Éirígí (), officially Éirígí For A New Republic, is a socialist
republican political party in
Ireland. The party name, , means "Arise" or "Rise Up" in
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, and is a reference to the slogan "The great only appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise!" used by Irish socialists
James Connolly and
Jim Larkin
James Larkin (28 January 1874 – 30 January 1947), sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party along with James Connolly and Willi ...
. Éirígí was formed in 2006 by a group of community and political activists who broke away from
Sinn Féin, believing that party was not committed enough to socialism.
History
Éirígí was formed by a small group of community and political activists who had left
Sinn Féin in
Dublin on 24 April 2006,
shortly before the 90th anniversary of the 1916
Easter Rising, as a political campaigns group. On 12 May 2007, at the party's first
Ardfheis
or ''ardfheis'' ( , ; "high assembly"; plural ''ardfheiseanna'') is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. The term was first used by Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish language cultural organisation, for i ...
(conference), its members voted to become a full-fledged political party, and at its 2009 conference passed a motion to register as a political party in the
Republic of Ireland.
It gained its first local councillors in 2009, when two former
Sinn Féin councillors,
Dungannon
Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in t ...
councillor Barry Monteith and
Dublin City Councillor Louise Minihan, joined the organisation. Former Wexford county councillor for Sinn Féin and New Ross town councillor John Dwyer also joined Éirígí. It registered with the
Electoral Commission (United Kingdom) in 2011, standing for election in Northern Ireland for the first time in the
2011 local elections, citing dissatisfaction with
Sinn Féin's involvement in the
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the term ...
, and claiming there was "a real appetite for a radical voice" in Northern Irish politics. The party ran candidates for the first time in the Republic of Ireland during the
2014 local elections in Ireland, simultaneously running two candidates in the
2014 Northern Irish local elections. The party didn't succeed in getting any of its eight candidates elected in the 2014 local elections, leaving it without elected representation. Three candidates ran for the party in the
2019 local elections in Ireland, none were successful.
The party has become known for the use of
nonviolent direct action
Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to othe ...
and regular protests in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
,
Dublin, and elsewhere. It has launched a
mobile app aimed at telling people their rights when they are stopped by the police. Éirígí has organised protests against the visits of Britain's
Queen Elizabeth and
Princess Anne to Ireland.
In 2012, Ursula Ní Shionnain (also known as Ursula Shannon), a member of Éirígí, was among four people charged under the
Offences against the State Act with possessing weapons at Tullybeg,
County Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in ho ...
, following an investigation by the Garda
Special Detective Unit
, headquarters = Harcourt Street, Dublin (D2)
, formed = as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
, preceding1 = Garda Special Branch
, preceding2 =
, jurisdiction = Ireland
, employees = Undisclosed~ 300
, budget = Undisclose ...
. Ní Shionnain and others were convicted by the Special Criminal Court in 2014. The party's press officer, Stephen Murney, was also taken into custody in November 2012 by the
PSNI
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ')
is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...
on terrorism charges for owning and publishing historical photographs of police officers on duty, though he was later acquitted and cleared of all charges.
Ideology
The party seeks the removal of
Northern Ireland from the
United Kingdom, and the establishment of a
32-county republic based on
socialist principles. Éirígí has participated in a range of campaigns, including
Shell to Sea
Shell to Sea ( ga, Shell chun Sáile) is an Irish organisation based in the parish of Kilcommon in Erris, County Mayo.
It opposes the proposed construction of a natural gas Gas pipeline, pipeline through the parish, as well as the ongoing const ...
and ''Reclaim the Republic'' (which involved the organisation distributing 60,000
1916 Proclamations nationwide), the Right2Water Campaign, the campaign to Repeal The 8th Amendment, and their UP Housing campaign, which calls for the state to introduce a universal public housing system where all citizens have the legal right to rent a high-quality, affordable home regardless of their income. They also actively promote the restoration of the
Irish language
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and wa ...
to widespread everyday use across Ireland.
The party opposes the
Israeli occupation
Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer t ...
of
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...
, and supports the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...
(BDS) movement.
The twentieth
Independent Monitoring Commission report said the group is "a small political grouping based on revolutionary socialist principles". While it continues to be a political association, albeit, with aggressive protest activities, it was not seen as paramilitary in nature.
Éirígí campaigned for the United Kingdom to
leave the European Union, describing the EU as "very much anchored in
Neo-Liberal
Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...
policies such as privatisation and austerity and programmes that have been enforced on countries such as
Greece and
Spain". It previously campaigned for a No vote in Ireland's
Lisbon Treaty referendum in 2009.
Emblem
For its emblem, the party uses a green star as it incorporates both the
national colour of Ireland and an international symbol of socialist struggle. The full national colours of the
Irish Republic
The Irish Republic ( ga, Poblacht na hÉireann or ) was an unrecognised revolutionary state that declared its independence from the United Kingdom in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdiction over the whole island of Ireland, but by ...
are achieved when the green star is combined with the word Éirígí in the colour orange (signifying the cultural identity of some of Ireland's Protestants) set on to a white background, it sometimes also uses the same emblem but surrounded by the words 'Equality', 'Liberty', 'Community'.
Leadership
Éirígí's National Executive is responsible for the day-to-day running of the party between meetings of the
Ardfheis
or ''ardfheis'' ( , ; "high assembly"; plural ''ardfheiseanna'') is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. The term was first used by Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish language cultural organisation, for i ...
(Party conference). It is elected by the membership annually on a 'one member – one vote' basis. The chairpersons of each local branch are also members of the National Executive.
Electoral results
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eirigi
2006 establishments in Ireland
All-Ireland political parties
Anti-imperialist organizations
Eurosceptic parties in Ireland
Eurosceptic parties in the United Kingdom
Irish republican parties
Political parties in Northern Ireland
Political parties in the Republic of Ireland
Socialist parties in Ireland
Sinn Féin breakaway groups