The Life and Politics of Peadar O’Donnell: Part 2
Part 1: http://republicanyouth.org/articles/peader-o-donnell1
Part 3: http://republicanyouth.org/articles/peader-o-donnell3
In the first article I had written about Peadar O’Donnell detailed his earlier life and political influences. I wrote about his trade union activism, involvement in the armed struggle for Irish freedom and his opposition to the Free State counter revolution. This second article will detail his leadership within the republican movement in the 1920s and early 1930s. A period that saw extreme poverty and deprivation which led to agitation and a reactionary opposition to it.
An Phoblacht and the Campaign Against the Land Annuities.
When O’Donnell escaped from prison he married Lile O’Donel. She originally came from a wealthy background but was a member of Cumman na mBan. They spent the Honeymoon at a Hotel in Dublin and Peadar would find himself on the run the very next morning. In 1925 he would write his first novel called Storm based on the conflict. In 1926 Peadar took over as editor of an Phoblacht which was the paper used by Sinn Féin and the IRA. The paper focused on the national question as well as the social/economic struggles north and south of the border. People like Moss Twomey, Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, Seán McBride and Fr Michael Flanagan were all notable examples of regular contributors.
It was via an Phoblacht where he’d begin to campaign against the land annuities. From there he’d decide to agitate small farmers around Ireland, whether it be Donegal, Mayo or other rural counties. The first people that he tried to get involved were people he knew would be sympathetic. These included former IRA comrades, some republican minded Fianna Fáil members, local farmers and even some clergy. The campaign began in 1926 and lasted until 1932, when Fianna Fáil were pressured to accept it by the pressure of farmers, the IRA, and indeed their own Grassroot members.
1930s: The Peoples Struggle for the Republic, attempts to smash sectarianism and the Red Scare
The IRA leadership led by Moss Twomey, Frank Ryan, George Gilmore and O’Donnell had moved towards agitation of workers and farmers during a time of economic crisis. The IRA supported striking workers by protecting them against scabs, they supported land occupations and other forms of agitation. Sinn Féin and the IRA had drifted from each other in this period, this led to the foundation of a new Irish Republican party called Saor Éire. The party intended to appeal to the Irish workers and farmers in order to establish the 32 county Irish republic proclaimed in 1916. The party also wanted to restore the Irish language and culture. Saor Éire was the political wing of the republican movement in this period. O’Donnell was also behind the foundation of the Irish Working Farmers' Committee and other grassroots organizations that would help deliver the republic. The IRA, Saor Éire and the Irish Working Farmers' Committee were sending delegations to the Soviet Union and anti imperialist conferences all around Europe in order to gain support for national self determination of Ireland and other nations.
In July 1932 O’Donnell wrote a letter on behalf of the IRA in order to appeal to the orange order. It was printed in newspapers and distributed by IRA volunteers in working class unionist areas. The letter largely called for Catholic and Protestants to stand together like 1798 and overthrow imperialism and capitalism for the cause of a United Irish republic. In October both Protestant and Catholic workers in Belfast went on strike and rioted together against the poverty inflicted by their bosses. The IRA and republican movement gave their support which in turn saw many northern Protestants join the ranks of IRA.
As we know too well the free state was a conservative counter revolutionary state that had a copper-fastened partition as well as abandoning the social equality that Irish Republicans stood for. The reactionary state and Church had created a red scare scenario in Ireland in the 1930s. Although there were many new communist organisations springing up it was largely used against the IRA and especially that of O’Donnell. On a technicality the IRA or republican movement were not communists but obviously they were the largest left wing movement in the country and represented the largest revolutionary ideology. So it made sense that the Church, elite and reactionaries dismissed them as “godless communists”. It’s interesting to note despite O’Donnell no doubt being influenced by Marx’s writings and of course his flirtation with various Irish communist organisations he didn’t identify as a communist or Marxist.* He saw his socialism in the tradition of Tone, Lalor, Pearse, Connolly and Mellows. In fact those names were all his personal heroes and in his writings he mostly references them. Saor Éire, various other republican and left wing organisations would be banned from the free state only a few months after its foundation.
Although Saor Éire fell apart this did not stop the IRA pushing for agitational struggles against the pro imperial ruling classes north and south of the border. In the 1932 election the IRA gave critical support to Fianna Fáil for two reasons. The first being the fear of Cumann na nGaedheal returning to power along with the fascist Blueshirts aiding them, thus resulting in large repression of republicans. The second one was Fianna Fáil happened to have a republican/lower class grassroots and they were a hope that pressure could force the republican members to push through to end partition and implement much needed radical changes. Some of the IRA’s wishes were granted when Fianna Fáil came to power like the release of prisoners and an end to the paying of annuities to England. But make no mistake O’Donnell and the IRA knew full well Fianna Fáil and that of DeValera’s leadership were protectors of the gombeen capitalists. Peadar made this remark on Fianna Fáil and DeValera:
“My quarrel with de Valera is not that he is not a Socialist, for he makes no pretence to be one. My quarrel is that he pretends to be a Republican while actually the interests for which his Party acts – Irish Capitalism – are across the road to a Republic.”*
So although many republican minded people fell for the rhetoric of Fianna Fáil, the republican movement were well aware that they had no intention of building the republic of 1916. In 1933 the IRA leadership developed a socialist programme in order to appeal to the Irish workers and small farmers in the hopes of rallying them to the republic. The programme supported the nationalisation of certain industries such as banking, housing etc alongside the cooperative ownership of industries. It also permitted that small private businesses could exist but must support their workers with adequate pay. The opening statement of the program stated:
“We have within our own nation all the resources which are required to provide every citizen not only with the essentials of life but with comfort. Luxuries may not yet be available, but the first stage is to provide an adequate standard for all.”
There is no doubt that the republican movement wanted to prove to the people that they were the ones who would lead them to the republic and not Fianna Fáil. It is also clear that those Like Twomey, George Gilmore, Frank Ryan and O’Donnell knew that militarist tactics would not win the people to support Republicanism in the South. They understood in order to get the people on side they had to be involved in the day to day struggles against the right wing policies of the Free State.
Le Adrian Gallagher
*O’Donnell had a friendly relationship with various left wing movements in Ireland including various communist organisations. However he tried to unite all the left wing organisations as an anti imperialist front.
*Here Peadar was pointing out that socialism is an integral part of republicanism and that Fianna Fáil couldn’t be republican if they didn’t support social and economic change. He also didn’t like the term of socialist republican or worker republican because it tried to separate the national and social questions.