Communist Party of Ireland
The Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) is an all-Ireland Marxist–Leninist communist party, founded in 1933 and re-founded in 1970. It rarely contests elections and has never had electoral success. The party is a member of the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties.Originating as multiple Revolutionary Workers' Groups, located at Connolly House in Dublin, the most prominent early member was James Larkin Jnr (son of James Larkin). After being outlawed under the government of W. T. Cosgrave in 1931 (as part of a wider crackdown on Peadar O'Donnell's Saor Éire and the IRA), it was legalised in 1932 under Éamon de Valera's government and subsequently changed its name to the Communist Party of Ireland in 1933 under Seán Murray, who had attended the Lenin School in Moscow.
A strong anti-communist public backlash in Ireland occurred around the time of the Spanish Civil War due to the perception that the Popular Front cause was anti-Catholic. The already small CPI found it very difficult to organise. Nevertheless, some CPI members fought in the conflict, alongside Republican Congress members, under the XV International Brigade.
Some Irish communists opposed Ireland being brought into the Second World War and particularly opposed conscription into the British Armed Forces being applied to Northern Ireland in the conflict. Some members were held in Curragh Camp by the government during the Emergency, including the CPI's future General Secretary, Michael O'Riordan. Following the entry of the Soviet Union into World War II in 1941, the party dissolved itself and instructed members to join the Irish Labour Party.
In 1970, the Irish Workers' Party and the Communist Party of Northern Ireland merged into a reunited Communist Party of Ireland. Throughout the period of the Cold War, the CPI openly aligned with the Soviet Union. During the Troubles, the party procured some arms for the faction which became the Official IRA. The party closely supported the Cuban Revolution and campaigns such as the Birmingham Six. Minor splits from the CPI included the Eurocommunist-inspired Irish Marxist Society. Provided by Wikipedia
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1Published 1971[Belfast : Communist Party of Ireland, 1971]12, v, 7 p. ; 20 cm.“...Communist Party of Ireland...”
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2Published 1932Dublin : Sphinx Publications, 1932-1936.4 v.“...Communist Party of Ireland...”
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3Published 1939Dublin : National Committee, C.P.I., 1939-1941.131 v.“...Communist Party of Ireland...”
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4Published 1915Dublin : Irish Workers' Co-operative Society, 1915-1923.v.“...Communist Party of Ireland...”