''An Phoblacht'' (Irish pronunciation: ; en, "The Republic") is a formerly weekly, and currently monthly

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

published by

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 ...

in Ireland. From early 2018 onwards, ''An Phoblacht'' has moved to a magazine format while remaining an online news platform. Editorially the paper takes a

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 ...

, Irish republican position and was supportive of the

Northern Ireland peace process The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political developm ...

. Along with covering Irish political and trade union issues the newspaper frequently featured interviews with celebrities, musicians, artists, intellectuals and international activists. The paper sells an average of up to 15,000 copies every week. During the

1981 Irish hunger strike The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special C ...

its sales soared to over 70,000 per week.

History

Earlier publications

The original ''An Phoblacht'' was founded as the official organ of the Dungannon Clubs in Belfast in 1906 and its first edition was printed on 13 December 1906 under the English-language version of the title ''The Republic''. In the first edition,

Bulmer Hobson John Bulmer Hobson (14 January 1883 – 8 August 1969) was a leading member of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) before the Easter Rising in 1916.D.J. Hickey & J. E. Doherty, ''A New Dictionary of Irish History fro ...

, one of the founders of the Dungannon Clubs, set out their aims:

Ireland today claims her place among the free peoples of the Earth. She has never surrendered that claim, nor will ever she surrender it, and today forces are working in Ireland that will not be still until her claim is acknowledged and her voice heard in the councils of the nations.

A year later the paper merged with a Dublin publication called ''The Peasant''. However, the title ''An Phoblacht'' was again used from 1925 with Patrick Little (P.J Little) as editor and continued until 1937 with a tumultuous history of internal splits and constant suppression by the government. From 1925 into 1926,

Seán Lemass Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...

wrote a number of articles advocating engagement in politics prior to the establishment of

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

Peadar O'Donnell Peadar O'Donnell ( ga, Peadar Ó Domhnaill; 22 February 1893 – 13 May 1986) was one of the foremost radicals of 20th-century Ireland. O'Donnell became prominent as an Irish republican, socialist activist, politician and writer. Early life Pea ...

took over as editor in April 1926 following a split in the Irish republican movement (Little became one of the founding members of Fianna Fáil). Frank Ryan also edited the paper for some time; other prominent contributors during this time included Maurice Twomey,

Seán MacBride Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was an Irish Clann na Poblachta politician who served as Minister for External Affairs from 1948 to 1951, Leader of Clann na Poblachta from 1946 to 1965 and Chief of Staff of the IRA from 19 ...

, Frank Gallagher (who became the first editor of

The Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 All-Ireland ...

Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington Johanna Mary Sheehy Skeffington (née Sheehy; 24 May 1877 – 20 April 1946) was a suffragette and Irish nationalist. Along with her husband Francis Sheehy Skeffington, Margaret Cousins and James Cousins, she founded the Irish Women's Franchis ...

and Fr Michael O'Flanagan. The title appeared again in 1966 as the paper of a small

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

splinter group based in Cork.

1970-founded publication

Its modern version was again refounded immediately following the Sinn Féin split by Jimmy Steele in January 1970, ''An Phoblacht'' supporting the group led by Ruaírí O'Bradaigh that became the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

when the split with the

Official Irish Republican Army The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a "workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerged ...

occurred. In 1970, ''An Phoblacht'' was at first circulated only in the South with another republican paper also established in

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 ...

in 1970, '' Republican News'', under the editorship of veteran republican Jimmy Steele. It supported the campaign of the

and published a weekly column titled "War News", which outlined IRA actions and conflict with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, and provided in depth analysis of the policies being formulated by the Republican movement. ''An Phoblacht'' began with a circulation of 20,000 per month. Located at 2a Lower Kevin Street 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 ...

's south inner city, it moved to the northside of the capital, to

Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in an attack upon a Brit ...

House, 44

Parnell Square Parnell Square () is a Georgian square sited at the northern end of O'Connell Street in the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the city's D01 postal district. Formerly named ''Rutland Square'', it was renamed after Charles Stewart Parnell (1 ...

, in August 1972. And in that October it became a fortnightly publication under the editorship of

Éamonn MacThomáis Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to: * Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name * Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist * ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II *"Éam ...

, a writer and historian who instituted changes in layout and general improvements so that it became a weekly publication. After 1976, the then Minister for Post and Telecommunications,

Conor Cruise O'Brien Donal Conor David Dermot Donat Cruise O'Brien (3 November 1917 – 18 December 2008), often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish diplomat, politician, writer, historian and academic, who served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1973 ...

, a Labour Party minister in the

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

/Labour coalition, strengthened Jack Lynch's original 1971 Section 31 censorship directive banning members of the IRA or its political wing Sinn Féin from the airwaves. However this ban did not extend to the print media. Section 31 produced a climate where many career journalists engaged in self-censorship to avoid official opprobrium. ''An Phoblacht'' became more important in disseminating the republican message and highlighting what it saw as the naked state oppression by the Unionist Party and the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern Ireland. However, it was the southern Irish government which harassed ''An Phoblacht'' most stridently, with regular Garda Special Branch investigations into the publication's links (both real and alleged) to the IRA. Mac Thomáis was arrested and charged with IRA membership and sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment having been found guilty of the offence. The paper continued under the stewardship of Dublin journalist Deasún Breathnach until Mac Thomáis resumed duties on his release in July 1974. Within two months, Mac Thomáis was again arrested and sentenced to another 15 months. Another editor, Coleman Moynihan, who had succeeded

Seán Ó Brádaigh Seán Ó Brádaigh (; born 1937), sometimes anglicised as Sean Brady, is an Irish republican activist. Like his brother, Ruairí, Seán joined Sinn Féin at an early age. From 1958 to 1960, he edited the party newspaper, the ''United Irishma ...

in 1972, suffered a similar fate. The paper continued on with the succeeding editors being Gerry Danaher (1974–75), Gerry O’Hare (1975–77), and Deasún Breathnach (1977–79).

Amalgamation with ''Republican News''

The Republican Movement (Sinn Féin and the IRA) felt that a single paper for the whole of Ireland was required to provide a clear and coherent line from the leadership and to counter what they regarded as any partitionist thinking which might flow from the

Partition of Ireland The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. ...

. Accordingly, on 27 January 1979, the first 12-page issue of the merged publications, under the banner of ''An Phoblacht/Republican News'' (AP/RN), appeared under the editorship of Danny Morrison. In the final editorial of ''Republican News'' on 20 January 1979, the essential thinking behind the merger was outlined: "To improve on both our reporting and analysis of the war in the North and of popular economic and social struggles in the South... the absolute necessity of one single united paper providing a clear line of republican leadership... ndthe need to overcome any partitionist thinking which results from the British-enforced division of this country and of the Irish people." On 12 May 1979 ''An Phoblacht'' published extracts from a secret British Ministry of Defence intelligence document which contained a detailed analysis of the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

and the situation in Northern Ireland. The document, written by Brigadier JM Glover, described the IRA as "highly-professional" and capable of sustaining their campaign for at least a further five years, and predicted increasing British military casualties. The publication caused considerable embarrassment to the incoming British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Humphrey Atkins Humphrey Edward Gregory Atkins, Baron Colnbrook, (12 August 1922 – 4 October 1996) was a British politician and a member of the Conservative Party. He served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher from 1979 to 1982. Early life ...

with Danny Morrison, the paper's editor, forced into hiding for several months. A representative of the Press Association who was passed a copy of the document by AP/RN was also issued an arrest warrant by the British authorities and fled to the United States in response. During the 1980s An Phoblacht was to the fore in reporting many issues including allegations of abuse of prisoners in Castlereagh and

Gough Barracks Gough Barracks was a military installation in Armagh, Northern Ireland. History The barracks were first established on the site in 1773. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the Cardwell Reforms and the bar ...

, the H-Block and Armagh Prison hunger strikes and also coverage of the ongoing conflict in

. Miniature versions of the paper which were about a third of the size were also printed and smuggled into prisoners in Long Kesh, Portlaoise, Armagh and other prisons. During the 1981 hunger strike sales of the newspaper reached up to 60,000 copies per-week and some issues quadrupled in size resulting in some editions running to 48 pages long. During this period ''An Phoblacht'' also opened another office based in west Belfast. In October 1982 Morrison left the newspaper after being elected to the Northern Assembly for the Mid-Ulster constituency. He was succeeded by Mick Timothy who expanded the newspaper from 12 to 16 pages. Timothy died suddenly in January 1985 and was replaced by Rita O'Hare. The headquarters of ''An Phoblacht'' was subsequently named after Timothy. During this period ''An Phoblacht'' focused strongly on alleged collusion between the British security forces and loyalist

paramilitaries A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

such as the UVF. In response the paper came under attack from the UVF and other Loyalist hit squads. In the 1980s, top Irish government officials questioned senior ministers as to why the paper had not been banned under the Offences Against the State Act 1939 and suggested that the publication could be classed a "treasonable document or seditious document" and thus make it illegal to send it through the post. The officials also suggested blocking the publication's application for official newspaper status. The Attorney General at the time dismissed the move. State papers also revealed that during a meeting on 10 January 1984, the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Jim Prior James Michael Leathes Prior, Baron Prior, (11 October 1927 – 12 December 2016) was a British Conservative Party politician. A Member of Parliament from 1959 to 1987, he represented the Suffolk constituency of Lowestoft until 1983 and then ...

and Irish Minister for Justice Michael Noonan discussed the possibility of banning the publication but recognised that "if one title was stopped, the same paper could appear under a new title".

Ulster loyalist attacks

In 1991 a group calling itself the ''Loyalist Retaliation and Defence Group'' launched a spate of attacks against newsagents who sold ''An Phoblacht'' and also targeted AP/RN delivery drivers. On 10 August 1991, a 33-year-old shopkeeper (James Carson) was shot dead in his shop on the Falls Road, Belfast. This was followed by the shooting death of a 66-year-old shopkeeper (Lawrence Murchan) on St James's Road on 28 September 1991. Both were targeted for selling ''An Phoblacht'' in their newsagents. On 12 December 1992 AP/RN worker Malachy Carey was shot dead by loyalist gunmen in

Ballymoney Ballymoney ( ga, Baile Monaidh , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a small town and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated i ...

. In January 1991 the RUC also raided the offices of ''An Phoblacht'' in Belfast seizing computer equipment and disks. Letter bombs were also frequently sent to ''An Phoblacht'' by loyalist paramilitaries in the 1990s. In one incident on 4 January 1994 a bomb disguised as a book was carried outside of the offices by AP/RN book reviewer Aengus Ó Snodaigh where it exploded a short time later, injuring two members of the Irish Defence Forces bomb disposal unit as they attempted to defuse it. In January 2018, loyalist

Winston Churchill Rea Winston Churchill Rea (born 1950 or 1951), known as Winkie Rea, is a Northern Irish former loyalist paramilitary commander who was the former leader of the Red Hand Commando (RHC) loyalist paramilitary organisation that was in Northern Ireland du ...

was charged with encouraging the murder of "persons working in shops selling An Phoblacht in republican and nationalist areas" between November 1977 and October 1994.

Peace Process onwards

Martin McGuinness reading a copy of An Phoblacht

During the early 1990s AP/RN was the publication which was first to report on many of the moves towards the IRA ceasefire as well as the first place where Sinn Féin peace documents such as ''Towards a Lasting Peace'' were published. The paper also played an important role in winning support for a peace strategy from republican activists. In 1997 the paper became one of the first in Ireland to go online. The paper was officially relaunched in September 2005 as ''An Phoblacht'', dropping the ''Republican News'' title although it is still often referred to as such. In 2010, the paper went from a 16-page weekly paper to a 32-page full colour monthly paper. The current editor is John Hedges. In 2013, Seán Crowe TD told the Dáil that republican prisoner John Anthony Downey, from

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

, who had been arrested in connection to the Hyde Park bombing and was being held in

Belmarsh Prison His Majesty's Prison Belmarsh is a Category-A men's prison in Thamesmead, south-east London, England. The prison is used in high-profile cases, particularly those concerning national security. Within the prison grounds there is a unique unit ca ...

, had been refused copies of the paper by prison authorities because of the Irish language content contained within it. He stated that other prisoners who spoke different languages had no difficulty in obtaining other publications. In November 2017 it was announced that ''An Phoblacht'' would cease as a monthly print publication and would become an internet based news service with only special editions being made available in paper format.

Republican Publications

An Phoblacht also publishes books, booklets, posters and magazines under the name ''Republican Publications''. These include: * ''The History of the Irish Citizen Army'', by RM Fox, 2014 (reprint), * ''The Rotunda: Birthplace of the Irish Volunteers'', by Aengus Ó Snodaigh, 2013, * ''Lockout 1913 – Austerity 2013'', by Mícheál Mac Donncha, 2013, * ''Glimpses of an Irish Felon's Prison Life'', by Thomas J Clarke, 2012(reprint) * '' Brian Keenan 1941–2008: A Republican Legend'', by Various, 2008 * ''

Máire Drumm Máire Drumm (22 October 1919 – 28 October 1976) was the vice-president of Sinn Féin and a commander in Cumann na mBan. She was killed by Ulster loyalists while recovering from an eye operation in Belfast's Mater Hospital. As Vice Presi ...

: Voice of a Risen People'', by Ella O'Dwyer and Caoilfhionn Ní Dhonnabháin, 2006 * ''Down Dublin Streets'', by

, 2005 * ''British Intelligence and the Rearming of the Loyalist Death Squads'', 1994 * ''Songs of Resistance'', 1968–1982 * ''Prison Poems'', by

Bobby Sands Robert Gerard Sands ( ga, Roibeárd Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh; 9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was a member (and leader in the Maze prison) of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison M ...

, 1981 * ''Our Own Red Blood: The Story of the 1916 Rising'', by Seán Cronin, 1966 * ''Tragedies of Kerry'', by

Dorothy Macardle Dorothy Macardle (2 February 1889, in Dundalk – 23 December 1958, in Drogheda)Luke Gibbons, ''The Irish Times'', Weekend Review, "A Cosmopolitan Reclaimed: A Review of ''Dorothy Macardle: A Life''", by Nadia Clare Smith, 10 November 2007, p.1 ...

, 1923

Editors

1925–1937

:1925: Patrick Little :1926:

:1930: Frank Ryan :1933: Terry Ward of and Liam Mac Gabhann as joint-editors :1934: Domhnall O'Donoghue :1937: Tadhg Lynch

1970–2017

:1970:

:1972: Coleman Moynihan :1972:

(Arrested) :1973: Colman Ó Muimhneacháin (Arrested) :1973: Deasún Breathnach :1974:

(Arrested) :1974: Gerry Danaher :1975: Gerry O'Hare :1977: Deasún Breathnach :1979: Danny Morrison :1982: Mick Timothy :1985: Rita O'Hare :1990: Mícheál Mac Donncha :1996: Brian Campbell :1999: Martin Spain :2005: Seán Mac Brádaigh :2010: Joanne Spain (acting editor during transition from weekly to monthly) :2010: John Hedges

Notable contributors

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. ...

* Danny Morrison (former editor) *

Roy Greenslade Roy Greenslade (born 31 December 1946) is a British author and freelance journalist, and a former professor of journalism. He worked in the UK newspaper industry from the 1960s onwards. As a media commentator, he wrote a daily blog from 2006 to ...

List of current frequent contributors

*Robert Allen (Environment, Food and Fisheries) *

(Political columnist) *

Martina Anderson Martina Anderson (born 16 April 1962) is an Irish former politician from Northern Ireland who served as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2020 to 2021, and previously from 2007 to 2012. A member of Sinn Féin, she served ...

(EU Affairs) *

Lynn Boylan Lynn Boylan ( ga, Lynn Ní Bhaoighealláin; born 29 November 1976) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has served as a Senator for the Agricultural Panel since April 2020. She previously served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for ...

(EU Affairs) * Matt Carthy (EU Affairs) * Megan Fearon (Opinion) *Jane Fisher (Britain correspondent) *John Hedges (Editor) *Declan Kearney (Peace Process) *

Mary Lou McDonald Mary Louise McDonald (born 1 May 1969) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition in Ireland since June 2020 and President of Sinn Féin since February 2018. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central const ...

(Political columnist) *Mícheál Mac Donncha (Historian) *Michael Mannion (Book reviews) *Dr Conor McCabe (Finance) *Michael McMonagle (Northern reporter) *Mark Moloney (Staff Journalist) * Seán Murray (Peace Process) *

Liadh Ní Riada Liadh Ní Riada (; born 28 November 1966) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who formerly served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South constituency from 2014 to 2019. She was the Sinn Féin candidate in the 2018 presidentia ...