The History of the People's Democracy
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1 The History of the People’s Democracy: civil rights, socialism, and the struggle against the Northern state, 1968-1983 Matthew Collins, BA, MA Thesis submitted for the examination of a Doctorate of Philosophy in history Faculty of Arts, Department of History, March 2018 Supervisor: Dr Emmet O’Connor I confirm that the word count of this thesis is less than 100,000 words. 2 Table of contents Acknowledgements p. 5 Abstract p. 6 Abbreviations p. 7 Chapter 1: Introduction and literature review 1.1. Introduction: the changing question p. 10 1.2. Structure and methodology p. 22 1.3. Literature review: interpreting the civil rights movement p. 35 1.4. The pursuit of socialism after 1968 p. 48 1.5. A short historical introduction p. 61 Chapter 2: Global revolt and the birth of the People’s Democracy 2.1. Introduction p. 80 2.2. The roots of the student revolt p. 83 2.3. Early student activism p. 95 2.4. October 1968 p. 104 2.5. Street politics and civil disobedience p. 117 2.6. Conclusion: a real change p. 126 Chapter 3: Civil rights at the crossroads 3.1. Introduction p. 128 3.2. After October p. 130 3.3. The November reforms p. 137 3.4. The Long March: four days that shook Northern Ireland p. 150 3.5. The ambush at Burntollet Bridge p. 162 3.6. Civil rights reignited p. 167 3.7. Conclusion p. 177 3 Chapter 4: From civil rights to civil strife 4.1. Introduction: 1969 the fateful year p. 180 4.2. The February election p. 184 4.3. The PD and the politics of civil rights p. 196 4.4. The election of Bernadette Devlin MP p. 209 4.5. Drift to disaster p. 217 4.6. ‘Falls Road burns, Malone Road fiddles’: behind the barricades in Free Belfast p. 225 4.7. Conclusion p. 236 Chapter 5: Free citizens 5.1. Introduction: making the left relevant p. 239 5.2. The launch of a socialist party p. 243 5.3. Smash Toryism p. 254 5.4. The turn to social agitation: cement strike, bus fares protests and the campaign for Lough Neagh fisheries p. 261 5.5. The end of the honeymoon and resurgent republicanism p. 267 5.6. Conclusion p. 278 Chapter 6: Unfree citizens 6.1. Introduction p. 281 6.2. The introduction of internment p. 284 6.3. The Northern Resistance p. 292 6.4. Smashing Stormont p. 300 6.5. Return to the streets p. 308 6.6. Dual power p. 319 6.7. Conclusion: Motorman and the fall of Stormont p. 329 Chapter 7: The long decline of the PD 7.1. Introduction p. 333 4 7.2. The Orange State p. 338 7.3. Militarism p. 346 7.4. Mass action p. 357 7.5. The rebirth of civil resistance p. 371 7.6. Smash the H Blocks p. 38 7.7. Conclusion p. 394 Chapter 8: Conclusion 8.1. Assessing years of struggle p. 397 8.2. Pursuing the workers’ republic p. 406 Bibliography p. 418 5 Acknowledgements At a time when the study of Irish history faces an uncertain future I feel privileged to have availed of a DEL funded Studentship, which allowed this research to see the light of day. My greatest academic debt is owed to Emmet O’Connor. I am fortunate to have been supervised by someone who exercised such patience in reading the drafts of this thesis. His advice, criticism and support pointed this research in the right direction from the outset and I am extremely grateful. Thanks also to the staff and students at both the School of History, and the Research Graduate School at Ulster University, who ensured an enjoyable environment while carrying out this work and assisted me in various ways. It was a pleasure to sit down with former People’s Democracy and civil rights activists to discuss their history in detail. Thanks to Anne Devlin, Vincent Doherty, Jeff Dudgeon, John Gray, John McAnulty, Eamonn McCann, Eilish MacDermott, Jim Monaghan, Fergus O’Hare, Gerry O’Hare, Bríd Ruddy, Gerry Ruddy and Fergus Woods. The archival work was sped up by the efforts of staff at various archives, including the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland and the McClay Library at Queen’s University. The staff at Belfast’s Linenhall Library went out of their way to facilitate my research. The content of this thesis was sharpened by conversations with friends. Particular thanks to Seán Mitchell, who has consistently nurtured my passion for socialist history over the years. Brian Kelly, too, has always been a sound source of insight into this subject and many others. Finally, thanks to my mother and father, Patricia and Michael, who have always supported me. 6 Abstract This thesis examines the history of one of the most active socialist organizations during the period commonly referred to as the Irish ‘Troubles’, the People’s Democracy (PD). It constitutes the first archive driven study of the PD, combining a rich body of primary sources with important oral testimony. Following an interdisciplinary approach and utilising work from various fields, including historiography, political science and sociology, this research covers some fifteen years of political activism, offering a unique look at the recent history of Northern Ireland through the prism of the radical left. The formative chapters consist of a detailed account of the emergence of the PD in 1968 and its role in the civil rights movement, showing how the PD drove forward the civil rights campaign in a radical direction. In doing so, these chapters strengthen our understanding of the socialist left in this complex social movement, they also challenge much of the existing academic literature, which tends to be under researched and suffers from a number of lacunas. The experience of repression that met the civil rights movement saw the PD radicalise, wherein it cohered into an organised political party, carrying out activity throughout some of the most tumultuous events of the Troubles, and helping to spearhead many of the most important campaigns of the 1970s and early 1980s, including the campaign against internment in 1971, and later protests around prisoners’ rights. This thesis chronicles the role of the PD in these movements and assesses the politics of the organisation, including its changing relationship with Irish republicanism. It provides a thorough account of the PD’s unique contribution to the history of the radical left in Ireland, from 1968 to the early 1980s, and therefore fills a significant gap in the historiography. 7 Abbreviations BICO – British and Irish Communist Organisation: a small but influential Stalinist organisation active in Britain and Ireland. CDU – Campaign for Democracy in Ulster: a lobby group inside the British Labour Party that sought to challenge discrimination, founded in 1965. CPNI – Communist Party of Northern Ireland: a member of the Communist International in Northern Ireland. CSJ – Campaign for Social Justice: a pressure group set up to campaign against discrimination in Northern Ireland, founded in 1964. HCL – Homeless Citizens League: a Dungannon based housing rights campaign in the 1960s. INLA – Irish National liberation Army: a republican paramilitary group founded in 1974, armed wing of the IRSP. IRSP – Irish Socialist Republican Party: a republican socialist organisation founded in 1974 by former members of the ‘Official’ republican movement. IWG – Irish Workers’ Group: a small Marxist organisation in Ireland in the 1960s. LAW – Loyalist Association of Workers: a militant unionist organisation of workers and trade unions, formed in 1971. MSR – Movement for a Socialist Republic: a socialist and Trotskyist inspired organisation that united with PD in 1978. NICRA – Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association: founded in 1967, NICRA was the largest coalition of civil rights groupings. NRM – Northern Resistance Movement: founded in 1971 to campaign against internment and British military repression. NILP – Northern Ireland Labour Party: the main labour and social democratic organisation in Northern Ireland, founded in 1924. OIRA – Official Irish Republican Army: the second largest republican military organisation of the troubles. PD – People’s Democracy: a student based civil rights organisation founded in 1968, which later morphed into a revolutionary socialist party. PHRC – Political Hostages’ Release Committee: a campaigning organisation that agitated for prisoners’ rights. PIRA – Provisional IRA: founded in 1969 after a split from the IRA, the PIRA was the most active republican paramilitary during the troubles. RMG – Revolutionary Marxist Group: a Trotskyist group in Ireland founded in the early 1970s. 8 SDLP – Social Democratic and Labour Party: social democratic and Irish nationalist political party founded in 1970. UDR – Ulster Defence Regiment: a regiment of the British Army in Northern Ireland, founded in 1970. USFI – United Secretariat of the Fourth International: international Trotskyist organisation. RAC – Relatives Action Committee: committee founded to campaign for prisoner’s rights, established in 1978. RCA – Revolutionary Citizens’ Army: a small paramilitary organisation founded by PD members in the mid 1970s. RRP – Red Republican Party: a small breakaway from the PD in 1976. RSSF – Revolutionary Socialist Student Federation: a radical student organisation launched in Britain in 1968. RUC – Royal Ulster Constabulary: the majority Protestant police force in Northern Ireland, established in 1922. UDA – Ulster Defence Association: the largest loyalist paramilitary organisation during the troubles and founded in 1972. UPV – Ulster Protestant Volunteers: a loyalist paramilitary group founded by Ian Paisley in 1966. UVF – Ulster Volunteer Force: a loyalist paramilitary organisation founded in 1966. UWC – Ulster Worker’s Council: a loyalist workers’ movement established in 1974. YS – Young Socialists: the youth section of the Northern Ireland Labour Party. YSA – Young Socialist Alliance: founded in 1968 by leftwing activists in Queen’s University. 9 I hereby declare that for 2 years following the date on which the thesis is deposited in Research Student Administration of Ulster University, the thesis shall remain confidential with access or copying prohibited.