FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

26 March 2009
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

25th Anniversary Statement

The Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America are proud to
celebrate twenty-five years representing the Irish Republican Socialist
Movement--comprised principally of the Irish Republican Socialist Party
and the Irish National Liberation Army--in North America.

The IRSCNA was founded in Saint Paul, Minnesota, at a conference held
23-25 March 1984. Representatives from across the United States and
Canada were in attendance, including key organizers from San Francisco
and Saskatchewan. One of the founding members from San Francisco joined
the IRSP in October 1981, the first person resident in North America to
be accepted for party membership.

There was discussion of whether to establish a distinct support group
for the IRSM since at least 1981, but it was agreed that a broad front
type of formation best suited the needs of the movement at the time.
With the growing and increasingly overt hostility of the Provisional
Republican Movement toward the IRSM, it was determined by supporters in
North America that it was no longer effective to attempt to work
exclusively through broad front formations and the Ard-Chomhairle
[National Executive] of the IRSP was petitioned for permission to
establish a support group.

With permission granted, the founding conference was organized, and the
IRSP sent Brigid Sheils Makowski from Derry as their official
representative. Formal IRSP sanction and mandate was provided by the
IRSP Ard-Chomhairle in a letter from the IRSP's General Secretary in
1986. IRSP recognition of the exclusivity of the IRSCNA's mandate for
North America was reiterated by the Ard-Chomhairle in 1987. At the 1998
IRSP Ard Fheis (National Convention) it was resolved that the IRSCNA
would be recognized as a component section of the IRSM and its members
would be accorded the full rights of members of the IRSP, including
participation and voting at any party Ard Fheis.

IRSCNA comrades attended every IRSP Ard Fheis from 1984 to the present,
participating in the life of the party and important ideological debates
(particularly in 1984, 1998, 2000, and 2004). During the dim period
from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s when the IRSM was recovering from
deadly attacks by state forces and counter-revolutionaries, IRSCNA
comrades helped keep the flames of republican socialism burning.

When the San Francisco chapter attempted to hijack the IRSCNA for their
own agenda in 2005, we stood firm against their anti-democratic tactics
and remained loyal to the Movement. They were expelled, after which we
re-organized under a true collective leadership with our only agenda to
advance the cause of republican socialism in North America and build
support for the IRSM. We held a successful North American Ard Fheis in
2008, and another one is planned for June of this year.

In addition, IRSCNA members are involved in supporting and assisting the
Republican Socialist Youth Movement, sending books to political
prisoners, supporting the families of republican socialist prisoners of
war, publishing a seasonal newsletter, promoting the Irish language, and
engaging in working class struggle in our communities. The IRSCNA is
more active than before in even more areas of the working class
struggle.

On the 25th anniversary of our founding, we in the Irish Republican
Socialist Committees of North America once again pledge our support to
the Irish Republican Socialist Movement and the struggle to build a 32
County Socialist Republic on the island of Ireland.

Onward to the Socialist Republic!

###

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 901479
Kansas City MO 64190-1479
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

22 October 2008
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

Our Position on the US Presidential Election

As the 2008 presidential election in the United States approaches, we
in the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America wish to
place our position on the record.

Simply put, the presidential election, like all bourgeois elections,
is a sham. Workers are asked to vote on which representative of the
ruling class should lead the capitalist state's government for the
next four years. No matter which major party candidate wins, the
ruling class wins while the working class, our class, continues to lose.

It's certainly true that there are policy differences between John
McCain and Barack Obama, but both candidates are part of the
capitalist status quo and fully endorse that status quo. Neither man
is a friend to the working class, no matter how much they pander to it.

They both support imperialist interventions that kill working class
people. Obama may want to withdraw some troops from Iraq, but only to
send more to Afghanistan, and he recently characterized the
progressive, democratic regime in Venezuela as an enemy of the United
States. His party, the Democratic Party, has historically resorted to
military action as often as McCain's Republican Party.

We certainly understand why some workers choose to vote for the least
conservative of the major candidates, if only because they think that
candidate will be slightly less harmful and may enact some reforms, or
even just to keep the most conservative one out of office. We can't
condemn any member of the working class who votes on that basis, but
we think it would be better to protest the capitalist status quo by
voting for an alternative candidate and then trying to create real
change.

If there's a revolutionary socialist candidate on the ballot in your
state, vote for them instead of the "least conservative" major party
candidate, and if there isn't, write one in. While socialism won't be
built through bourgeois elections, we think a vote for a revolutionary
socialist alternative is a worthy one.

In particular, if you live in one of the twelve states where their
campaign is on the ballot, we suggest voting for the Party for
Socialism and Liberation ticket of Gloria La Riva and Eugene Puryear
for President and Vice-President of the United States.

If you live in a state where they're not on the ballot, write them in
or vote for another revolutionary socialist ticket if one is on the
ballot. The revolutionary politics of working class women and men
like La Riva and Puryear represent a real alternative to the status quo.

Their campaign website with further information can be found here:
http://www.votepsl.org/

However, ultimately, no matter who is in office, it's the working
class organizing and exercising our collective will through solidarity
and mass struggle that will transform society.

The fundamental cause of working class misery is the ownership of the
means of production, distribution, and exchange concentrated in the
hands of the capitalist class, a tiny minority. As long as the working
class, including the higher paid members of the class who
falsely see themselves as a middle class, are forced to sell their
labor power to a small, parasitical class, it will continue to suffer.

As the ongoing financial crisis once again proves, capitalism is an
inherently unstable system that places private profit above the public
good. The stock market is a casino for capitalists and aspiring
capitalists, where an entire economy can be destroyed in the pursuit
of profit. Capitalism cannot be reformed. Reformists have been
trying to do so for over two hundred years without success because
reformism cannot address the root cause of exploitation and
alienation, which is the existence of the capitalist system itself.

Only the working class can put an end to the exploitation and
alienation caused by capitalism by organizing and fighting for the
alternative of socialism, where the working class will own the means
of production, distribution, and exchange, administered democratically
through new institutions created by the working class.

Socialism cannot be built by a minority, no matter how class conscious
it may be. It can only be built by the masses as they liberate
themselves from capitalist ideology, an ideology that is promoted on a
daily basis through educational institutions and the mass media. We
view Gloria La Riva and Eugene Puryear as comrades in the struggle to
build a revolutionary socialist alternative to capitalism, both in the
United States and worldwide.

Since 1984, the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
have existed to support the revolutionary, anti-imperialist Irish
Republican Socialist Movement in its struggle to liberate Ireland from
capitalism and imperialist occupation, and as Americans we also
support a socialist revolution in our own country.

The power to bring about real change resides in the hearts and minds
of every working class man or woman. We have the power. Don't give
away your power by voting for a capitalist politician. We can create
real change. In fighting for a better future for our class, we must
take every opportunity to support fellow revolutionaries. It's long
past time to build a revolutionary workers' movement right in the
heart of world imperialism.

Onward to victory!

###

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 88341
Tukwila WA 98138-2341
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

12 October 2008
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

Seamus Costello Commemoration 2008

The Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America send their
greetings to all our comrades in Ireland and in particular the
comrades who face repression for their desire to see a more just
world. We stand with you to see the struggle Costello gave his life
for to the end.

Comrades of Costello such as Bernadette McAliskey were moved to say
that they felt smaller after his loss. Costello made an incredible
impression on so many activists who were themselves internationally
renown partisans for the working class' cause. Even more incredible,
thirty one years after Costello was taken from us, we still feel the
loss of our comrade.

That's not the only unchanged aspect from his life. The exploitation
and oppression he tried to overthrow is as pronounced as ever. As
capitalism enters yet another period of grinding exploitation and
misery as its contradictions produce turmoil for working people, we
salute our comrades who struggle for our rights. The campaign for fair
housing that our comrades are active in is a fitting tribute to Seamus.

The form of British rule in Ireland has changed, but not the content.
Britain remains in Ireland to do the bidding of the capitalist class:
as it moves its nuclear sub into Rossport and maintains segregated
housing, it suppresses the working class for the rich and privileged.
In much the same way as the Civil Rights Movement which Costello
supported decades ago, the North Belfast Civil Rights Association is
exposing the truth of capitalist violence against regular working
class families. Beneath its appearances of wealth is the reality of
families deprived of homes and stability. Scarcity is artificially
maintained both for profits and for dividing our people along
sectarian and racial lines.

The Party and Movement that Costello did so much to help found as the
vehicle for revolutionary change is his legacy. We are grateful to
lend our continued support.

###

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 88341
Tukwila WA 98138-2341
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

28 June 2008
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

LGBT Pride Solidarity

On behalf of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement, the Irish
Republican Socialist Committees of North America send solidarity
greetings to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people on the
occasion the 39th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion that marked
the birth of the gay liberation and gay pride movements in America and
worldwide.

The Stonewall Rebellion began on 28 June 1969 when New York City
police raided the Stonewall Inn, a bar in the Greenwich Village
neighborhood that catered to gay and transgendered customers. Unlike
previous raids, this time the patrons fought back. The Rebellion grew
to involve 2,000 protesters doing battle with 400 police officers over
several nights. The chant of "Gay Power!" became a rallying cry for
oppressed sexual minorities worldwide.

Many of the patrons of the Stonewall Inn were Black and/or Hispanic,
thus placing the Rebellion firmly in the broader context of the social
uprisings of Blacks and Hispanics against oppression in 1960s America.

After two decades of struggle by gay rights activists in the South of
Ireland, homosexuality was decriminalized in 1993 after the European
Court of Human Rights ruled that the southern statelet was in
violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Although further
gains have been made in the area of legal rights, violence against
sexual minorities has increased, especially in the North of Ireland.

For over thirty years, the Irish Republican Socialist Party,
representing the political leadership of the Irish Republican
Socialist Movement, has supported equality for gays and lesbians,
beginning with the party's first convention in 1975, when along with
People's Democracy it became one of the first political parties in
Ireland to support gay rights.

The IRSP became the first political party in Ireland to explicitly
include bisexuals and transgendered people in an equality statement
passed at its 2000 convention, which stated, "The IRSP affirms its
commitment to full equality for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and
transgendered people."

On behalf of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement, the Irish
Republican Socialist Committees of North America demand full equality
for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people in all spheres
of life, in America, Ireland, and worldwide.

Full equality in all spheres of life means we support the right of
LGBT people to adopt children and to marry, rights that are taken for
granted by heterosexuals.

Further, we demand that rights and privileges ultimately be detached
from marital status, and that family relationships be defined by the
people in them, not the state. People's rights should not be
determined by their willingness or ability to participate in state
sanctioned arrangements.

We condemn all physical and legalistic attacks on LGBT people, and we
stand in solidarity with the victims of homophobic, biphobic, and
transphobic violence. We demand an end to all violence and
intimidation against LGBT people, including mistreatment by police.

We demand that all people regardless of age have free access to
information about their bodies and sexual health unfettered by
political and religious doctrines that transform natural human
bodily functions into matters of shame or disease.

We demand that the medical and psychiatric establishments stop
enforcing sex/gender apartheid through the creation of false diseases
and the denial of medical care.

We believe each human being has an inherent right to define their own
sexuality, whether it's lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual, or
whatever label they choose to apply to themselves, and we believe each
human being has an inherent right to define their gender identity.

Solidarity and pride!

# # #

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 88341
Tukwila WA 98138-2341
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

29 June 2008
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

Bodenstown Commemoration 2008

The Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America send
solidarity greetings to our fellow members of the Irish Republican
Socialist Movement in the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the Irish
National Liberation Army, Teach na Fáilte, and the Republican
Socialist Youth Movement, as well as to all comrades imprisoned for
their activities as Republican Socialists.

We come to Bodenstown each year to pay our respects at the grave of
Theobald Wolfe Tone, the father of Irish Republicanism and a leader of
the United Irishmen. Inspired by the American and French Revolutions,
Tone and the United Irishmen--Protestant, Catholic, and Dissenter
united--engaged in the 1798 Rebellion with the radical goal of an
Irish Republic governed by the Irish people in mind.

In 2008, that goal remains a radical one as Ireland is divided into
two statelets, one still occupied by British imperialism, but both
subservient to the demands of international capitalism and imperialism.

The United Irishmen didn't limit themselves only to Irish issues, they
were also internationalists who took action on behalf of other
oppressed groups. They distributed anti-slavery leaflets to the crews
of American ships that docked in Belfast, and they organized a boycott
of sugar from the West Indies because it was produced by slave labor.
They also blocked an attempt by some members of the Belfast Chamber of
Commerce to seek a share in the slave trade.

Mary Ann McCracken was not only involved with the United Irishmen,
which was co-founded by her brother Henry Joy McCracken, she was also
an early advocate of the emancipation of women, as well as a tireless
anti-slavery and anti-poverty activist, for her entire and long life.

In Tone's own words, his goal was "to unite Protestant, Catholic, and
Dissenter under the common name of Irishmen in order to break the
connection with England." He also said, "If the men of property will
not support us, they must fall. Our strength shall come from that
great and respectable class, the men of no property".

As Republican Socialists, we recognize that the "men (and women) of
property" exploit the "men (and women) of no property" for their own
profit, while the working class is presented with a sham democracy
designed to hide the reality of class rule by the capitalists.

The Irish Republican Socialist Movement stands in the tradition of
Tone, the United Irishmen, and our founder, Seamus Costello. We are of
the working class and our class is a strength to us. Our only
allegiance is to the working class in Ireland and internationally.

Onward to the Socialist Republic, comrades!

# # #

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 88341
Tukwila WA 98138-2341
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

8 June 2008
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

Homophobia Is Never Acceptable

On behalf of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement, the Irish
Republican Socialist Committees of North America condemn the
homophobic comments made by the Democratic Unionist Party's Iris
Robinson on BBC Radio Ulster.

Robinson, an elected member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and a
member of the Assembly's Health Committee, responded to a violent
homophobic attack on a gay man in Newtownabbey by calling for gay
people to seek psychiatric treatment. This came after referring to gay
people as an "abomination" last week.

The DUP's website credits Robinson with wanting "to better the lives
and living conditions of all her constituents", but clearly this
doesn't extend to her constituents who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or
transgendered.

It's especially ignorant for a member of the Assembly's Health
Committee to make suggestions that fly in the face of the established
expert opinion of the psychological and psychiatric professions that
homosexuality is not a mental illness.

We condemn violence against people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or
transgendered, we condemn the homophobic beliefs of Iris Robinson and
the reactionary political party she represents, and we condemn anyone
who promotes an agenda where homophobia is acceptable. We say that
homophobia is never acceptable. The only thing that needs to be cured
is bigotry.

# # #

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 88341
Tukwila WA 98138-2341
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

--------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

22 May 2008
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

African Liberation Day 2008 Solidarity

On behalf of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement, the Irish
Republican Socialist Committees of North America send solidarity
greetings to our comrades in the All-African People's Revolutionary
Party and African people worldwide on the occasion of African
Liberation Day on May 25th, the fiftieth celebration of what was first
known as African Freedom Day, a day to mark each year the onward
progress of the liberation movement, and to symbolize the
determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from foreign
domination and exploitation.

For more than two decades, the Irish Republican Socialist Movement has
expressed its solidarity on African Liberation Day with African people
around the globe struggling for their liberation and the liberation of
the African continent, especially those guided by Pan-Africanism and
Scientific Socialism.

Ireland is a strategic part of the new imperial order that is
reshaping the world in its bloody image. Ireland was a staging point
for American troops and warplanes in the invasion of Iraq, and remains
so for the ongoing occupation of that nation. The Irish "Free State"
lackeys have made a handsome fortune charging their masters for this
service. Ireland, a dominated and marginalized country with the most
exploited working class in western Europe, is once again filling a
role as a subservient partner in the imperial slaughter.

For over three decades, the Irish Republican Socialist Movement,
primarily comprised of the Irish Republican Socialist Party and the
Irish National Liberation Army, has been on the front lines of the
struggle for national liberation and socialist revolution in Ireland,
while standing in solidarity with all people worldwide struggling
toward the same goals.

Like your brothers and sisters in Ireland, the African people of the
world are of strategic and vital interest to the imperialist war
machine. Whether you are used as cannon fodder in the American or
British armies, starved so your resources can be exploited, or armed
to fight each other in proxy anti-communist wars, you are some of the
most oppressed and potentially revolutionary people that exist. The
building of Pan-Africanism and African unity through mass
revolutionary organizations is perhaps one of the greatest possible
threats that could arise for the rulers and exploiters of this planet.

African people are super-exploited across the globe. The resources of
Africa are stolen to profit Western capitalism. In America, the recent
acquittal of Sean Bell's murderers shows that racist police can still
murder African-Americans with impunity. Brothers and sisters, we stand
in solidarity with you in opposing the racist capitalist system that
oppresses us all.

From Port-au-Prince to Belfast, from Chicago to Cork, from
Johannesburg to Derry, from Africa to Ireland and America, we are one
class of people waging the same struggle for human liberation, boldly
going forward in our shared struggle for socialism and the liberation
of humankind from the shackles of capitalism and imperialism.

Saoirse Go Deo! Freedom Forever!

# # #

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 88341
Tukwila WA 98138-2341
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

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1 May 2008
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

May Day 2008 Statement

The Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America send solidarity greetings to our fellow workers and comrades in the class struggle around the world on the working class holiday of May Day, also known as International Workers' Day. We salute and share in your fight against oppression, exploitation and imperialism.

As the North American section of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement, we extend our greetings to our comrades and fellow members of the IRSM in the Irish Republican Socialist Party, Irish National Liberation Army, Republican Socialist Youth Movement, Republican Socialist Martyrs Flute Bands and Teach na Fáilte, along with all republican socialist prisoners of war. We reiterate that we remain committed to the struggle for national and working class liberation in Ireland, and working class liberation worldwide.

As this May Day dawns, the workers of the world remain exploited by a global capitalist class in its unending quest for profit. The Cuban Revolution remains defiant in the face of this and Venezuela continues to pursue a progressive path, but until the working class collectively and globally rises against the capitalist order, a better world for all will remain out of reach. We, the workers, are the ones with the power to build that world, and build it we must.

The spectre of climate change also haunts us. Capitalism cannot and will not address this in a serious manner because to do so would inevitably harm its ability to earn a profit for its small, parasitical ruling class. The solution lies in the hands of the working class and our ability to lead a revolution to create a sustainable socialist economy that can meet the needs of both our class and the planet we share. The survival and health of humankind is linked to the survival and health of the planet itself.

In the most powerful capitalist state, the United States, political debate currently revolves around which lap dog of the ruling class will lead the nation for the next four years. Fellow workers, let us be honest with you, those candidates have the best interests of the capitalist system in mind, not our interests as a class exploited by that system. No matter which candidate wins the election, the real winner will be the ruling class, and the United States will remain a bastion of imperialism and exploitation.

In Ireland, conditions are growing for a republican socialist alternative to fill the void in revolutionary politics. It is obvious that neither the Good Friday Agreement nor any other imperialist brokered settlement can resolve the fundamental contradictions at the heart of Irish society. Only a socialist Ireland with full self-determination can do that, and a socialist Ireland can only thrive if capitalism is defeated on a wider scale.

On behalf of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement, we also extend solidarity greetings to the following organizations: All-African People's Revolutionary Party, All Pakistan Trade Union Federation, Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, Communist Party of Cuba, Communist Party of Nepal, Communist Party of the Philippines, Communist Party of Spain (Reconstituted), Debs Tendency of the Socialist Party USA, Freedom Socialist Party, Northeastern Federation of Anarchist Communists, \ Organization of Iranian People's Fedaii Guerrillas, Party of World Revolution, Peace and Freedom Party, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Radical Women, Scottish Republican Socialist Movement, Seattle Anti-Imperialist Committee, Unión del Barrio, United Socialist Party of Venezuela, Worker-Communist Party of Iran, Worker Communist Party of Iraq, Working Women Organization and all others who are struggling to liberate the working class from the shackles of capitalism and imperialism.

As the great Irish revolutionary James Connolly said, "The great only appear great because we are on our knees, let us arise!"

# # #

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 901479
Kansas City MO 64190-1479
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

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IRSCNA EASTER SOLIDARITY STATEMENT

Comrades,

The Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America take the occasion of Easter 2008 to reaffirm our unwavering support for the leadership and program of the Irish Republican Socialist Party. We salute your tireless effort and courage in standing firm in the face of continued state repression against our movement. The example of the Irish National Liberation Army in maintaining a principled ceasefire for ten years--while not giving up arms, compromising its right to defend Irish workers, or sacrificing its own organisation for respectability--is a positive example for revolutionaries the world over to learn from. We are proud of the work carried out by Teach Na Fáilte in community activism and support for political prisoners. We also proudly acknowledge the diligent work by the Republican Socialist Youth Movement in training future party leaders. The Irish Republican Socialist Movement's honest and principled relationship with the wider anti-imperialist struggle is a living example of James Connolly's teachings, when he instructed, "march separately, strike together."

British imperialism and its allies in Ireland fear the growth of the Republican Socialist Movement, its increased confidence, level of activity, and support. The recent attacks on the party and Teach Na Fáilte amount to internment by remand, and the return of the Heavy Gang and the brutal tactics visited upon the IRSP in the past by state forces. British imperialism is still as active as ever in Ireland, only now they will utilise their junior partners from the Northern nationalist petit-bourgeoisie and Free State ruling class to implement the repression of political activists who oppose capitalism and imperialism. The Unionists are not the only lackeys of British imperialism opposing a democratic settlement in Ireland to justify the continued occupation of the island. Thus it is fair to expect that repression will continue to increase against those who have not exchanged the vision of freedom, peace, and equality that was first shown to the Irish masses in 1916 in exchange for a seat at the table administering British rule.

The IRSCNA is proud to continue representing the IRSM, building solidarity as well as giving practical aid and support to the best of our ability. We stand firm in the Republican Socialist tradition begun by Connolly and continued today by the IRSP. The IRSM's political analysis and leadership has never been as sorely needed as now: the Republican Socialist analysis and programme is the only one within Irish anti-imperialism that can both understand the line of march and lead by example.

Onward to the Socialist Republic, comrades!

# # #

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 901479
Kansas City MO 64190-1479
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

3 April 2008
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

2008 Ard Fheis Report

The Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America are pleased
to report that our first Ard Fheis since 1999 successfully occurred in
Kansas City, Missouri on 26-27 March 2008. It was a momentous
occasion for the North American section of the Irish Republican
Socialist Movement, significant not only for the time that had elapsed
since our last Ard Fheis, but also due to the fact that our activists
are spread across a vast geographical area. It also represented the
first Ard Fheis since a major reorganization of the IRSCNA in 2005. 
Meeting face-to-face as a group was a positive experience for all present.

Our cumainn representatives came from various locations in North
America--including Chicago, Kansas City and Seattle--bringing with
them diverse experiences and contributions. We would like to thank
everyone that traveled such a distance to be in attendance.

Motions were passed upholding the Irish Republican Socialist Party's
political analysis and program, sending solidarity greetings to our
comrades throughout the world, and other issues of importance to the
IRSCNA were discussed and voted on. More concretely, plans for more
assertive recruitment were discussed. It was also decided that the
Ard Fheis will now be scheduled as an annual event. Most exciting of
all, a monthly IRSCNA newsletter was launched to keep our allies,
members and supporters up-to-date on the Republican Socialist
Movement's news and to promote and broaden support for Republican
Socialism.

Lastly, a new Coordinating Committee comprised of Colm Mistéil,
Danielle Ni Dhighe and T.J. O Conchuir was elected by a vote of the
members present and officer positions were filled with Mistéil as
Webmaster, Ni Dhighe as Public Relations Officer and O Conchuir as
Prisoner Welfare Officer.

The slow but steady growth of the IRSCNA's membership and level of
activity will be sustained by the incoming Coordinating Committee's
efforts to continue to work through collective leadership and regular
meetings.

Is Muidne,

Colm Mistéil colm@irsm.org 
Danielle Ni Dhighe danielle@irsm.org
T.J. O Conchuir tj@irsm.org
IRSCNA Coordinating Committee 

###

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 901479
Kansas City MO 64190-1479 
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html

----------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

3 April 2008
Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America

2008 Ard Fheis Motions

Constitution/Policy

1. That Section III, Part C of the constitution be changed to have
membership fees be sliding rates based on income. The rate shall be
set by the incoming Coordinating Committee.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann (Chicago)
Status: APPROVED

2. This Ard Fheis declares its unwavering support for the program of
the Irish Republican Socialist Party and to the principles of
Republican Socialism established by James Connolly, Seamus Costello
and Ta Power.
Proposer: Ta Power Cumann (Seattle)
Status: APPROVED

3. This Ard Fheis applauds the Irish National Liberation Army for
maintaining a principled ceasefire for ten years.
Proposer: Ta Power Cumann
Status: APPROVED

4. This Ard Fheis recognizes the necessity of the Irish National
Liberation Army and salutes them for their determination and refusal
to decommission or disband.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

5. This Ard Fheis declares that it supports no war but the class war.
Proposer: Ta Power Cumann
Status: APPROVED

6. This Ard Fheis declares that only socialism can liberate the
workers of the world.
Proposer: Ta Power Cumann
Status: APPROVED

7. This Ard Fheis calls for full equality for gays, lesbians,
bisexuals and transgendered people, including the right to marry and
raise children.
Proposer: Ta Power Cumann, Larkin/Gino Gallagher Cumann (Kansas City)
Status: APPROVED

8. This Ard Fheis affirms the anti-colonial necessity of the growing
Gaelic revival and also affirms that the language movement can only be
successful within a socialist Ireland, not in an exclusive or
nationalist context but as part of a multi-cultural society following
the tradition of Ó Cadhain and Connolly
Proposer: Larkin/Gino Gallagher Cumann, Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

9. We reiterate that the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of
North America represents the Irish Republican Socialist Movement in
North America and struggles to build recognition of and support for
the national liberation of Ireland and the victory of the Irish
working class in its fight for socialism. This Ard Fheis proudly
upholds the exclusivity of the IRSCNA's mandate for North America as
was reiterated by the Ard Chomhairle in 1987, and we continue to
zealously defend our mandate as the sole legitimate representatives of
the IRSM in North America against all usurpers. 
Proposer: Larkin/Gino Gallagher Cumann
Status: APPROVED

10. This Ard Fheis recognizes that the IRSCNA exists primarily as a
support group for the IRSP/M but is de facto also a revolutionary
tendency active within the North American workers' movement that
represents the woefully under-represented Marx-Engels-Lenin-Connolly
tradition. 
Proposer: Larkin/Gino Gallagher Cumann
Status: APPROVED

Solidarity/International

11. This Ard Fheis wishes to send greetings to the Irish Freedom
Committee for all their hard work on behalf of POWs families and for
the hospitality they have shown the IRSCNA.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

12. This Ard Fheis wishes to congratulate the Chicago Hunger Strike
Commemoration Committee for their respectful and unified commemoration
of the 1981 H-Block Martyrs.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

13. This Ard Fheis condemns the continued occupations of Afghanistan
and Iraq by United States imperialism and its allies, including the
British government.
Proposer: Ta Power Cumann
Status: APPROVED

14. This Ard Fheis condemns the continued occupation of Palestine by
Zionist imperialism and the continued support for that occupation by
the United States.
Proposer: Ta Power Cumann
Status: APPROVED

15. This Ard Fheis expresses solidarity with and support for: those
comrades within the PCC (Communist Party of Cuba) who continue to
uphold the gains of socialism, the All-African People's Revolutionary
Party, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the
super-exploited immigrant workers' movement that is continuing to
organize in the belly of the beast, the recently-formed Party of World
Revolution who have been so comradely towards the IRSM, the Communist
Party of Bohemia and Moravia which is subject to constant attacks and
criminalization by the Czech state, the Bolivarian Revolution, and all
genuinely revolutionary working class currents throughout the world
that still uphold socialism, proletarian-led self determination and
liberation from imperialism. 
Proposer: Larkin/Gino Gallagher Cumann
Status: APPROVED

Activities

16. This Ard Fheis instructs the incoming Coordinating Committee to
establish an educational program for all incoming members.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

17. This Ard Fheis encourages all cumainn and members to work harder
to host educational events such as screenings, talks, etc.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

18. This Ard Fheis instructs that the incoming Coordinating Committee
designate a Public Relations Officer (PRO) to contact Irish-American
news outlets as well as other Left organizations to help promote
Republican Socialism in the United States.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

19. This Ard Fheis wishes to recognize and thank the outgoing
Coordinating Committee for all the hard work they have done to keep
the IRSCNA going after the disastrous events of three years ago.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

20. This Ard Fheis calls upon the incoming Coordinating Committee to
update the document "What is the IRSCNA?"
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

21. This Ard Fheis calls upon the incoming Coordinating Committee to
reestablish the James Connolly Prisoners' Welfare Fund and the
Republican Socialist Prisoners' Educational Fund.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

22. This Ard Fheis calls upon the incoming Coordinating Committee to
look into redesigning the IRSCNA website and have it hosted separately
from irsm.org.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: REJECTED (it was decided that the IRSCNA website should remain
part of the irsm.org domain)

23. This Ard Fheis calls upon the incoming Coordinating Committee to
designate a steering committee to prepare motions, suggested by the
IRSCNA membership, for the IRSP Ard Fheis later this year.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: REJECTED (it was decided to have the Coordinating Committee
handle this directly)

24. This Ard Fheis calls on the American working class to reject the
mockery of democracy represented by the presidential elections and
reminds the class that all of the major party candidates are agents of
the ruling class.
Proposer: Ta Power Cumann
Status: APPROVED

25. Call upon our members whenever possible to support the Hands off
Venezuela and Cuban Revolution solidarity activities. 
Proposer: Larkin/Gino Gallagher Cumann
Status: APPROVED

26. This Ard Fheis calls upon the IRSCNA Coordinating Committee to
immediately establish a regular newsletter to raise the profile of the
IRSM and make its views more widely known. 
Proposer: Larkin/Gino Gallagher Cumann, Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

27. This Ard Fheis calls on the incoming Coordinating Committee to
establish a Prisoner Welfare Officer, Youth Coordinator and Webmaster.
Proposer: Larkin/Gino Gallagher Cumann
Status: APPROVED

28. This Ard Fheis suggests to the incoming IRSCNA Coordinating
Committee to adopt a comprehensive and assertive recruitment effort.
Proposer: Larkin/Gino Gallagher Cumann
Status: APPROVED

29. This Ard Fheis praises the efforts of the outgoing Coordinating
Committee in trying to consistently establish collective leadership as
per the Ta Power Document and IRSP Ard Chomhairle's instructions, and
we ask the the incoming Coordinating Committee to follow this example. 
Proposer: Larkin/Gino Gallagher Cumann
Status: APPROVED

Prisoners

30. This Ard Fheis sends solidarity greetings to all Republican
Socialist Prisoners of War in Maghaberry, Magilligan and Portlaoise
gaols and to all other Republican POWs in gaols in England and Ireland.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

31. This Ard Fheis condemns the actions of the Free State Government
by interning and abusing fellow members of the Irish Republican
Socialist Party and Teach na Fáilte.
Proposer: Joe McCann Cumann
Status: APPROVED

32. This Ard Fheis calls upon the Coordinating Committee to make a
financial donation to the families of recent victims of Free State
terrorism.
Proposer: Larkin/Gino Gallagher Cumann
Status: APPROVED

###

Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America
PO Box 901479
Kansas City MO 64190-1479 
USA
irscna@irsm.org
http://www.irscna.org/
http://www.irsm.org/irsm.html