Our Strategy

Fronta Poblachtach - Republican Front is an Irish Republican organisation. Therefore our belief is that it is in the best interests of the Irish people and Ireland to have a country governed based on the principle of Irish Republicanism.

So what is Irish Republicanism?

• Irish Republicanism developed as an idea over the course of generations, focusing on the building of an Ireland governed by the Irish people as a whole in their interests, and not by foreign overlords such as the British empire or by native exploiters.

• An effective economic, political and social idea focused on the wellbeing of the Irish people had to be steeped in Ireland’s history, traditions, culture and political, social and economic particularities.

• The development of this idea occurred over the course of generations and was steeped heavily in resistance to British rule. The synthesis of the idea came about in 1916 during the Easter Rising when Republican volunteers read out The Proclamation of a Republic and in the program laid out by the Republican government: “The Democratic Program of the First Dáil”.

•These documents form the basis of Irish Republicanism outlining its core principles. Our task is to pursue a Republic based on these principles with a strategy based on current material conditions.

These principles include:

• The right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies

• The Nation’s sovereignty extends not only to all men and women of the Nation, but to all its material possessions, the Nation’s soil and all its resources, all the wealth and all the wealth-producing processes within the Nation,

• All right to private property must be subordinated to the public right and welfare.

• The country must be ruled in accordance with the principles of Liberty, Equality, and Justice for all, which alone can secure permanence of Government in the willing adhesion of the people.

• Affirming the duty of every man and woman to give allegiance and service to the Commonwealth, and declaring it is the duty of the Nation to assure that every citizen shall have opportunity to spend his or her strength and faculties in the service of the people.

• The right of every citizen to an adequate share of the produce of the Nation’s labour in return for their willing service.

• The first duty of the Government of the Republic is to make provision for the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the children, to secure that no child shall suffer hunger or cold from lack of food, clothing, or shelter, but that all shall be provided with the means and facilities requisite for their proper education and training as Citizens of a Free and Gaelic Ireland.

• Ensuring the care of the Nation’s aged and infirm.

• Safeguarding the health of the people and ensuring the physical as well as the moral well-being of the Nation.

• Promoting the development of the Nation’s resources for the benefit of the Irish people.

• It shall be the duty of the Republic to adopt all measures necessary for the recreation and invigoration of our Industries, and to ensure their being developed on the most beneficial and progressive co-operative and industrial lines.

•Trade with foreign Nations shall be revived on terms of mutual advantage and goodwill.

• Establishing a standard of Social and Industrial Legislation with a view to a general and lasting improvement in the conditions under which the working classes live and labour.

Our Strategy in broad terms

To build an Ireland based on the principles outlined in the core Republican documents we must achieve political power. This does not simply mean winning seats in existing political institutions. However political power is what is used to administer the economic and social policies which currently have Ireland occupied, divided, and rife with poverty and degradation. The question is then how can political power be achieved? Conventionally for a movement to achieve real revolutionary change it has to adopt various means such as: elections and involvement in existing political structures, building up community support, building support among the workforce, building up alternative power structures, building the movement itself, engaging in activism to undermine the status quo and so on. If we are to generalise our approach it is: undermining the existing system, promoting the alternative, and building the alternative.

We aren’t recreating the wheel and similar international and Irish historical examples of the tactics for a revolutionary movement are going to be largely followed. Some unique circumstances which we have to acknowledge though include partition. In other countries actual political power in existing political assemblies has proven to be a massive factor in revolutionary change- however with partition in Ireland, wielding political power in the two partitioned institutions wouldn’t be such a massive strategic factor.

The key strategic mistake being made by Republicans is failing to establish an actual body capable of wielding political power. For all of the perceived enthusiasm we see for a Irish Republicanism, if the state fell apart tomorrow no Republicans would be even close to capable of effectively assuming power. Our key strategic objective is thus having a structure capable of assuming power.

The key ways to do this are:

1. External Structures

By External Structures I am referring to structures external to the movement- these include not only political institutions, but any such bodies which represent the collective interests of the people (community groups, sporting bodies, cultural bodies, etc). Historically in Ireland during the Tan War the Dáil structures were used to undermine British rule.

2. Building the movement

The Party Centric Model differs to the ESM as it focuses on transforming the Party into the force for wielding political power. The Party in itself becomes a government. This model was, in fact, advocated in a 1960s Republican document: ‘Local cumainn needed to set up ‘specialised groups’ for work in tenants’ associations, youth groups, credit union groups and cooperatives. Special importance was placed on factory cumainn in workplaces. These groups would be ‘the dynamos generating local and specialised republican leadership in all areas of the people’s needs’.’ They would ‘serve as a training ground for revolutionary government’. ‘In theory the use of social and economic agitation along with growing electoral strength might [have] seen a ‘dual power’ situation emerge, with the movement, the trade unions and the co-ops as the new organs of state power’.

3. “Guerrilla tactics in parliament”, I.e. involvement in the existing key political institutions where necessary. These ideas will be strategically knitted together. While building this alternative structure we will also need to work hard to gain the support of the people, so when the time is ripe we can wrest support from the existing structures.

More generally then, we need to:

1. Involve ourselves in relevant existing structures, build ourselves as a movement, and strategically involve ourselves in existing power structures (all strategy is to be directed toward the same end but with localised considerations eg the local community dynamic).

2. Undermine the existing structure (highlighting its systemic exploitation through activism, PR and so on).

3. Promoting our alternative (also through activism, PR, etc).

4. Developing the movement through recruitment, expanding support and development of members

5. Developing our policies and plans (economic, political and social policies) to reflect the Republican idea.

6. Promoting Irish language and culture, and promoting and honouring our Republican traditions.

7. Building fraternal relations with national and international allies.

A more detailed strategic approach is available to members but this is our broad strategy for achieving the Republic of 1916.