From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Irish anarchism has no historical tradition, as a movement it is only coming into existence. We do not yet enjoy the popular understanding of and respect for anarchist ideas that can be found among thousands of militants in countries like Sweden, Spain, France, Italy or Korea. But that is not to say that we have no history at all. We are beginning to uncover forgotten events...

• The first mention of an Irish connection I have found is the Boston based Irish nationalist WGH Smart who wrote articles for a magazine called 'The Anarchist' in 1880/81. [source:'The Raven' no.6]

• 'Five years later an English anarchist, Michael Gabriel, arrived in Dublin and moved to Bayview Avenue in the North Strand. He was a member of the Socialist League - a organisation whose best known members were the libertarian marxist William Morris and the anarchist Joseph Lane. A branch of the League was formed and it is known that anarchist publications were among those distributed by them. An article about this period has been written by Fintan Lane for the next issue of our magazine Red & Black Revolution. [1]

• Around the same time George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) wrote the article 'What's in a name [how an anarchist might put it]' at the request of Charlotte Wilson for issue no.1 of 'The Anarchist' in 1885. Shaw had been taught French by the Communard Richard Deck, who introduced him to Proudhon. Later he was embarrassed by unauthorised reprints, and was never an anarchist (being a Fabian).

• Five years further on we hear of John Creaghe, an Irish doctor who was joint founder with Fred Charles, of 'The Sheffield Anarchist'. He took part in the "no rent" agitation before leaving leaving Sheffield in 1891. He went on to become the founding editor in Argentina of the anarchist paper, 'El Oprimido', which was one of the first to support the 'organisers' current (as opposed to refusal to organise large scale organisations).

• In this century the best know personality has been Captain Jack White, about whom there is an article in the current Workers Solidarity [2]

• In the late 1960s, as the civil rights campaign took off Peoples Democracy, before it became a small Trotskyist group, included some self-described anarchists such as John McGuffin and Jackie Crawford (who was one of the group who had sold 'Freedom' in Belfast's Castle Street in the late 1960s). There was supposed to have been an anarchist banner on the Belfast-Derry march. PD members, including John Grey who went to become librarian at the Linenhall Library in Belfast, contributed to special issue of the British 'Anarchy' magazine about Northern Ireland in 1971.

• In the early 1970s some ex-members of the Official IRA became interested in anarchism and developed contact with 'Black Flag' magazine in London. Among names used were Dublin Anarchist Group and 'New Earth'. Their existence was brief and not widely known, a number of jailings for 'armed actions' saw the group disappear. Two members, Noel & Marie Murray, were later sentenced to death for the killing of an off-duty Garda during a bank raid. Reprieved after an international protest campaign, they were released a few years ago. It must be said that, despite their intentions, they did little other than add to the anarchist=terrorist stereotype.

• Island Commune: Hippy commune in squatted house on Dublin's exclusive Merrion Road in 1970. Ended when one mentally disturbed participant tried to poison others. Some of them, including Ubi Dwyer of Windsor Free Festival fame, sold "Freedom" outside the GPO on Saturdays.

These were mere footnotes, isolated individuals and small groups who left little in their wake. The first steps towards building a movement came in the late-1970s when a number of young Irish people who had been living & working in Britain returned home, bringing their new found anarchist politics with them. Local groups were set up in Belfast, Dublin, Limerick and Dundalk. Over the next decade anarchist papers appeared, some for just one or two editions, others with a much longer life. Titles included Outta Control [Belfast], Anarchist Worker [Dublin], Antrim Alternative [Ballymena], Black Star [Ballymena], Resistance [Dublin] and Organise! [Ballymena]. Bookshops were opened in Belfast [Just Books in Winetavern Street] and Dublin [ABC in Marlborough Street].

All of these groups attracted people who identified themselves as anarchists. Beyond that they had little in the way of agreed politics or activities, and no organised discussions or education about anarchism. Because of this there were limits to what they could achieve, even to their continued existence. But a start had been made.

In 1978, ex-members of the Belfast Anarchist Collective and the Dublin Anarchist Group decided that a more politically united, class based and public organisation was necessary. Their discussions led to the Anarchist Workers Alliance, which was around from 1978-81. It only really existed in Dublin and then only just. Produced 'Anarchist Worker' nos. 1-7; documents on the national question, womens liberation, trade unions, and a constitution. Never really took off, as they knew what they didn't like but had not worked out a concrete strategy for making anarchism relevant to the issues and campaigns of the day. Nevertheless, this was the first time that such matters had been openly raised and the resulting debate introduced a more serious note into the embryonic anarchist movement

- Talk given by WSM member, Alan MacSimoin in 1996.

There are two anarchist organisations operating Ireland at the moment.

The Workers Solidarity Movement - A platformist anarchist group with members in Dublin, Cork and Derry.

Organise! - A small class struggle anarchist organisation based in Northern Ireland. It marked the the coming together of the Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation, Anarchist Federation, Anarchist Prisoner Support and a number of individuals.