Good Friday: The Death of Irish Republicanism by Anthony McIntyre
Ausubo Press, £16
THE death of Irish republicanism. Now there’s a phrase to warm the cockles of Unionist hearts. What makes it all the more amazing is that it’s the title of a new book which is actually one of the most damning criticisms of the Provisional Sinn Fein peace strategy ever written by an Irish republican.
Every Unionist should read this book, written by ex-Provisional inmate turned academic and writer Anthony McIntyre, because it ranks as one of the best insights into why the “Shinners” have become, in his opinion, Britain’s “token nationalist” puppets operating in the Stormont partitionist Parliament in Northern Ireland.
If Unionists want to know how to keep Sinn Fein in check, they just need to immerse themselves in these 13 chapters based on McIntyre’s comprehensive portfolio of articles, many penned when he was editor of the dissident website, The Blanket.
As big a controversy as the book’s content was its official launch in Belfast’s historic Linenhall Library. The guest list included a who’s who of anti-agreement republicanism. In his launch speech, McIntyre – who served 18 years in the
H Blocks at the Maze – emphasised that republicans should never again resort to killing to achieve a united Ireland. But various speakers stuck the boot into the current Sinn Fein leadership, much to the amusement of a small number of right-wing Unionists in the audience.
For Unionists, it was good to hear a couple of former and very prominent Provisionals admit their movement had been defeated. And that sense of defeatism comes across poignantly in McIntyre’s book.
After his release from prison, McIntyre completed his doctorate and has since established himself as one of the most authoritative writers on Irish republicanism. His frustration at the peace process in Northern Ireland – and with the role played by Sinn Fein and the IRA in it – is at the heart of this collection of some of his most remarkable articles.
But this is not a republican shooting from the lip. This is a detailed, step by step, well-argued analysis of how many in what is now termed the dissident republican movement see Sinn Fein – and its president, West Belfast MP Gerry Adams – leading the campaign for a united Ireland in the wrong direction.
Returning to the book’s launch – even gentle Unionist jibes about the occupied
26 counties rejoining the British Commonwealth and the Union flag fluttering once more over Dublin castle were just greeted with polite republican mutterings. And even if you’re a diehard loyalist Sinn Feiner, fully in love with the Northern Assembly peace tactics, you need to read McIntyre’s work to understand the depth of grumblings within your own ranks.
A glance at the defeatist titles of the various sections would reveal to even the most disillusioned Unionist that McIntyre believes the Provos have been defeated both politically and militarily: “We, the IRA, Have Failed”; “The Last Supper”; “Sinn Feign”; “Republicanism’s Surrender by Instalment” – and the Unionists’ personal favourite, “Go to Sleep, My Weary Provo”.
Listening to the speeches at the launch, dipping into the McIntyre book, and chatting privately to a number of the guests, one conclusion was crystal clear – that republicanism, contrary to public perception, is as split today as Unionism is.
One question remains unanswered though – how could the well-oiled Sinn Fein spin machine allow this book’s contents to see the light of day? Or is Sinn Fein just better at covering over its public cracks than the Unionists?
Many evangelical Unionists keep a copy of the Holy Bible on their bedside table for daily inspiration. For added encouragement, perhaps they should get a copy of McIntyre’s book. It’s not that Sinn Fein has the Hun – an old slang term for Unionists – on the run. But if you accept the analysis of this former leading Provo, then it’s Sinn Fein and the IRA which is on the run from the Hun.
Equally controversial, I imagine, is the picture of the young man with the black glasses and beret pictured walking beside a coffin on the book’s front cover just above the word “Death”? Could that possibly be a youthful Gerry Adams?
McIntyre believes that the Good Friday Agreement marked the death of the republican dream. Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and Sinn Fein believe that the agreement, the power sharing assembly, and cross-border all-Ireland co-operation will pave the way, one day, for a reunited Ireland.
Tony Blair pulled off the tricky feat of persuading the Unionists that the agreement would preserve the union while selling it to Sinn Fein as bringing Belfast closer to Dublin. In the end, history will decide who called it correctly and whether the agreement was the death of the republican dream or the end of the union. In the meantime, McIntyre’s book offers us an extraordinary insight into the minds of dissident republicans.
John Coulter
