalist people dearly.

We do not forget and will not forgive those who acted in such a manner. We know too well what to expect from those who purport to represent ‘moral’ or ‘responsible leadership’ and as our struggle continues we will ensure that the lessons of that period are not lost upon our people and that those elements whom the hunger-strike clearly revealed as allies of the British government will not, at any time in the future, be able to project themselves as allies of Irish nationalism much less Irish republicanism.

The recent change of masters in the twenty-six counties makes little difference in political, national, cultural, social or economic terms for the Irish people. If the survival of the Irish people in terms of spiritual integrity, economic well-being and the continued plight of the working people and small farmers were not at stake the situation would indeed be laughable.

As it is, both major conservative groupings in the twenty-six counties govern their part of Ireland in the interests of the 5% who control 71% of Irish wealth. The Irish ruling class has more in common with the British ruling class than with its own working class. Their common interests are manifest not only in the living conditions of our people but, of course, in the continued existence of partition and in support for the Western alliance. Charles Haughey asserts, as an attempted diversion in his own peculiar brand of verbalised nationalism, that the North is his government’s ‘first priority’ while at the same time Irishmen are imprisoned in Portlaoise prison and, more recently, actually tried in Dublin for escaping from Belfast prison. Fine Gael, in a fine illustration of Blue Shirtism, has charged one Irishman, at the bequest of the British government, for a ‘conspiracy’ allegedly committed in Britain itself. Yet another example of how the British queen’s writ extends to the British neo-colonial twenty-six counties. And through all the hypocrisy, the tax-payer in the twenty-six counties pays more for the maintenance of partition and the British presence than the tax-payer in Britain itself, while the Dublin and British governments attempt to foist a thirty-two county neo-colony upon us all.

That the Dublin government is able to get away with all this is due to apathy in the twenty-six counties and can be directly attributed to a failure by republicans in that part of Ireland to build sufficiently upon the contradictions inherent in the Dublin government’s stance on national, social, economic or cultural issues or to consolidate the gains secured by the sacrifices of the risen nationalist people in the six counties. The Sinn Féin results in the recent twenty-six county election are a direct result of this failure and a clear indication of the work which has to be undertaken if we are really serious about securing the political leadership of the Irish people.

Republican resistance must be waged on all fronts, and while the struggle is much more difficult in twenty-six counties terms, nonetheless it must be pursued intelligently and with all the vigour at our disposal. We must, as a movement, become involved in people’s struggles. We must be active republicans in our own locality fighting together local campaigns with the unresolved national question. To concentrate on one aspect of British imperialism, the military occupation of the six counties, is insufficient if in so doing we ignore other issues more directly affecting our people. That those grievances are caused by the lack of national sovereignty and the lack of real control by ordinary people over their own lives is irrelevant to most people and will remain so unless republicans strive to correct and educate in their own areas, in their workplaces and among their neighbours. This can only be accomplished by a real involvement in people’s affairs.

In the six counties, as well, there is a belated need for a conscious republican involvement in issues which directly affect ordinary people. The republican base in the six counties must be widened to take in more military resistance to British troops and the loyalist RUC and UDR. Republicans must be involved with the people we profess to lead in their everyday struggles for better housing and against poverty and unemployment.

The British government is preparing to launch Stormont Mark 4. Republicans should be preparing to use this opportunity to further consolidate our position and to prevent the SDLP and other elements from speaking or purporting to speak for the nationalist people. Without the SDLP the British cannot foist their political stop-gaps upon us. The Republican Movement is committed to wrecking any arrangement or conspiracy hatched in Westminster or Stormont and we take this opportunity to re-emphasise, once again, our commitment to the complete destruction of British rule in Ireland and to the re-conquest of Ireland by the Irish people. We demand the immediate and complete withdrawal of British troops as a first step in this process.

Only through armed struggle will we be listened to, only through the struggle waged by the men and women of the IRA can we win national freedom and end division and sectarianism in Ireland. Before and since 1916 armed struggle remains the only option and the only means by which the demand for a British withdrawal can be pressed upon the British government.

We are confident that the IRA stands ready and able, as the IRA did in 1916, to press throughout the countryside and the city streets the political war against the British occupation forces and the RUC and UDR.

Republicans remain determined, as always, to secure conditions in which all the people of this country will unite in a thirty-two county democratic, socialist republic. Nothing else will suffice. Nothing else will be accepted.

We said this last year. This year, at the graves of our martyred dead, in prison yards and cells, we re-assert that nothing else can make up for the deaths, the sufferings and the self-sacrifice of our people and nothing else can guarantee the unity and freedom, both spiritual and physical, of the whole Irish people.

Beir bua, caithfidh muid a bheith saor agus gan amhras beidh muid saor.

Today, as we proudly stand at the gravesides of our fallen comrades, let us recall their sacrifice, honour their memory and re-pledge ourselves to the cause of Irish freedom for which generation after generation of men and women have given their lives.

And having honoured them let us declare ourselves openly as being in their tradition, fighters against the British presence in our country, ready and willing to make all the necessary sacrifices to ensure that our sovereignty is recognised and upheld.

The Irish Republican Army, in its grinding war against the British, is sapping the will of imperialist rule in Ireland. We will break its back and in so doing set an example for the nationally oppressed and dispossessed of this world.

On this, the 67th anniversary of the Easter Rising, we must take pride in the fact that 67 years after the great example of the Phoenix again rising from the ashes, despite the collaborators in government in Dublin, despite the weak-kneed constitutional politicians of the SDLP, despite the British military machine and its loyalist assassins, in the North of our country the republican people, galvanised by the strength and courage of their convictions, continue to rise up and strike blows of freedom.

For 14 years we have taken all that the enemy have thrown against us and we are prepared to fight from father to son, and mother to daughter, from prison cell to prison cell, from corner and from hill, for the next 14 years or longer, because we are winning and we will be victorious!

We have summary executions on our streets by British forces, we have the phenomenon of the informers giving ‘queen’s evidence’, and we have the daily harassment and repression, the immorality of which almost goes without question in Britain. The British people, sheltered from the illegality of the actions of their government and their forces in our country, have to understand that it is this which makes armed struggle a necessity. We want peace, but peace will only come when Britain leaves the Irish people to decide their own future. It is for this basic freedom of self-determination that we engage in armed struggle.

But our struggle has many facets and we congratulate the people and our comrades in Sinn Féin for their electoral victories which were the equivalent of a military defeat in the field for Britain and its allies in Ireland.

Sinn Féin’s victory stopped the SDLP from entering and propping up the assembly.

In response to the Sinn Féin threat the SDLP have launched their disastrous plans for a ‘Council for a New Ireland’, more to plug their leaking credibility and support than to seek a real settlement.

It is disastrous because from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael can only come a dilution of the national aspiration, which could be further diluted under the pressure of loyalist and British demands.

The Irish people demand a democratic settlement based on their will, and that right is non-negotiable. And those presently tied to loyalism should be guaranteed full civil and religious liberty, but not a sectarian veto over the destiny of the nation.

The building of an open, revolutionary political organisation is essential if we are to progress towards social and economic freedom, and during the war provide a service to the people in their everyday struggles against state bureaucracy, against this capitalist society.

Most freedom movements have fought elections at the conclusion of their territorial struggles but ours is fairly unique in that Sinn Féin have won victories in extremely difficult circumstances against professional opposition. The people so courageously gave their support against a barrage of moral and political blackmail is one more recognition of the revolution in thinking which the nationalist people have undergone.

At this Easter we recall the sacrifices of our comrades who died on hunger-strike in England and Ireland, in this generation and before, and we send greetings to our imprisoned Volunteers, to their families, and to the grieving families who have lost loved ones in our just struggle, and who we honour today.

We send greetings to our solidarity and support organisations, especially in the USA, Australia, Europe and Canada, and we thank them for their efforts on behalf of the Irish people throughout the last year. Their demonstrations of support put more backbone, if that were possible, into our resistance.

Finally, a message to our enemies: you cannot defeat us because it is not just an army you face but the might of a people, sworn and determined to be free. Our resistance is the final product of your historical persecution of us. The ingredients of defeat stare you in the face and we have the recipe.

It lies in our revolutionary struggle against you, the sympathisers’ open doors, the street fighters, the political activists, the marchers, the mural painters, the paper sellers, the collectors for the prisoners, the old and the young, the men and the women.

So get out, before we put you out!

Today we commemorate and honour the patriots of Easter Week 1916, who, with no blessing or mandate other than that inherent in the natural right of all nations to national sovereignty and self-determination, went out to do ‘bloody and deadly violence’ against our enemy whose susceptibility to reasonable persuasion is as absent today as it was then.

We also take this opportunity to reflect, with pride, on all our fallen comrades, who gave their lives that our people can be free and can live in peace. Pre-eminent in our thoughts, and with a great sense of loss, we naturally remember our contemporaries, comrades, countrymen, women and children, whose lives have been taken in action, in the prisons and in the streets North and South by the murder squads of the British and loyalist paramilitaries. Their memories we cherish and the anguish of their relatives and loved ones we share, especially Brian Campbell, Colm McGirr, Declan Martin and Henry Hogan, who were killed in action within the last five months.

Our thoughts today are also with our political prisoners and their families. Many have already begun their 12th consecutive year of incarceration in the living death of British prisons, consigned there, at this point in time, for over half of their adult lives, by a British judiciary and legal system whose active role in this war, in the words of English Brigadier-General Frank Kitson, the architect of modern British oppression, is no more “than a propaganda cover for the removal of unwanted members of the public”.

On this, the 68th anniversary of the assertion in arms of the democratic rights of our nation, we send greetings to all republican activists, to our supporters at home and abroad, to our solidarity groups in the USA, Australia, Europe and Britain, to the Irish people, and to struggling peoples everywhere.

The Irish Republican Army welcomes the continuing political successes of our comrades in Sinn Féin in the electoral field and the party’s enhanced organisation, membership and influence. Sinn Féin’s emergence as a major political force in the occupied six counties has provided a political focus for the socially and economically disaffected nationalist working-class, and other sections of the nationalist community who do not necessarily support the armed struggle, as well as giving an effective political voice to those who actively support the ideal of the Irish Republic.

The Irish Republican Army recognises that armed struggle linked to political action will end the British connection.

In the North, Britain’s paid-perjurer tactic remains a major and discredited weapon in their armoury, aimed not only at removing those Irish men and women whom they deem hostile to British interests in Ireland, but also aimed at demoralising and fracturing the solidarity of the nationalist community.

But let us beware. Just as the loss of internment was compensated for by torture, and its loss in turn compensated for by the use of the paid perjurer, so also, when this current inequitable practice becomes untenable, compensation will be found in some equally corrupt ‘legal’ practice.

The Diplock judge goes through the farce of self-administered warning before consigning the life of a young Irish man or woman to a British jail. Each time he does it, let him also take warning from us: the IRA condemns him as guilty as the crown forces murderers whom he consistently returns to our streets.

The shoot-to-kill policy, with its periodic legal sanction from the British judiciary and, in the absence of condemnation, its moral sanction from the Catholic and Protestant hierarchies, continues abreast with the paid-perjurer tactic in an attempt to break our will to resist.

The Catholic Hierarchy’s role in the liberation struggle is well-known. The Catholic Hierarchy has a duty to adjudicate on moral issues for its flock. But if it is to have a moral position on the use of force it must be on indivisible morality and not a selective one. Selective morality can only be judged to be ideologically motivated and political in substance and aspiration.

We therefore pose this to Bishop Cahal Daly who has maintained a series of pro-SDLP, politically motivated attacks on us. Will you, as publicly and as stridently, demand similar moral caution from the British Catholic hierarchies to their flock in relation to the vast majority of British politicians and all three major political parties who have refused to condemn the several hundreds of murders committed by crown forces in Ireland? For, surely, what is concerned here, in an era of attempted ecumenism, is Christian morality.

The refusal to answer these questions should leave no one in any doubt as to which side Bishop Cahal Daly is on.

The IRA’s use of revolutionary force results from the inescapable fact that we are left with no peaceful or democratic alternative by which to achieve the national rights of our people.

It is a reluctant course of action for any oppressed people to take because of the repression unleashed by such a vicious imperialist power as Britain. But we will not lie down. We cannot lie down. Our martyrs, our people, our children and the unborn generations demand that we pursue this struggle to a successful conclusion and end this evil forever.

South of the British-imposed border, the politicians of Leinster House continue to defend their self-interests above all else and ignore our national rights and the lives and well-being of Northern nationalists.

While, in their poverty, idleness and seeming lack of purpose in life, the unemployed youth of our cities fall victim to the escapism of deadly narcotics, the Leinster House politicians continue to spend tens of millions of the tax-payers’ money in protecting the British-imposed border, harassing republicans and bugging each other. Over-flights by British army helicopters, into an allegedly sovereign state, continue with open official sanction while the special units of the British army and RUC, with murder their objective, use the state’s territory with the covert sanction of the authorities, and when they are discovered there are merely squeaks of protest.

The ever-increasing spiral of collaboration with the crown forces reached a new peak in March with the indecently-hurried extradition of Dominic McGlinchey in an act of treachery unparalleled in Western Europe since the French Vichy government handed over members of the French resistance to the Nazis.

In desperation, they cite the IRA as justification for increasingly draconian legislation. Let us again be categoric in this matter: the Irish Republican Army is not out to overthrow the twenty-six counties by force of arms. Assertions to the contrary by Free State politicians and gardaí are based only on their fear of the growing political popularity of the republican cause in Ireland as a whole.

The much-heralded Dublin Forum report seems to be coming adrift. Conceived originally by the SDLP’s John Hume as a means of boosting that party’s political profile in the North’s nationalist community, it was readily acceded to by the major Leinster House parties in an attempt to bolster the SDLP’s flagging electoral appeal in the face of Sinn Féin’s republican alternative at the polling booths in the North. The Forum’s first act, in the anti-democratic tradition of imperial Britain, was to disenfranchise the 100,000-plus nationalists who voted for Sinn Féin, by excluding Sinn Féin. But they have been caught in a trap of their own making. And it is now clear from the negotiating and bickering over compromising on Ireland’s nationhood that the true heirs of this tradition, of the men and women of 1916, are the Republican Movement, its activists and its supporters.

The Forum report, whatever its content, will be dismissed by unionists safely ensconced in their British-guaranteed veto while the British government itself will toy with it if it provides a harmless diversion, such as the Constitutional Convention of 1974-76, or if such toying would provide some benefit for the SDLP in the forthcoming EEC elections. Little has changed since Pádraig Pearse first wrote in 1914: “After all, there are in Ireland two parties: those who stand for the English connection and those who stand against it.” Nor will it ever change if the managers of this island and its people are allowed to prevail. But change it must, and change it will. The age-old demand of the Irish people for political independence is, in this generation, fast reaching irresistible proportions. That aspiration can only be justly fulfilled in the democratic, socialist republic for which we all strive, the republic of Pearse, Connolly and Mellows.

And the first part of our struggle, Britain getting kicked out of Ireland, will be achieved through the force of arms of the Irish Republican Army, supported by the oppressed people of Ireland and by the ongoing strides of Sinn Féin on the political front.

The Leadership of the Republican Movement, on this the 69th anniversary of the 1916 Rising, recalls with pride the memory of our fallen dead and extends to the families of our dead comrades our support and sympathy.

Without the sacrifices of these courageous Volunteers no advancement of the cause of freedom could have been made. Each Unit, each Battalion and Brigade of the Irish Republican Army has its own particular Volunteers to recall on this occasion which we set aside to honour our martyred comrades.

From their sacrifices we draw a strength which every single day drives our struggle forward and which will most certainly tip the scales against the British government and its forces.

The British soldiers on the streets, the RUC hiding with their machine-guns and rifles behind a foreign law, and the loyalist paramilitary UDR defending sectarianism, know that they are large in numbers but pathetically short in courage.

We represent the oppressed people of Ireland and our struggle will not cease until we have forced Britain to give up its imperial hold on our country and allow all the people of Ireland to nationally determine this island’s political future. This includes the people of the twenty-six counties, the nationalist people of the North and those presently tied to the disastrous philosophy of sectarian superiority known as loyalism.

British interests, loyalist supremacy and Free Stateism coincide on the maintenance of partition and it is partition which is the cause of the bloodshed and many other ills in Ireland. But it is the British government which is the major factor in maintaining the status quo and it is against that government and its forces that we direct our resources.

Against the Dublin government and its attempts to channel politics into a truncated twenty-six county nationalism, we direct not physical force, as they falsely allege, but the republican analysis which they suppress and are afraid to debate.

Successive Dublin governments know that diplomacy and appeals to Britain will not succeed in achieving any major breakthrough and have not even wrung any minor concessions which they can package as progress being made. In the past, huffing and puffing has enabled Dublin governments to deceive the public with a pretence of activity.

However, the enduring nature of our struggle and the political successes of Sinn Féin in bringing to the people the message of republicanism will increasingly force changes in Free State politics. We congratulate Sinn Féin in its efforts to channel censorship and repression and we fully support the strategies as adopted at ard-fheiseanna.

We also thank the workers of An Cumann Cabhrach, Green Cross and the PDF committees for their tireless efforts on behalf of our prisoners and their families and the National Graves Association under whose auspices monuments to our fallen comrades have been erected and cared for.

The leadership of the Republican Movement takes this opportunity to send revolutionary greetings to our imprisoned comrades in jails in Ireland, Britain and America and a special word of mention to our sisters in Armagh Prison, where the regime there attempts to humiliate them through strip-searching.

Just as we will not tolerate the repression of our people on the streets, we have also recently shown that we are not prepared to accept brutality against defenceless prisoners. The administrators of Armagh should take note of this.

Finally, we congratulate republican solidarity groups throughout the world for their ongoing support for our just struggle. We thank our friends in the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain and Europe for their defence of our cause.

In 1916, a handful of visionaries took over the GPO in Dublin and declared the Irish Republic. After a week of bloody fighting they were defeated. In 1985, the revolutionary Irish Republican Army, organised, active and confident of victory, will see this struggle through to a peaceful conclusion.

Last October in Brighton, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher received a token of the price to be paid for the occupation of our country. The British government cannot defeat the Irish Republican Army, our struggle has shown that.

But we can and will outlast British support for loyalism and we will be victorious.

Beidh bua ag Óglaigh na hÉireann. Beidh bua ag muintir na hÉireann. Beidh an bua againn uilig. Victory to the Irish people. Victory to the Irish Republican Army.

On this, the 70th anniversary of the 1916 Rising, the leadership of the Republican Movement joins with Irish men and women throughout Ireland and across the world in remembering with pride our patriot dead and rededicating ourselves to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Irish Republic.

We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the families of those brave, incorruptible men and women who have given their lives that we may be free. We also hold a special place in our hearts and minds today for those Irish republican prisoners held in jails throughout the world, some of whom have now entered their 14th year of detention. We promise you the continued support of our Volunteers and once again commit ourselves to providing welfare for yourselves and your families. Your only crime is that you have dared to accept the summons of the 1916 Proclamation: to strike for freedom. We send solidarity greetings to you all and to your families.

Not since the aftermath of the 1916 Rising and the Tan War period of 1919-1921 have the Irish people stood so close to freedom and national self-determination as this present generation. Throughout the long years of uncompromising armed and political struggle they have faced down and overcome the might of British rule and loyalist reaction in the six counties. It is no coincidence that a frustrated, embarrassed and demoralised British regime has now attempted to repeat a strategy last used successfully by them in 1921 to subvert the course and direction of the republican freedom struggle initiated in 1916.

They have turned to that most treacherous class of the Irish people: the monied and politically-privileged people who rejoiced at the death of Connolly and Mac Diarmada because they feared their revolutionary message and who have attempted to kill off even the memory of those men. They have built for themselves a dynasty of political power in Dublin which can quite readily merge with British interests in Ireland. While this renegade twenty-six-county establishment pays lip-service to the 1916 Proclamation, it can never institute the Irish Republic declared therein because it is not their republic but the republic of the Irish people.

The Dublin ruling class now fears, along with its six-county constitutionalist allies and the British government, that the Republican Movement has the potential and commitment to bring about the Irish Republic declared and enshrined in the 1916 Proclamation. They fear this so much so that they have been quite willing to go openly into an ‘unholy alliance’ as agreed in the Hillsborough Treaty. Underlying every letter of this agreement the fundamental intent is clear, to maintain Ireland as it is, divided by partition, class and creed, and to smash republicanism which seeks to end division by removing the root cause of that division, direct and indirect British rule and domination.

The agreement will fail (despite the massive media hype) not because republicans ‘need’ to bring it down but because it cannot bring peace, it is not aimed at removing the root cause of conflict: Britain. This agreement is not the path to peace but the road to further war and struggle; both past and contemporary history proves this. They should accept now that the IRA will not disappear through increased repression and even execution. It did not disappear after 1916 when they executed the leaders and interned thousands and nor did it in 1981 when they executed ten republicans on hunger-strike in Long Kesh after years at the hands of a barbarous, brutal prison system which had inflicted repression and torture at will. Neither will Sinn Féin disappear; it is no temporary phenomenon but a principled response to the ills of British and Free State rule in Ireland.

Today, more than ever before, highly-politicised republican activists are determined and confident that they can and will see Ireland re-united and free.

We, the leadership of the Republican Movement, now address fundamental questions to every underprivileged, every oppressed member of the Irish people, the working class, the small farmers, women and youth, and the poverty-stricken inner-city and rural populations.

Is the twenty-six-county state or the six-county sectarian statelet the type of society that you want in the future? Is the twenty-six-county state the Republic that was declared in 1916 and defined in the Proclamation and the Democratic Programme of the First Dáil? Is it an Ireland run by the people for the people? If you agree that it is not then now is the time to join with us in the Republican Movement to bring change to Ireland.

We have no time for the forced divisions of the working class and the sectarianism which partition has fostered. We have no time for systems that leave over one million of our people in poverty in the twenty-six counties and half a million discriminated against by loyalist fascists in the North. We have no war with Protestant Irish people; our war is with Britain and we shall not be forced into war with the present twenty-six-county regime, even though we are diametrically opposed to the state that they uphold. We recognise that the state can only be challenged and changed by the vast majority of the Irish people, the oppressed and underprivileged, and we are confident that, if organised, they can make the necessary radical political changes.

The growing Republican Movement will not end its struggle despite the earnest wishes of the Catholic Church, the SDLP or the Dublin government. We have no intention of lying down and forgetting about the British presence, endemic poverty, unemployment and social deprivation which plague our people.

We salute the brave and incorruptible men and women of the Irish Republican Army whose continuity, ingenuity and tenacity have thwarted any British attempts to put down our people. In the past year you have proved your increased potential to make Britain’s war in Ireland a costly exercise in terms of life and money.

We salute the activists of Sinn Féin who work tirelessly at organising mass resistance and propagating an increased revolutionary awareness amongst our people despite constant harassment, murder and censorship. You will be the guarantors of our Irish Socialist Republic.

We salute all the men and women, the youth and the aged, who are active in any part of the Movement and who consistently support it at home and abroad, especially those who provide our Volunteers with the back-up in terms of safe houses, arms dumps etc upon which every revolutionary army depends.

As a leadership we only reflect your ingenuity, initiative and courage, your effort, hope and commitment. This is your struggle. Its intensity and potential will be reflected by your effort as much as by any strategy that we may draw up. We are proud to say that your effort and commitment have been unsurpassed. You should be confident, as we are, that the Republican Movement will bring victory.

Victory to the Irish people! Victory to the Irish Republican Army!

The leadership of the Republican Movement sends greetings to all comrades and their families and republican supporters the world over on this the 71st anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising and Proclamation of the Irish Republic. We send greetings to our solidarity organizations in Australia, throughout Europe, in Britain, and to Irish Northern Aid, and thank them for their continuing support. We thank particularly our exiles in America who have consistently and generously contributed towards the welfare of the prisoners and their families. The lobbying, publicity efforts and activities of Irish Northern Aid down the years have preoccupied the British government and forced them on the defensive.

Easter is the occasion when we honour our fallen dead, when we remember those men and women activists, young and old, who paid the ultimate sacrifice on the street, in the field, or the prison cells; who gave their lives so that our children, the future generation, shall have peace in Ireland.

We recall the memory of all those who died in the cause of Irish freedom in the current campaign and in previous periods of struggle. To their families we offer our endless sympathy and we renew our commitment to armed resistance. We know that our successes against the occupation forces, our edging towards victory, must be of some comfort to them in their sorrow, in that the cause for which their loved ones died has not been abandoned and is being pursued with a fresh vigour.

The present leadership of the Republican Movement is more representative of the committed grassroots, of IRA Volunteers, than ever before. It is a leadership which was democratically elected by volunteers in convention last September and it has been tasked with building a strong guerrilla army capable of winning this war, not handing down another glorious defeat.

All successful struggles rely on a military and political basis. We agree with the building of a popular republican party in the course of the armed struggle and we refuse to be over-euphoric with electoral victories or disillusioned or deterred by set-backs.

The British will only be talked out of Ireland through the rattle of machine guns and the roar of explosives. And the Republic cannot be talked in but has to be painstakingly worked for.

This Easter we need no long speech.

We have comradeship, we have courage. Our prisoners have thrown back their imprisonment into the faces of their jailors, and from them and the prison struggle we draw immense strength.

Our commitment is unquestionable.

It has been a long, long time since the Irish Republican Army has felt so confident, so sure of victory, so happy about the future, even though for many of us the coming fight may mean imprisonment or death.

We do not shirk from those necessary sacrifices because at the end of the day British rule will be finished in Ireland, once and for all.

Now we will go and talk Britain out of Ireland our way, with the only words they understand.

We will talk them out of their spy posts and bunkers and barracks and off the streets until they hear us and hear us right!

We will talk to them until they heed us, and we will only stop talking when they leave us and leave us in peace.

Onwards to victory and freedom!

The leadership of the Republican movement sends greeting to all its Volunteers, to their families and Republican supporters at home and abroad on this the 72nd Anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising and the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.

We especially thank our solidarity organization, Irish Northern Aid, which has remained loyal in the face of enemy propaganda pitched at undermining support for the struggle for Irish freedom.

Throughout the past year many Volunteers of Óglaigh na hÉireann have paid the supreme sacrifice as a result of their commitment to peace, justice and freedom for the Irish people and an end to British oppression. We remember with pride Volunteers Finbarr McKenna, Declan Arthurs, Seamus Donnelly, Tony Gormley, Eugene Kelly, Paddy Kelly, Jim Lynagh, Padraig McKearney, Gerard O’Callaghan, Paddy Deery, Eddie McSheffrey, Peter Rodden, Brendan Burns, Brendan Moley, Mairead Farrell, Dan McCann, Sean Savage, Kevin McCracken and Caoimhín Mac Bradaigh.

To their families we extend our deepest sympathy. Their deaths have caused great sadness to relatives, friends and comrades. The tragedy of these bereavements, and the deaths of nationalists at the hands of state forces and their loyalist allies, is that there would be no violent deaths, no deaths of soldiers or RUC men, but for the imperialist greed and pride of successive British governments which claim the authority to rule us, to judge us, to convict us, to kill us.

Britain also has a price to pay for its imperialism. It may not be as high as the price that our small nation has paid but in what lies ahead it will be a price so overwhelming as to force them to withdraw and leave us in peace.

Even British army generals are now admitting that there can be no military victory over the struggle of the Irish people for national self-determination. That message, however, has not been absorbed by Thatcher’s murder executive. We have a message for the British government: we will demoralize you, we will make the six counties into a millstone which will strangle you, and we will eventually defeat you.

Our strategy is clear. It is to sap the political will of the British government and the British people to remain in Ireland. The means are limited guerrilla warfare against crown forces. It is not the intention of the Republican movement to become involved in confrontation with the forces of the 26 counties, as the British, and some politicians in the 26 counties, would like. They are not our military enemy even though all their actions against us have the effect of supporting British rule and perpetuating partition.

It is a tribute to this generation of Volunteers and political activists that our movement is recognized as being comprised of courageous people with a coherent political strategy for peace. We continue to advance, to progress, and to continue to march towards victory.

On this day, the anniversary of the declaration of the Irish Republic, we repledge ourselves, at the gravesides of our fallen comrades, to the struggle for freedom, the struggle for independence, the struggle to be rid once and for all of British rule.

Come and join the struggle for peace, justice and independence. Join that struggle now.

The leadership of the Republican Movement remembers with pride the Volunteers of Óglaigh na hÉireann from this generation who laid down their lives for the freedom of the Irish people. They, and the countless thousands of martyrs from previous periods of struggle, are saluted by comrades, friends and relatives as heroes in the cause of Irish freedom.

To their families, we extend our endless sympathy. Though they have remained quietly in the background, their homes are still desolate, their hearts still broken by the grief that Britain has inflicted on our people. On this, the 73rd anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising and the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, we commemorate all those patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

To those around the world campaigning against the British presence in Ireland and in favor of national self-determination, who identify with our struggle for liberation, we send greetings and our gratitude.

We acknowledge the painstaking efforts of Irish Northern Aid and their attempts to broaden support in the United States, and the work of Australian Aid, of solidarity groups in Canada, Britain and Europe, and their support for the prisoners and their families. We congratulate Sinn Féin for its ongoing political work and wish it success in the forthcoming elections. Its members also have born the terrible price of assassination, because of their commitment to peace with justice in Ireland.

This year sees the 20th anniversary of the open deployment of the British army in the six counties. Their attempts to impose British rule on the Irish people have failed time after time. These forces and their government will never be accepted.

The channel for resistance to British rule remains the Irish Republican Army, which is at the forefront of the armed struggle. For 20 years, our Volunteers have fought and died. Our people have suffered curfew, internment, torture, hunger-strike and execution.

A large number of young married men have been featured among our war dead, leaving behind the tragedy of premature widowhood and young mothers left to raise their children alone. We remember them in our thoughts.

To those children, we make no immediate promises, no boasts, no empty gestures. But we say this, with all the conviction at our command, that in the future, in the Ireland of our making, there will be peace and prosperity. There will be NO discrimination, NO sectarianism, NO favoritism, NO triumphalism, and NO British soldiers.

There will be equality; there will be prosperity; there will be harmony and there will be peace.

We are a risen people, a people not prepared to go back to being second-class and to being dispossessed of our nationhood.

We have made sacrifices, and we will be repaid with victories. And today our hearts thump with pride in memory of the Volunteers who contributed in the coming great victory of the oppressed over the oppressor, of the Irish Republican Army over the combined military forces and resources of the British government.

Victory to the Irish Republican Army! Victory to the Irish People!

A chairde,

Greetings on the 74th anniversary of the armed insurrection of Easter 1916 and the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. In commemorating this day as a great turning point in the struggle for freedom and democracy in Ireland, the leadership of the Republican Movement remembers with pride and honors those heroes of Irish freedom who have given their lives throughout the years. Today we especially pay tribute to those who have died since Easter last year. To all their families we send our heartfelt sympathy.

The leadership salutes our friends and supporters at home and abroad. In the U.S.A., Irish Northern Aid and its counterpart in Australia, Australian Aid for Ireland, are to be congratulated for working so hard to harness the potential of the large Irish communities. Greetings also to groups and individuals in Canada, Britain and continental Europe and in other countries who have come to our aid over the years and whose assistance is much appreciated.

We acknowledge the great and continuing contribution of prisoners who, in refusing to see themselves as casualties of war, no matter in which gaol or country, participate in or contribute to all facets of the struggle. To their long suffering families and the families of all activists, we send greetings and an understanding of the great hardships they face.

In saluting the activists of Óglaigh na hÉireann and Sinn Féin, men and women, young and old, we are aware of the daily sacrifice that such work entails. Acts of bravery amongst Volunteers of the Irish Republican Army have been so frequent as to be commonplace. In other circumstances, such courage would be shouted from the hilltops; the world media would laud it and applaud it. Let us take this public opportunity to applaud loudly the heroism of Republican activists, risking their lives daily to face the colossus of the British war machine.

Every period of armed resistance to British occupation throughout the centuries has been preceded by periods of peaceful protest and non-violent political methods. In all cases, such methods were initially either ignored or marginal and then, without exception, ruthlessly crushed. It has been the repetitive lesson of British military might which has always forced Irish people to the conclusion that only a combination of armed and political struggle could ever force the British to leave our country.

When in the late 1960’s, the civil rights movement was again bludgeoned into the ground, the men and women of the Irish Republican Army took up arms reluctantly. But like their counterparts in 1916, once that political decision was taken, they committed their lives to the achievement of a free and united Ireland.

Republicans enter the 1990’s more committed and more capable than at any other period in history. While Britain remains in Ireland, its troops and policy makers will not be safe in Ireland, Britain, continental Europe, or indeed in any part of the world.

The Irish Republican Army have stated that they will talk to anyone at any time and without preconditions on how to achieve democracy, justice and a lasting peace in Ireland. We have participated in such talks with the British government on two occasions. Let it be understood that the leadership continues to fulfill its duty to seek a principled and just settlement based on an independent Ireland. But let it be clear also that while the oppressive military presence remains in the six counties, then it is our duty to fight that oppression.

In addressing the Unionist population, we would point out that peace and justice in this country can only be realized in the context of independence and democracy. For this reason we must forthrightly reject the idea that any national minority can exercise a veto over the democratic rights of the Irish people. It is not just undemocratic, but anti-democratic. We make a direct appeal to the Unionist population to analyse their traditional support for the union with Britain. Your future lies with the rest of the Irish people in a democracy in which your rights will be guaranteed and defended. We are adherents to the 1916 Proclamation in which “The Republic guarantees religious and civil liberties to all its citizens.” We adhere to the Republic “cherishing all the children of the nation equally.”

Peter Brooke said recently that the IRA cannot be defeated. In saying that, he was both agreeing with his own generals and with us. But we will go further; our struggle is the manifestation of the resistance and will of the Irish people at home and abroad. We are the cutting edge of the people’s resistance which will finally sever the British stranglehold over our country. We will have victory! And at a time of the year when we remember and salute our dead comrades and friends, our salute is a statement that we will continue on to victory.

Victory to the Irish Republican Army! Victory to the Irish people!

We declare the right of the Irish people to the ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies to be sovereign and indefeasible.

So stated the leadership of the army of the Irish Republic in 1916. Today, at the graves of our fallen comrades, we the republican movement reiterate that statement.

This is the 75th anniversary of the Easter rising. Our struggle for democracy and freedom in our own land has been long and hard. It goes back centuries and many men and women have given their lives that our children may live lives free from British oppression.

Easter is the traditional time of remembrance. The bravery of those who gave their lives in Easter week or who subsequently died facing British firing squads is legend. We salute and applaud them.

But let it be said loudly and with great pride that since then and indeed in the past 22 years many, many more Irish men and Irish women have shown great valor in facing the might of the British war machine.

We pay equal homage to them and to their selfless sacrifice which is an inspiration to us all in our ongoing and unfinished struggle.

We send greetings to all the families and friends of our dead; heroes and heroines themselves, who have borne the great burden of personnel loss over many years. Our hearts are at one with yours.

We send greetings also to the families and friends of our imprisoned comrades who daily suffer the emotional and financial hardship of forced separation.

The republican movement greets political prisoners in Ireland, England and further afield, who in the midst of incarceration and brutality, have steadfastly refused to allow their isolation to separate them from the struggle. You have turned imprisonment into resistance, which has greatly aided the struggle. We congratulate you and encourage you to enhance your contributions.

We send greetings to our friends and supporters at home and abroad, who have given great assistance in the search for democracy and freedom over the last twelve months.

Without your tremendous work our task would be that much more difficult.

To achieve freedom it is necessary to base our struggle on republican movement activity. We applaud the hard work and imagination of activists in Sinn Féin and we fully support them in their efforts at confronting British rule on the social, economic, political and cultural fronts. We congratulate them on their achievements on behalf of the working class. We wish them well in the forthcoming elections, they deserve the vote of every member of the nationalist community. Their task is difficult and we realize that like all who struggle for justice and freedom they daily face the threat of death.

We salute all those groups who in their own ways struggle to wrench justice and lasting peace from the British, whether it be in the trade unions, in women’s groups, in the field of culture or in the fight against repression and censorship. The struggle for freedom and democracy is multi-faceted and we warmly welcome the efforts of all who genuinely strive for peace and oppose injustice.

To the men and women of the republican movement we say, your ingenuity, imagination and courage are a credit to you all. Friend and foe alike recognize you as the most capable and advanced movement in the world.

Facing the danger of sudden death or lengthy imprisonment, and operating in the poverty endemic to the republican movement, you have shown, be it your troops on the ground or in the air in the six counties or be it against the power centers of England, where those who legislate for this war have been served notice of the price they will have to pay.

The republican movement’s message to the British government on this historic occasion remains a straightforward and honest one, backed by the precedents and the lessons of history. War has been foisted upon us by occupation. The republican movement does not shrink from the challenge that offers. The republican movement has the dedication and, most importantly, the commitment to continue the struggle until the end of the foreign military and political presence.

Peter Brooke and John Major should not miss today’s opportunity. They should have the strength to reject the gloating jingoism of the post-Gulf War period, witnessed in the recent statement from British GOC Wilsey. British military solutions have been tried and have failed, that same lesson can be learned from every colonial conflict the world over. Their experiment in establishing the sectarian statelet has been an abysmal failure; attempts to tinker with it are similarly doomed.

The IRA cannot be defeated because it is of the people and exists among them. Only by the destruction of the Irish people themselves can they extinguish the desire for freedom.

The only solution not yet tried in Ireland, but proven in all other colonial situations, is one based on the withdrawal of the colonial power. Only in the context of Irish independence is there any hope of lasting peace with justice for all.

This is Ireland, yet we are denied the right of being Irish in our own land. As oppressed people we will continue to strive for freedom and democracy, no matter the odds and no matter the length of time involved. We have the will and determination to outlast British occupation. We are prepared for the sacrifices. Our will and resolve will outlive that of those who legislate for the continuation of occupation and the perpetuation of war.

Our people will be victorious. We will have our freedom.

The Republican Leadership extends warm and comradely greetings to you, its friends and supporters on this 76th anniversary of the proclamation of the Irish Republic.

Gathered here in homage to those who have given their lives that we may be free, we solemnly pledge ourselves to carrying on their work. We reaffirm our commitment to forcing a British disengagement from the remaining occupied portion of our national territory, and we vow not to desist from our efforts until Ireland stands forth before the world a nation independent and free.

Since we last assembled in honor of our dead, yet more of our comrades have paid the supreme sacrifice in the cause of freedom.

To the families, friends and comrades of volunteers Colum Marks, Tony Doris, Larry McNally, Pete Ryan, Patricia Black, Frankie Ryan, Joe McManus, Peter Clancy, Kevin Barry O’Donnell, Seán O’Farrell and Patrick Vincent we extend our deepest and most heartfelt sympathy. Their dedication and selflessness will serve to inspire and sustain us in the work that lies ahead. They, like all who have fallen in our nation’s struggle for freedom, are true peacemakers and liberators. They shall be remembered and honored long after those who attack and vilify them have been forgotten and erased from living memory.

The past year has seen our enemy intensify its efforts at crushing the spirit and resistance of our people. Increased repression and murder by official and unofficial state death squads have exacted a high price from our community, but in spite of all this the defiant answer from a risen people has been that we are not for sale any more than our birthright of nationhood is for sale. The right of the Irish people to national independence and freedom is sovereign and indefeasible and, standing on that right, Óglaigh na hÉireann have shown that they will continue to assert in arms that no foreign power can, nor will, diminish that right.

The recent Westminster elections, in which Sinn Féin’s vote held solid in spite of massive odds, is testimony to that commitment and dedication of the hundreds and thousands of unsung heroes who have withstood the lies and intimidation, the distortion and the repression, the blackmail and the terror and who have through it all loudly shouted their message: “The croppies are not for lying down.”

The theft of the West Belfast seat by an unholy alliance of loyalist and anti-republican elements, whilst it has angered the republican people, has in no way dented us. The people will reclaim their seat at the earliest opportunity. In the interim, republicans will redouble their efforts on every front to ensure that this struggle of ours continues to move forward.

In the meantime, Óglaigh na hÉireann have shown that they will apply themselves with all their energy and ingenuity to the task of sapping the will of the British. Óglaigh na hÉireann have demonstrated that they have the capacity and the determination to stay the course and to prosecute the struggle with discipline and resolution for as long as necessary. Sooner, rather than later, those who sustain this conflict will realize the futility of their position and will opt for resolving, rather than prolonging the war. In the meantime Óglaigh na hÉireann have shown that they will, with every means at their disposal, bring home to them that there is a high price to be paid for occupying part of our nation.

Let us go forward from here, facing into the year ahead with determination and courage, inspired by the example of our fallen comrades and sure in the knowledge that we will prevail and shall see Ireland take its rightful place among the free nations of the world. Beirigí Bua.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann extends greetings to all its friends, activists and supporters, both at home and abroad.

We extend warm greetings and continued solidarity to the families of our dead and all of our prisoners and their relatives. We especially send greetings to all our active-service Volunteers here in Ireland and further afield, and we applaud their determination which continues to ensure no respite for our enemy.

On this the 77th anniversary of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, we echo the words of the freedom fighters of 1916 and again proclaim the sovereign right of the Irish people to the ownership of Ireland and the unfettered control of Irish destinies.

In homage to the fallen generations and to you the people who have remained firm and resolute in the face of massive odds, we the leadership, solemnly pledge not to desist from our efforts until Ireland stands forth before the world, a nation independent and free.

Our struggle yet again stands at a historic crossroads; assaults upon the sovereign rights of our nation have been escalating for some time past, but it is essential, in the face of all this, that we the republican people hold firm and remain unshaken. Not least among the current assaults on our national rights is the joint British/Unionist political offensive which aims to copper-fasten partition and set the Unionist veto in bronze, thus conferring on a national minority the power to block the desires of the overwhelming majority of our people.

Backing this political offensive has been the refined use of loyalist death squads, armed with the assistance of British intelligence and supplied with crown forces’ information.

We reiterate that our struggle seeks the establishment of the conditions which will allow for a democratic resolution of the conflict, based upon the right of the Irish people as a whole to determine their own future free from outside interference. The historic and ongoing violent denial of Irish national rights by the British state has been the sole factor which has led to conflict down the generations, and it is that same factor which still makes armed resistance in the Six Counties necessary.

Within a few short weeks, a British electoral contest in the Six Counties will provide the opportunity for nationalists to register their opposition to continued British rule. Every effort must be made at maximizing this demand for an end to British interference in Irish affairs. Sinn Féin, in its efforts at providing political leadership and representation for nationalists, has paid a heavy price and paid it with great courage. We in the leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann pay tribute to all incoming and outgoing Sinn Féin representatives. We salute their courage for having stood and for continuing to stand in the frontline in spite of the constant threat, and often the reality, of murderous attack.

We pledge them our continued solidarity and comradeship.

Easter is traditionally a time for reflection. As we stand here in honor of our dead, each of us should take strength from their example so we can once again rededicate ourselves to the task ahead.

Beirigí bua.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann extends seasonal and fraternal greetings to all its friends and supporters, both at home and further afield.

Easter for Republicans marks a time for reflection and rededication. As we gather in groups, large and small, we call to mind all those who have died in the cause of Irish freedom. We especially call to mind those who have died over the past year. We extend sympathy and solidarity to all their families, particularly those of Volunteers Jimmy Kelly and Thomas Begley.

Our struggle is a long, proud and resilient one. At this juncture, we celebrate and commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Easter Rising of 1916, we renew our Republican faith and rededicate ourselves to the cause of Irish freedom.

Our objectives, which include the recognition and the exercise of the Irish people’s right to national self-determination, are well known. Our commitment and our unity of purpose remain steadfast. Our commitment to peace is also a matter of public accord. This is evidenced in the welcome we gave in October 1993 to the Irish Peace Initiative, its underlying principles and dynamic which emerged publicly from the Adams/Hume talks. It remains our view that this could provide the basis for peace. Recently, we reiterated the abiding and enduring nature of our commitment to the development of a genuine peace process. We stated our view that all involved should leave no stone unturned. We recognize that this commitment is shared by others, but from our perspective, there is little evidence that this includes the British government.

Last year, in an effort to enhance the success of proposed meetings between Sinn Féin and the British government, we agreed to a British government proposal to suspend operations for two weeks. In the event the British government rejected this, and in so doing, closed down the potential opportunity for progress which this represented. Our statement of March 13th reiterates our continued willingness to be positive and flexible in exploring the potential for moving the situation forward.

As further evidence of that, we will unilaterally suspend offensive military actions for 72 hours from Tuesday, April 5th, until midnight Friday, April 8th. There are no conditions attached to this unilateral initiative, but we hope that the British government will accept this further opportunity in this spirit in which it is offered and utilize it to the best advantage of the British and Irish people. Making peace is a difficult business for all involved, but the difficulties must be overcome. That is the responsibility of all involved, but particularly, the British government. We hope that the further opportunity here provided is used to that purpose and effect.

In conclusion, we Republicans, as we celebrate and commemorate Easter, will draw strength and inspiration from our fallen dead and will face the tasks, challenges and opportunities of the coming year with commitment and unity of purpose.

The Republican Leadership extends seasonal and fraternal greetings to its activists, supporters and friends at home and abroad.

To our imprisoned comrades in Ireland, England, Europe and America and to their families we extend warm greetings and continued solidarity.

As we commemorate the 79th Anniversary of the Easter Rising we recall all those comrades who have given their lives in pursuit of Irish freedom. To their families and loved ones we extend heartfelt solidarity.

We also salute and pay tribute to the men and women Volunteers of Óglaigh na hÉireann who for over a quarter of a century of armed struggle have thwarted and frustrated every British attempt at shoring up their failed presence on this island. On August 31 last year Óglaigh na hÉireann embarked on an initiative aimed at enhancing the climate for inclusive negotiations which would, given the political will on all sides, lead to a just and lasting resolution of this conflict. Republicans entered into this new situation in a spirit of determination, confidence and unity determined that the injustices which created this conflict can be removed and confident in the strength and justice of our struggle to achieve this.

This struggle, sustained by our people’s desire to be free, remains confident and determined. No one, least of all our opponents, should doubt that. Nor should they delude themselves about our commitment to face whatever challenges and tasks that lie ahead. Our desire for freedom has outlived every British administration in Ireland and has faced down all the powerful resources pitted against us. That desire for freedom will endure until our nation’s fundamental right to national self-determination is finally exercised free from outside interference or impediment of any kind.

The last quarter century of conflict stems directly from British policy and from the unionist intransigence which the British military and political presence sustains. Britain’s core responsibility logically dictates that they must face up to their role in any process aimed at finding a solution to the conflict. Britain’s shouldering of its responsibilities is essential if such a process is to be meaningful or is to have any hope of success.

An historic opportunity has been created for the realisation of a just and lasting peace. It is self evident that partition has failed and indeed that British rule has failed. All parties must therefore resolve to leave behind the failures of the past and must seize this potential opportunity to build a new and free Ireland which removes the division of the past and creates in their place a peaceful and shared future where all the children of the nation will be cherished equally.

The strength and determination of Irish republicans and nationalists as we face into a new millennium is the true measure of the hope and confidence with which we view the future. Today as we stand before the graves of generations of Irish republicans all of us personally rededicate ourselves to the struggle which remains to be completed. Let everyone leave here today determined to play their part no matter how great or small in finally bringing to fruition that for which so many have suffered and died.

Beirigí Bua.

On this the 80th anniversary of the Easter Rising the leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann 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 our imprisoned comrades, their loved ones and families we extend continuing solidarity and support. We salute them. We salute also the Volunteer soldiers of Óglaigh na hÉireann, in Ireland and overseas, and commend them for their continued discipline, fortitude and commitment. We also applaud the leadership and political activists of Sinn Féin for their continuing sterling work in the cause of justice, peace and democracy in Ireland. As we commemorate Easter we remember all those who have died for Irish freedom, we particularly remember Volunteer Eddie O’Brien, who died on active service in England on 18 February. To his family and comrades we extend our heartfelt sympathy.

Last Easter saw great hope and expectation. The IRA initiative of August 1994, which provided an unprecedented opportunity for the realization of a just and lasting peace, was by then over eight months in train. British intransigence was of course a cause for concern, yet hope remained. That hope and expectation was slowly and relentlessly strangled by a British government which squandered the historic opportunity presented to it. The British, rather than seize the moment, sought only to avoid any meaningful engagement in the Irish peace process. Their adoption of an unashamedly unionist agenda and their adherence to the utterly failed policies of exclusion and marginalization of republicans led to a deepening and worrying crisis. The British refused to engage and to persuade unionists to move one millimeter from their trenches. This, together with the disappointing performance of the Dublin government, led to the position where, rather than advancing towards a meaningful negotiations process free from preconditions, the Irish people were again faced with a hardline unionist shopping list underwritten by the British government. At the top of this list is a return to Stormont. That is never going to happen. Partition in Ireland was founded and sustained on injustice and a denial of democracy. It has failed and failed utterly.

The IRA whose mandate for armed struggle derives from Britain’s denial of the fundamental right of the Irish people to national self-determination and sovereignty has made its position abundantly clear. We reaffirm that position. The IRA remains fully committed to its republican objectives and for so long as Britain persists in its denial of national and democratic rights in Ireland then the IRA will continue to assert those rights.

The IRA, of course, remains ready to help in developing the conditions which will allow for a meaningful negotiations process, free from preconditions of any kind. The current position of the British, however, prevents all those in Ireland with a democratic mandate from sitting around the negotiating table. The British have no mandate or right in Ireland and they will not be permitted to set preconditions. It is self evident that the British denial of democracy in Ireland is at the core of the conflict. The resolution of that conflict demands justice. It demands a negotiated settlement. That is not possible until the British face up to their responsibilities.

As we commemorate our dead we reaffirm that the republican struggle remains confident. We 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. There remains only one place for all the representatives of the Irish people to go and that is to the negotiating table. It is our desire and resolve that they will go there in circumstances which will allow for the core issues at the heart of this conflict to be addressed and resolved. All who seek a genuine and lasting peace in Ireland should work for that same end.

We stand ready to meet our responsibilities. Others, not least the British, must do likewise. Beannachtaí na Cásca daoibh go léir.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann extends fraternal greetings to republican activists, supporters and friends at home and abroad and thanks them for their continued assistance.

As we gather in commemoration of the 81st anniversary of the Easter Rising, we remember all those who have died in the cause of Irish Freedom. We remember in particular Volunteer Diarmuid O’Neill, who was shot dead by British forces in London on last September 23rd.

We send solidarity greetings to our imprisoned comrades in Ireland, England, and America. We assure them, their families and loved ones of our ongoing support. We commend the POWs in the H Blocks for their recent attempt to effect their escape from captivity.

We salute the Volunteers of Óglaigh na hÉireann and applaud their discipline, determination, and continuing steadfast commitment to the cause for which those we commemorate today have given their lives.

We pay tribute to all those who continue to work to achieve lasting peace. We assure them that we share their goal of a durable and just peace settlement. We understand well their frustration with a British government which refuses to acknowledge its central responsibility for the continuation of the war in Ireland.

While British military occupation persists, the Irish people are denied their right to national self-determination and sovereignty. Faced with this reality, we remain committed to bringing the British government’s undemocratic rule of the occupied part of our country to an end, once and for all. We are determined to rid our country of a British government which has no mandate to rule here and which refuses to recognize the democratically established mandate of others.

On last October 7th, the IRA resumed military operations against British forces in the occupied six counties. In the period since then, we have demonstrated again and again that we retain the capacity and resources to continue to strike against those maintaining British occupation. Everyone should be assured that we are united, we are strong, and we remain steadfast in our determination to achieve our objectives.

Responsibility for the ongoing conflict rests firmly on the shoulders of the British government. The unprecedented opportunity for the establishment of a meaningful peace process presented by our initiative in August 1994 stands both as testimony to our belief that a resolution to the conflict here demands a process built upon inclusive negotiations and as proof of our willingness to facilitate such. Equally, the British government’s rejection of that opportunity and their attempts to use it in a vain attempt to divide and defeat republicans testify to the continuing predominance of a colonial military mindset among the most influential British-government politicians and officials in Whitehall.

John Major has unapologetically described himself as a defender of the Union. He has presided over a government that has demonstrated repeatedly an active pursuance of a Unionist and loyalist agenda. Last July, at Drumcree, bowing to a combined threat from the Orange Order and their associates in the loyalist death squads, Major and Mayhew served notice on nationalists throughout the occupied six counties of their continuing intention to bolster the Unionist veto over progress towards a resolution to the conflict.

Beating nationalist residents off Garvaghy Road, firing thousands of plastic bullets at nationalist demonstrators in Derry, and subsequent events at Dunloy and Harryville is proof that the six-county state remains nakedly sectarian, is maintained by military force and coercion, and can deliver no more than a perpetuation of injustice and denial of civil rights.

In the last year, we have witnessed ample evidence on the streets that nationalist determination is stronger than ever. The nationalist desire for justice has grown rather than diminished since civil-rights campaigners first took to the streets here thirty years ago. The full realization of this desire demands a British withdrawal and an end to an inherently sectarian six-county state.

In commemorating those who died in the cause of freedom, our most fitting tribute is a renewal of our commitment to the cause for which they selflessly gave their lives. Our objectives remain the reunification of our country and the establishment of a 32-county democratic socialist republic. We will not be deflected from these.

We have repeated often in the past and do so again today that we stand ready to face our responsibilities in facilitating a process aimed at securing a lasting resolution to the conflict between the British government and the Irish people. No such process can develop or be constructed without a similar commitment by the British government. Their refusal to make such a commitment and their futile pursuit of an IRA defeat serve no other end than the postponement of both lasting peace and the date of British withdrawal. We remain determined to bring that date forward.

Beirigí Bua.
(Signed) P. O’Neill, Irish Republican Publicity Bureau.

On this the 82nd Anniversary of the Easter Rising, the leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann extends fraternal greetings to republican activists, supporters, and friends, both at home and abroad, and expresses gratitude to them for their continued support and invaluable assistance.

In commemorating the Easter Rising, we remember with pride all those who have given their lives in the struggle for Irish freedom.

We send solidarity greetings to all our comrades incarcerated in Irish, English, and American prisons and pledge to them, their families and friends our continued support. We commend the POWs in the H Blocks for their recent attempt to effect their escape from captivity. We pay tribute to the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann. We applaud their continuing commitment and discipline.

We take this opportunity to reaffirm our determination to secure our republican objectives. We remain committed to ending British rule in Ireland and the reunification of our country.

On July 20th last, in announcing a complete cessation of military operations we again demonstrated our preparedness to enhance the search for a democratic peace settlement through real and inclusive negotiations. We commend all those who have lent their energy to build a negotiations process with a view to establishing a just and lasting peace. We applaud, in particular, the efforts of the Sinn Féin leadership and others who have worked tirelessly towards this goal.

We will carefully study the outcome of the talks process against its potential to move us towards our primary objective, a 32-county democratic, socialist republic. We will judge it against its potential to deliver a just and durable peace to our country. Conflict in Ireland has been an inevitable consequence of a refusal by successive British governments to pursue a democratic settlement. It remains to be seen if the current British government is prepared to rise to the challenge. The pursuit of a just settlement demands no attempt to enforce an internal settlement, as this cannot satisfy republican objectives or deliver a democratic settlement.

We face the future with the determination that republican people have shown over the last 30 years.

P. O’Neill, Republican Publicity Bureau, Dublin.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann extends fraternal greetings to republican activists, supporters and friends at home and abroad and thanks them for their continued assistance.

On this the 83rd anniversary of the Easter Rising, we commemorate all those who have given their lives for Irish Freedom. Without their efforts and sacrifice, the current opportunity for a just resolution to the conflict would not exist.

We send solidarity greetings to our comrades in Ireland and the United States.

We applaud the continuing steadfast commitment of the Volunteers of Óglaigh na hÉireann to the cause of Irish Freedom.

We reaffirm our commitment to our objectives, a united and independent Ireland, a national democracy, the achievement of which offers, we believe, the best guarantee of the establishment of a just and lasting peace. The IRA wants to see a permanent peace in this country.

We wholeheartedly support the efforts to secure a lasting resolution to the conflict. In our view the conflict is caused by British involvement in Irish affairs and by the injustices perpetuated by Unionist misrule since partition over 75 years ago.

Over the past five years, we have called and maintained two prolonged cessations of military operations to enhance the democratic process and underline our definitive commitment to its success. We have contributed in a real and meaningful way to the creation of a climate which would facilitate the search for a durable peace settlement. IRA guns are silent.

Previously we described the Good Friday Agreement as a significant development and have waited patiently for evidence of its potential to deliver tangible progress. For the past 12 months, progress towards its implementation has been blocked. The ongoing year-long siege of the nationalist community of Portadown, escalated loyalist attacks at critical points over the past year and continuing evidence of collusion are indicators of opposition to a democratic peace settlement. This opposition must be overcome.

The potential of the peace process to deliver real and lasting peace lies in its ability to bring meaningful change, to remove the injustices which created the conflict and to end the conflict itself. If the political will exists, the peace process contains the potential to resolve the conflict and deliver a durable peace.

Injustices which are direct consequences of the conflict must also be addressed. Towards this end we announced earlier this week the outcome of our investigation into the location of the burial sites of a number of people executed by Óglaigh na hÉireann more than 20 years ago. This was a sincere attempt to do all within our power to rectify an injustice for which we accept full responsibility.

The challenge for everyone, but particularly the British government, remains the removal of the causes of conflict in our country.
P. O’Neill.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann extends fraternal greetings to republican activists, supporters, and friends at home and abroad.

On this, the 84th anniversary of the Easter Rising, we commemorate all of those who have given their lives for Irish freedom. Without their efforts and sacrifice, the present opportunity for a just resolution of the conflict would not exist. We extend our solidarity to the families of our fallen Volunteers.

We extend solidarity to our imprisoned comrades and their families.

We commend the steadfast commitment and discipline of the Volunteers of Óglaigh na hÉireann.

We reaffirm our commitment to our republican objectives.

The IRA wants to see a permanent peace in our country.

Over the past five years we have called and maintained cessations of military operations. We have contributed in a meaningful way to the creation of a climate which would facilitate the search for a durable peace settlement.

In November 1999, in yet another demonstration of our commitment in the search for a durable peace, the leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann took an initiative to break the political logjam that had existed for the previous 18 months. The subsequent actions of the Ulster Unionist Party in its imposition of a deadline, and Peter Mandelson’s accusation of betrayal, were clear acts of bad faith.

Regrettably, the British government’s war with republicans continues, with ongoing British-intelligence covert-surveillance operations, with the remilitarization of South Armagh, Tyrone, Belfast, and other areas of the six counties. The RUC continues with its recruiting of informers and the harassment of nationalists on a daily basis. Those who seek a military victory need to understand that this cannot and will not happen.

In addition to this, the British government’s unilateral decision to collapse the political institutions in February highlights a lack of political will to bring about meaningful change.

The British government cannot hide behind or underwrite Unionist intransigence or those who seek a military victory over the IRA.

The challenge for everyone remains the removal of the causes of conflict in our country, and the British government cannot shirk its responsibility in that challenge.

This conflict is caused by British involvement in Irish affairs, partition, and the injustices which flow from that.

The British government must accept and deliver on its responsibilities in delivering the meaningful change required to create a durable peace.
P. O’Neill, Irish Republican Publicity Bureau, Dublin.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann extends fraternal greetings to republican activists, supporters and friends at home and abroad.

We reaffirm our belief that the British government claim to a part of Ireland, its denial of self-determination to the people of the island of Ireland, the partition of our country and the maintenance of social and economic inequality are the root causes of conflict. We reaffirm our commitment to the national reunification of Ireland.

On this, the 85th anniversary of the Easter Rising, we remember all of those who have given their lives in the cause of Irish Freedom. We salute the courage and fortitude of our Volunteers who have died in this phase of our historic struggle.

This year also marks the 20th anniversary of our ten comrades who died on hunger strike in Long Kesh. We remember Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, Raymond McCreesh, Patsy O’Hara, Joe McDonnell, Martin Hurson, Kevin Lynch, Kieran Doherty, Thomas McElwee and Michael Devine. By their courageous actions and sacrifice they smashed the British government’s attempt to criminalise our struggle for freedom. We also remember Michael Gaughan and Frank Stagg. This generation of republicans hold all of those who died on hunger strike in the same regard as previous generations held the men executed in 1916.

We extend solidarity to their families and to the families of all our fallen comrades.

We also extend our solidarity to our imprisoned comrades at home and abroad and to their families. Many of our comrades have now been released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement; the republican prisoners held in Castlerea should also be released.

Since 1994 the IRA has maintained cessations of military operations.

While not being party to the Good Friday Agreement, we have taken a number of unprecedented initiatives which further demonstrate our commitment to and desire for a permanent peace in Ireland.

We commend the resolve and discipline of our Volunteers in this period.

The political responsibility for ending the current crisis lies with the British government. There should be no attempt to renegotiate commitments previously made. Those who seek to defeat the IRA and Irish republicanism will not prevail.

Óglaigh na hÉireann remains committed to the achievement of our republican objectives and the vision of an Irish Republic as outlined in the Proclamation of 1916.

Beirigí bua.
P. O’Neill, Irish Republican Publicity Bureau, Dublin.

On this, the 86th anniversary of the Rising of Easter 1916, the leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann extend our solidarity to our Volunteers and their families and to our supporters at home and abroad. We also extend fraternal greetings to imprisoned comrades and to their families.

Easter is the day set aside by republicans to honor our dead. Today we remember our fallen comrades who gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom. We extend our solidarity to their families and we pay tribute to the dignified manner in which they carried their loss.

This Easter sees the initiation of the Roll of Remembrance, which will serve as a testimony to the many republicans, Volunteers and activists who have given lifelong and dedicated service to the Republic.

The IRA leadership would like to thank all of those who have organized Tírghrá, the national tribute to our fallen comrades. It is fitting that the families be honored in this unique way.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann reaffirm our commitment to our republican objectives. We seek the establishment of an Irish republic as outlined in the Proclamation of 1916. We reaffirm our commitment to the achievement of a just and lasting peace.

Since Easter last year, Sinn Féin has increased its electoral mandate in the Six Counties to unprecedented levels of popular support. The army recognizes that there is the potential to replicate this progress in the coming months in the 26 Counties. It is the duty of all republicans and nationalists to support this project. More and more people understand and embrace the republican analysis. Their voice and their demand for the reunification of Ireland grows stronger by the day.

As Irish republicans, the leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann believe that the unity of our country and its people is the only way to secure justice and to “cherish all the children of the nation equally.”

Since 1994, the IRA leadership has demonstrated the necessary commitment to ensure that a lasting and durable peace settlement can be found. We commend the discipline and integrity shown by our Volunteers and support base who, irrespective of the many and often politically manufactured difficulties which we have encountered in those intervening years, have remained strong and united.

However, the securing of a democratic peace settlement is not solely a task for republicans and we are mindful of the primary obligation of the British government and of the unionist leadership. The Irish government too has its responsibility.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann will not be deflected from our historic task and we pledge that our work will continue until we have achieved a democratic socialist Republic.
P. O’Neill, Irish Republican Publicity Bureau, Dublin.

The following statement was issued on Wednesday, 16 April.

“The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann extends fraternal greetings to republican activists, supporters and friends at home and abroad.

On this, the 87th anniversary of the Easter Rising, we commemorate all of those who have given their lives for Irish freedom.

We extend solidarity to the families of our fallen comrades. In particular, we extend our solidarity to the family of our comrade, Volunteer Keith Rogers, who died while defending his community in Cullaville on 12 March.

We extend solidarity to our imprisoned comrades and their families.

We commend the commitment and discipline of the Volunteers of Óglaigh na hÉireann.

We remain committed to our republican objectives, the establishment of an Irish Republic, as outlined in the Proclamation of 1916.

The root cause of conflict in Ireland is partition and the denial of self-determination to the people of Ireland.

All parties to the conflict have a role to play in bringing conflict to an end.

For our part, we have demonstrated our commitment to creating a just and lasting peace through the maintenance of our cessation and through a number of significant initiatives.

It is not possible, at this moment, to give a definitive comment on ongoing developments.

On Sunday 13 April, an Army statement said that we had shared concepts and draft elements on a range of issues with the British and Dublin governments. We gave our attitude on:

the current disposition of Óglaigh na hÉireann and the status of our cessation,
our future intentions,
our attitude to re-engagement with the IICD and engagement in a process of putting arms beyond use,
a third act of putting arms beyond use.

We also made it clear that we had then closed on a statement after internal consultation.

The following day a finalized statement was passed to the two governments.

We stand ready to issue that statement in due course.

We continue to monitor events very closely.

There has been much anger and annoyance among republicans at the media spins and leaks over recent days that have attempted to misrepresent our position.

We know that the majority of republicans have not seen the statement that was passed to the two governments.

We ask people to remain patient. We know that republicans will understand the sensitivities of the current situation.

We will speak for ourselves at the appropriate time.

This is a period for republicans to remain resolute.

The onus remains on the two governments and the political parties to fulfill their obligations and commitments.”

P. O’Neill
Irish Republican Publicity Bureau
Dublin

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann extends fraternal greetings to all Volunteers, to republican activists and to our supporters and friends at home and abroad.

We send solidarity greetings to our imprisoned comrades and their families.

On this, the 88th anniversary of the 1916 Rising, we especially remember our patriot dead and extend solidarity to their families. We commemorate the freedom fighters of all generations who have given their lives for Irish freedom.

Ten years ago, we declared a complete cessation of military operations to enhance the democratic peace process. We stated our belief that an opportunity to secure a just and lasting settlement had been created. Our cessation was not only a definitive and powerful signal of our commitment to that process, it was also a defining moment in the recent history of this island.

We stated that others, especially the British Government, had a duty to face up to their responsibilities.

In an attempt to deflect from the significance of our initiative and evade their responsibilities, the British Government of that time and the political leaderships of unionism became fixated with achieving the surrender of the IRA. They failed and despite their opposition the peace process was created.

In the period since, the IRA leadership has consistently demonstrated our commitment to advancing the process through a series of substantive initiatives, which have included:

Authorizing our representative to meet with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD).
Facilitating the inspection of IRA arms dumps by the International Inspectors on three separate occasions.
Agreeing a scheme with the IICD on putting arms completely and verifiably beyond use.
Implementing the agreed scheme on three separate occasions.

Throughout the ten years of our cessation there has been very serious provocation from British securocrats, their military forces and their allies in unionist paramilitarism.

In the same period, others within the British and Irish establishments have persisted with the idea of defeating republicans rather than moving forward. They are now on an offensive. The old conservative agenda has re-emerged.

The unionist paramilitaries are responding to that. IRA guns remain silent, despite an onslaught of unionist paramilitary violence against Catholics, including hundreds of attacks and a number of killings over the last year.

Today also, we are witnessing another attempt to criminalize and demonize republicans and the republican struggle. This time it is for selfish electoral reasons. Leading this are Irish politicians who stood idly by while Irish citizens, North and South, were being terrorized by the RUC, the British Army and their surrogates in the unionist death squads.

Twenty-three years ago, the men and women in the H-Blocks and Armagh Jail defeated the policy of criminalization. Ten Irish republicans died on Hunger Strike in defense of the integrity of the republican struggle. This new attempt will also fail.

Last October, agreements were made and commitments given. The IRA leadership fulfilled our commitments. The leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party and the two governments did not fulfill theirs. They acted in bad faith. Yet again the two governments are attempting to move the goalposts. This has caused justifiable anger. It is unacceptable that other protagonists should try to dictate the terms of our cessation.

The honoring of agreements and commitments is critical in instilling confidence and demonstrating that politics can work. They are essential elements of building an enduring political process.

The two governments, and in particular the British Government, must fulfill their commitments. Until they do so there can be little prospect of any progress.

Beirigí bua.
P. O’Neill,
Irish Republican Publicity Bureau,
Dublin.

On this, the 89th anniversary of the Easter Rising of 1916, we remember the men and women of every generation who have given their lives in the struggle for Irish freedom.

The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann extends solidarity to the families of our comrades who have fallen during this phase of the struggle. We remember those comrades with honour and pride.

We send solidarity to our Volunteers and to our friends and supporters at home and abroad.

We think of our imprisoned comrades and their families at this time also.

Over ten years ago, the leadership of the IRA declared a complete cessation of military operations. We did so to enhance the development of the Irish peace process.

From then until now we have, on a number of occasions, demonstrated our continuing support for this process.

At times of significant crisis or political impasse, we have taken initiatives to move the situation forward.

Our approach has been premised on the belief that the achievement of a just and lasting peace requires constant forward momentum in the peace process.

For the past two years, the peace process has been locked in stalemate and has slipped backwards into deepening crisis.

During that period, specifically in October 2003 and in December 2004, we agreed to significant initiatives as part of an agreement to break the logjam. On each occasion, other parties reneged on their commitments.

An unprecedented opportunity to transform the situation on the island of Ireland was thrown away by rejectionist unionism, aided and abetted by the two governments.

The DUP attempted to turn the initiative of December 2004 into a humiliation of the IRA. The concerted efforts of both governments since then to undermine the integrity of our cause, by seeking to criminalise the republican struggle, is clear evidence that our opponents remain fixated with the objective of defeating republicans rather than developing the peace process.

The sustained campaign directed against the republican people over recent months is nothing new. We have seen and heard it all before.

Those who opted to follow the Thatcher path will not succeed.

Our patriot dead are not criminals. We are not criminals.

Republican men and women suffered deprivation and torture to defeat attempts to criminalise our struggle. Ten of our comrades endured the agony of hunger strike and died defeating the criminalisation strategy.

We will not betray their courage by tolerating criminality within our own ranks. We will not allow our opponents to further their own petty self-interests by levelling false allegations against Óglaigh na hÉireann.

The IRA has spelt out its position in relation to the killing of Robert McCartney. It was wrong, it was murder, it was a crime. But it was not carried out by the IRA, nor was it carried out on behalf of the IRA.

The IRA moved quickly to deal with those involved. We have tried to assist in whatever way we can. Unfortunately, it would appear that no matter what we do it will never be enough for some.

Those in the political and media establishments who have been so quick to jump on the bandwagon have again laid bare their own hypocrisy.

This causes justifiable resentment among republicans. But it must not cloud the issue. Óglaigh na hÉireann expects the highest standards of conduct from our Volunteers.

Struggle requires sacrifice and discipline, it promises hardship and suffering. Our fallen comrades rose to those challenges and met them head on.

The discipline and commitment of our Volunteers and the wider republican base have been the backbone of our struggle. In these testing times, that steadfastness and determination are needed more and more.

We salute you and urge you to remain strong and united.

The crisis in the peace process and the reinvigorated attempts to criminalise us have not diminished in any way our determination to pursue and achieve our republican objectives.

Irish unity and Independence provides the best context for the people of this island to live together in harmony.

The primary responsibility now rests with the two governments.

They must demonstrate their commitment to a lasting peace.

Pandering to the demands of those who are opposed change is not the way forward.
P. O’Neill, Irish Republican Publicity Bureau, Dublin.