The ''Irish Political Review'' is a monthly Irish magazine dedicated to Irish politics and history. It is known for its criticisms of historians associated with the "revisionist" view of Irish history, especially
Peter Hart[Cillian McGrattan, ''Memory, politics and identity :haunted by history''. Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. (p. 183)] and
Roy Foster.
[John M.Regan. "The ‘Bandon Valley Massacre’as a historical problem." '']History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
'' 97.325 (2012): (pp. 70-98).
Background
The magazine was first published in 1986, by Athol Books, a publisher linked with the
British and Irish Communist Organisation (B&ICO).
[Peter Barberis, John McHugh and Mike Tyldesley, ''Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations''. London : Pinter, 2000. (p. 143).] The ''Irish Political Review'' was the successor to the B&ICO magazine, ''The Irish Communist''.
Views on Irish history and politics
Originally, the ''Irish Political Review'' was inimical towards
Irish Republicans
Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate.
The developm ...
and supported the use of the
Diplock Court system and
Section 31 against Republicans. However, it moved away from this position and currently expresses support for Irish Republican parties.
In the late 1990s the ''Irish Political Review'' came to public notice when it began running articles strongly critical towards the work of Peter Hart, especially Hart's account of the
Dunmanway killings
The Dunmanway massacre, also known as the Bandon Valley Killings, the Dunmanway murders or the Dunmanway killings, refers to the killing (and in some cases, disappearances) of fourteen males in and around Dunmanway, County Cork and Bandon Vall ...
.
The ''Irish Political Review'' also ran a series of articles by
Brendan Clifford
Brendan Clifford (born 1936) is an Irish historian and political activist.
Early life and education
He was born in the Sliabh Luachra area of Munster, Republic of Ireland.
Career
As a young man, Clifford emigrated to the United Kingdom an ...
and Jack Lane about the wartime intelligence work of writer
Elizabeth Bowen, claiming this meant that the Anglo-Irish Bowen was thus not an Irish writer. These
articles were later published as the Athol Books publication ''Notes on Eire: Espionage Reports to Winston Churchill, 1940–2'' (1999). The magazine also published an article by Joe Keenan strongly hostile towards former Irish
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Garret FitzGerald
Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...
, claiming that Fitzgerald's reputation for intelligence and integrity was unjustified.
The magazine has also defended the Irish government's decision in September 2008 to
guarantee the Irish banks, as well as stating that
Brian Cowen should have remained leader of Fianna Fail during the
2011 Irish election.
Desmond Fennell
Desmond Carolan Fennell (29 June 1929 – 16 July 2021) was an Irish writer, essayist, cultural philosopher and linguist. Throughout his career, Fennell repeatedly departed from prevailing norms. In the 1950s and early 1960s, with his extensiv ...
has written several pieces for the ''Irish Political Review''.
Views on foreign affairs
The ''Irish Political Review'' supported
Robert Mugabe in what it called "the Zimbabwe Land War" (by analogy with the Irish Land War of the 1880s); it argues that Mugabe's opponents are manipulated by white commercial farmers (whom it compares to nineteenth-century Irish landlords) and other neo-colonial interests.
The ''Irish Political Review'' has also defended the Chinese occupation of
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
It also backed Russia during the
2008 South Ossetia War
The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...
.
The ''Irish Political Review'' published an essay defending General
Toshio Tamogami's controversial article on WWII, claiming Japan ran a "very moderate" regime in
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
and was tricked into war by the
Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
.
Malachi Lawless, the chair of the ''Irish Political Review'' group, and
Eileen Courtney, the magazine's editor, were among those signing an
Irish petition protesting against the
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i government's handling of
the
Gaza War (2008–09).
At one point in time, the ''Irish Political Review's'' editorials proclaimed support for
Declan Ganley's campaign against a second
Lisbon Treaty and
Libertas
Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', ) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the Late Republic, featured on coins supporting the populares faction, and later those of the assassins of Jul ...
' plan to run for
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
elections.
However, in 2012 IPR contributor Jack Lane argued that Ireland needed to vote in favour of the
European Fiscal Compact
The Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union; also referred to as TSCG, or more plainly the Fiscal Stability Treaty is an Enhanced cooperation#Related intergovernmental treaties, intergovernmental treat ...
, stating that a "Yes" vote would help the EU to function without British involvement.
The ''Irish Political Review'' expressed support for
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
in the
2016 United States presidential election
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
, arguing that Trump's business background would make him a good administrator, and that his criticisms of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
would encourage European autonomy. The magazine also criticised British politician
Angela Rayner for taking issue with Trump's comments about women in the
''Access Hollywood'' recording.
[''"Also on the panel was ]Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
's Shadow Minister for Education, Angela Rayner, apparently a typical member of the Snowflake Generation . She wasn't interested in Trump's record as a good employer, or his foreign policy. All that concerned her, as a potential Cabinet Minister in a major state was that piece of secretly recorded banter."'' "Trump V. Clinton" (Editorial), ''Irish Political Review'', November 2016, Vol. 31, No. 11 ISSN 0790-7672 (p.5)
References
{{Reflist
Communism in Ireland
Political magazines published in Ireland
Magazines established in 1986
Communist magazines
Monthly magazines published in Ireland
History magazines
Mass media in Belfast