__NOTOC__ The Socialist Party of Ireland (SPI) was a minor

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

which existed in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

from 1971 to 1982. The SPI was set up by ex-members of

Official Sinn Féin The Workers' Party ( ga, Páirtí na nOibrithe) is a Marxist–Leninist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It arose as the original Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, but took ...

. It was formed on 13 December 1971 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and published its political manifesto on 19 January 1972. The SPI saw itself as a hard-line Marxist-Leninist alternative to the Communist Party of Ireland, which it criticised for its “blurred philosophy, loose structure, of discipline and unity”. The SPI opposed the friendly stance taken by the CPI towards official

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

, which it saw as a “mixture of

petit-bourgeois ''Petite bourgeoisie'' (, literally 'small bourgeoisie'; also anglicised as petty bourgeoisie) is a French term that refers to a social class composed of semi-autonomous peasants and small-scale merchants whose politico-economic ideological s ...

radicals,

nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and ultra leftists”. The SPI supported the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Moscow Declaration of 1969. The party also advocated

Eurocommunism Eurocommunism, also referred to as democratic communism or neocommunism, was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more rel ...

in the 1970s. It staged its first national congress in Dublin on 1–2 December 1973. The congress elected a seven-member central committee consisting of Fergus Brogan, Desmond Hughes, Deirdre Uí Bhrógáin, Éamonn Ó Fearghail, Seamus Ó Reachtagáin, Fergus Quinlan, and Séamas Ó Brógáin. In the late 1970s, the party started discussions with several other groups with a similar policy on the National Question, including the

British and Irish Communist Organisation The British and Irish Communist Organisation (B&ICO) was a small group based in London, Belfast, Cork, and Dublin. Its leader was Brendan Clifford. The group produced a number of pamphlets and regular publications, including ''The Irish Comm ...

(B&ICO) and the Limerick Socialists headed by

Jim Kemmy James Kemmy (14 September 1936 – 25 September 1997) was an Irish socialist politician from Limerick, who started his political career in the Labour Party. He later left Labour, was elected as an Independent Teachta Dála (TD), and founded the ...

. Eventually the three groups merged forming the Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) with one elected representative in the Dáil (Parliament). The DSP eventually merged with the

Irish Labour Party The Labour Party ( ga, Páirtí an Lucht Oibre, literally "Party of the Working People") is a centre-left and social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. Founded on 28 May 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, ...

which became a junior partner in a coalition government. During its life, the SPI was very active in campaigning for divorce (Divorce Action Group), contraception (Contraception Action Campaign), abortion (Right to Choose) and, in particular, opposition to nationalism and the campaign of the Provisional IRA (Socialists Against Nationalism). It supported the Two States Theory which accepted the right of the Unionist population of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

to remain part of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

until such time as a majority of the population choose otherwise by democratic means. The party's head office was at 23 Parliament Street, Dublin 2. In 1976, it renamed itself the "Socialist Party". Several SPI members ran as independents in Irish elections, the most successful being Eamonn O'Brien from

Ballymun Ballymun () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was ...

, who won six percent of the vote in the Dublin County North constituency at the 1977 general election.Eamonn O'Brien Election Poster
Advance No. 23 January–February 1977 (The Left Archive) He also joined the Workers' Party and later the Labour Party and represented Ballymun as a city councilor. On 1 December 1982, the Socialist Party dissolved with the majority joining

's Democratic Socialist Party and the others either joining the Workers' Party or B&ICO.

Publications

Newspapers

* ''Vanguard'', 1971-1974. * ''Advance'', 1975.

Books/Pamphlets

*
Ireland into slavery: the Common Market threat
', Dublin, 1972, . * ''The Socialist future. Programme of the Socialist Party of Ireland. Adopted by the 1st National Congress 1–2 December 1973'', Dublin, 1974. * ''Songs of the workers'', Dublin, 1975. * ''The two states theory'', Dublin: Advance, 1978.

Notes

{{Authority control 1971 establishments in Ireland 1982 disestablishments in Ireland Communist parties in Ireland Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland Marxist parties Political parties established in 1971 Political parties disestablished in 1982