Communist Party Of Ireland (Marxist–Leninist)
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The Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist–Leninist) was an anti-revisionist
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
based in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. It had strong links to the
Party of Labour of Albania The Party of Labour of Albania (PLA), also referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded on 8 November 1941 as the Communist Party of ...
,
Communist Party of Canada (Marxist–Leninist) The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist–Leninist) ( abbr. CPC(M-L)) is an anti-revisionist, Marxist–Leninist communist party in Canada, founded in 1970 by Hardial Bains. It has been registered with Elections Canada as a federal politic ...
and
Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist) The Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist) (RCPB-ML) and occasionally referred to as RCP is a small British communist political party, previously named the Communist Party of England (Marxist-Leninist) (CPE (ML)) on ...
.


History


Background

CPI (ML) originated from the "Internationalists in Ireland", a group started on 9 December 1965 by Hardial Bains, while he was working as a
microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...
at
Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...
. His efforts culminated in the "Necessity for Change" conference, at which delegates from Canada, India, Ireland and Britain pledged to build Marxist–Leninist parties in their countries. They rejected
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...
's policies, which they regarded as revisionist, and followed a Marxist–Leninist course. In 1968, the Internationalists came to public attention as they organised a protest against the visit of King
Baudouin of Belgium Baudouin (; 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993) was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his death in 1993. He was the last Belgian king to be sovereign of the Congo, before it became independent in 1960 and became the Democratic Republi ...
to Trinity College. In 1969, they renamed themselves the Irish Communist Movement (Marxist–Leninist).''Maoism in the Developed World'' by Robert Jackson Alexander. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001, , (p.103) The ICM opposed the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...
. On 4 July 1970 they relaunched themselves as the CPI (ML), with Michael Hehir named as the "leading national spokesman". CPI (ML) participated in the 1974 UK parliamentary election. It had candidates in three constituencies in Northern Ireland. In total they got 540 votes, between 0.2%-0.5% in each constituency. CPI (ML) member David Vipond stood in the 1973 Monaghan by-election, receiving 157 first preference votes. Vipond later stood for election in Dublin along with other CPI (ML) members. CPI (ML) ran a bookstore in Dublin called ''Progressive Books and Periodicals'' at 25 Essex St, Dublin 8. For a short period in 1970, CPI (ML) had bookshops in Limerick (11 Castle Parade, Nicholas Street, opposite King John's Castle) and Cork (1 Cattle Market Street (later Blarney Street), off Shandon Street). In the early 1970s, the group's General Secretary was Carole Reakes.


Hoxhaism

CPI (ML) originally upheld
Mao Zedong Thought Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People's Re ...
- particularly in the 1970-71 period during which entire issues of '' Red Patriot'' were dedicated to Mao Zedong but they flatly rejected Mao Zedong after the
Sino-Albanian split The Sino-Albanian split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and the People's Republic of China in the period 1972–1978. Both countries had supported each other in the Albanian–Soviet and ...
of 1978, after which they upheld the writings of
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
leader
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...
. The CPI (ML) organised several delegations to Albania, beginning in June 1979, (when the delegation met
Ramiz Alia Ramiz Alia (; 18 October 1925 – 7 October 2011) was an Albanian politician serving as the second and last leader of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. He ...
); CPI (ML) delegations there continued during the 80s. The CPI (ML) also supported the communist movements of
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
and
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
. They also expressed some support for the
Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...
faction in China.


The Troubles

The CPI (ML) were strongly critical of other Irish left-wing parties, including the
Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
, Irish Labour Party and the
Communist Party of Ireland The Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) is a Marxist–Leninist party, founded in 1970 and active in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland following a merger of the Irish Workers' Party and the Communist Party of Northern Ireland. It ra ...
, whom the CPI (ML) accused of being "revisionist" and of not supporting the IRA's campaign in the North. They were especially hostile to
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 and ...
and his
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 Commu ...
, whose support for the
Partition of Ireland The Partition of Ireland () was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK) divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland (the area today known as the R ...
and the British Army in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
the CPI (ML) regarded as a complete betrayal of Maoism. The CPI (ML) supported armed struggle for the reunification of Ireland and initiated the
Spirit of Freedom Committee Spirit(s) commonly refers to: * Liquor, a distilled alcoholic drink * Spirit (animating force), the non-corporeal essence of living things * Spirit (supernatural entity), an incorporeal or immaterial being Spirit(s) may also refer to: Liquids ...
to work with Irish republicans. Other groups created by the party were the Workers and Unemployed Movement and the Communist Youth Union of Ireland (Marxist–Leninist). In the early 1980s, the CPI (ML) was a major force in the students' union movement, with member Brendan Doris becoming president of the
Union of Students in Ireland Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...
(USI), while member Tommy Graham became president of the College of Technology (Bolton Street) Students' Union. Tommy Graham is the current editor of ''
History Ireland ''History Ireland'' is a magazine with a focus on the history of Ireland. The first issue of the magazine appeared in Spring 1993. It went full-colour in 2004 and since 2005 it is published bi-monthly. It features articles by a range of writers ...
''.


Later years

With the collapse of socialism in Albania, the CPI (ML) opened up relations with the
Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...
and signed the 1992
Pyongyang Declaration The Pyongyang Declaration, officially titled Let Us Defend and Advance the Cause of Socialism, was a statement signed by a number of political parties on 20 April 1992 that calls for the unity of the socialist camp and a vow to safeguard socialis ...
. General Secretary Rod Eley visited North Korea in 1999. In 2003 CPI (ML) was disbanded, following a long period of passivity. Upon dissolution, the general secretary of CPI (ML) was Rod Eley. Following the group's dissolution, former leading member Brendan Doris stood in the
2011 Dublin West by-election A by-election was held in the Dáil Éireann Dublin West constituency in Ireland on Thursday 27 October 2011, following the death of Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) and former Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan Jnr on 10 June 2011. The 2011 Ir ...
for An Chomhdháil Phobail/The People's Convention (CPPC), achieving 95 first preference votes.RTE website


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist-Leninist) Anti-revisionist organizations Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Communist parties in Ireland Communist parties in Northern Ireland All-Ireland political parties Political parties established in 1965 Maoist organizations in Europe 1965 establishments in Ireland 2003 disestablishments in Ireland Political parties disestablished in 2003 Hoxhaist parties Irish republican parties Communist organisations in Ireland