The following piece was written by Pádraic MacCoitir, Blanketman and Republican ex-Prisoner:
I was in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh with hundreds of other Republican prisoners when the IRA called its ceasefire on the 31st August 1994. Although we weren’t privy to all that was going on in the IRA it didn’t come as a surprise. We had access to newspapers and we constantly listened to the news on the radio. We also had a large number of debates on the wings and therefore we were very aware of what was going on politically on the outside.
Many of us remembered the previous IRA ceasefires of 1972 and 1975 but we believed the IRA was in a much stronger position than in those days. They were carrying out many operations in Britain and this was a big concern to the British government and capitalist elites. Sinn Féin was on the rise so overall we were confident of the position of the movement and very few of us were concerned.
Of course there were cynics who warned us that the leadership may settle for a lot less than what were our publicly and privately stated objectives. Many of us were socialists and we had some concerns about more recent statements being made at public meetings about the direction in which they were going. However, we had confidence in most of that leadership, many of whom we didn’t know personally.
Shortly after the ceasefire was called, IRA prisoners escaped from Whitemoor prison in England. Five were Republicans and the other was an Englishman who they trusted. Unionists and many British politicians were angry claiming this was a breach of the ceasefire but they were ignored by the movement and their supporters.
Some of us were in contact with our female comrades in Maghaberry prison and we were discussing how the ceasefire would impact us. There was much speculation amongst some prisoners about the possibility of early release but the IRA camp staff in both prisons warned against that saying we were up against a government that had lied to us for years. One of many examples was the first hunger strike of 1980.
Talks went on between Sinn Féin and the British government both public and private and as time wore on it was clear there were tensions over many issues. On the 9th of February 1996 I was walking around the prison yard with two comrades when another shouted out the ceasefire had ended. We rushed into the wing canteen and watched the news on the television. Reports were coming in of a massive bomb going off in London and a big cheer went up. However, as I looked around the canteen I saw some men walk out looking despondent. They were obviously hoping the ceasefire would hold and they would be released.
Meetings were held on our wings and the camp staff reminded the men to be cautious of reporting by the British and pro British media, saying we would be contacted by the movement from outside. There was a lot of criticism being levelled at the IRA from the British and Free State governments as well as unionists and constitutional nationalists. The overwhelming majority of us supported the tougher line taken by the movement.
I was released in April 1996 having served more than ten years and after settling in with my wife and two young children I got reinvolved with the movement.
I knew a lot of women and men and would meet them on a daily basis to discuss the ongoing situation. Although I saw many positive changes I was also concerned about how there was less emphasis on socialism. Some people were arguing for an end to armed struggle and to take part in constitutional politics. We all knew that more people would support Sinn Féin if the IRA ended their campaign but many of us argued that would only be to the benefit of the British government and unionists.
The IRA was coming under pressure from the US, the British, unionists, the SLDP and Free State government to call another ceasefire. Unknown to many of us secret talks were taking place between the IRA and the above mentioned and I would argue the pressure forced them to call another ceasefire in July 1997.
There was little, or nothing, gained for Republicans but those of us who were critical remained within the movement and tried but failed to influence its direction. I became more frustrated even though I wasn’t arguing from a militaristic position. The goal of a Socialist Republic was no longer on the agenda and it came down to a new neo-liberal Ireland; one that complied with a British/US agenda.
The British and Free State governments knew they were winning and they cobbled together what became known as the Good Friday Agreement (GFA). False promises were made about the people of Ireland having the final say on the outcome but it was nothing more than a sop to unionism and a jaundiced nod to ‘democracy’. The only positive to emerge from this process was the release of republican political prisoners. Twenty five years on there has been little or no change and I would argue that people have been left feeling powerless to make any meaningful change to their situation. Having given their support to a revolutionary organisation that promised the Socialist Republic only to become cheerleaders for the neo-liberal project that will make no meaningful change to the day to day lives of the vast majority of the Irish people.
This quote from James Connolly is as relevant today as when he wrote it:
‘If you remove the English Army tomorrow and hoist the green flag over Dublin Castle., unless you set about the organisation of the Socialist Republic your efforts will be in vain. England will still rule you. She would rule you through her capitalists, through her landlords, through her financiers, through the whole array of commercial and individualist institutions she has planted in this country and watered with the tears of our mothers and the blood of our martyrs.’
