How It All Began

Ten veers after streets of the 6-counties is a good by sur struggle ove> + im will be doing in the next few diet us-ald the le at e mistakes the: have becn made 11 shared. Below, the first art +: ob jective situation that and the forces behind the firs Ulaeryre Slate ane Lts syeterms of As we commemorate the tenth ryoor the fireat civil shts marches in the North, ita to be depressive ebout the Sefults of the struggle. Both orth ané South democratic rights heave been eroded. In the North Heny have died or heen seriously nyured and many more lenguish in Cfm and in the squalor of Hcl oo ot te The injustices of imperialhas} remain and repression is on is Tnoreaee.

there have been positive irom the struggle. An mess of people have bea2¢ politically coiscious and ve int. course of the “geile. Many are no longer act.

WroaLl tue signs are that ere becoting reiovoived in and are determined to Lae Tepressicn.

As been the most i serious challenge. that Poe iiem has ever face in Ire7 linsting in 'no-go0" areas thm se7-Un alternative seifr-fovGang effectively seceded Sr4tish control. Above all, ht Dorugeie brought about the e-truction of the corrupt Storment fine. The immerialists are still seeling from that blow and the < rill be felt for some time ~#2ts sic if we want to see eeins come from the & ve to heave to look critic- ni weeny and learn the Like ‘economic factors Ferhaos the simplest and most lesson of the past ten is thet Mass upsurges are oO = & large extent on hanges in society, hemselves caused by onomic changes both locally and in the world economy. These sorts of economic change = aid ocfcur in Ireland in the tak late te and early ‘60s. the civil rights demonstrators tne interve ning years. Thet's precisely vhat issues of Socialist Republi: sponse our strvercle has scim st - “iii and not least the succtsses we here dele in this series ~skes louk aliowed the birth o? cur cana Le t helting ateps sf oppositica Y sectarianir like engineering, shipbuilding and linen, #11 major sources of Unicnist patronage, went into to attract foreign capital. In order to accomodate this new finance capital the unionista mounted a campaign to encourage foreign investment and in late results of this were a major ‘as large-scale industry began to replace spricultural work and «& deep ideological crisis as the pro-imperialist ideology.

the unionists rule in the old way and the of servitude. In the '60 the to rule in tne old way. For 50 the use cf naked sectarianism and using the B-Specials and RUC as a private army. During unconditional support of the British. Now they were being pressured to refurbish their image and there was an element of uncertainty in their policy to seize upon.

erupted cots the time to inck back at the nistary rs é m end discrimination.

In the North local industries decline. Storment adopted a policy of lavish grants and tax-free perks had to tone down sectarianism and rationalise the economic relationships with the South. This necessity was the base for O'Neillisn.

In the South the government gave up all ettempte to establish an independent Irish economy. They 1965 agreed an Anglo-Irish freetrade area with London. The main upsurge of working class militancy estate tried to abandon nationalism end replace it with a more resaily lenin cnce wrote that revolution beceme possible when the ruiing class found it impossible tu oppressed classes were ro longer willing to accept their condition unionists found themselves unable years they bed dealt with opposition by massive repression, by this whole period they had the : that their opponents were quick the. opposition.

Earlier we noted that objective factors play a large role in the création of mass upsurgesa. But it true tha. political groups must actively organise to take advantage of these opportunities. The economic tuom of the sixties erented employment opportunities for catholic workers , especially in the construction industry and created a new mood of militancy and self-confidence. A new middle elass grew up deeply opposed to discrimination and lack of opportunity. And political groups organised to take advantage of this.

By fer the most tmpurtant development was the alliance between the Coumminist Party and the republicans. The defeat of military activity in 1956-62 had meant a major rethink for republicans and they had moved toverds political action and building a base in the working class. Together they decided to ettack the unionist denial of democracy in the North. Ancther group active in producing infcrmetion and publicising dilscrimication vas the Campaign for Sociai Justice in Dungannon and email socialist groups that hud split away from the pro-peartition Northern Ireland Labour Party were also active. All worked for years before the first demonstration, laying the political basis of the mass explosicn that was to come.

Civil rights = = = A major pc litical weakness of the Commmist Party and the republicans was thet their activity was aimed at publicity and parliamentary pressure rather than mass demonstrations. They worked hard 1c establish the Civil Rights Associavion, but it Was meant as & complaints body rather like the NCCL in England and contained several businessmen and liberal unionists. Fart the local bodies that were proving Up arcunc the North were considsrab more radical and they were to be tne base of the future Civil Rights Movement.

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