According to an early Fianna Fáil Handbook, the aims of that party were stated thus: 1.To secure the Unity and Independence of Ireland as a Republic. 2. To restore the Irish language as the spoken language of the people, and to develop a distinctive national life in accordance with Irish traditions and ideals. 3. To make the resources and wealth of Ireland subservient to the needs and welfare of ALL the people of Ireland.
These were the first three aims of FF published in the 1920s -all laudable aims. However, sadly they remained on paper and the successors of the original founders of FF seem to have lost sight of these aims altogether and moved away from them until today you have a leadership not in the least interested in securing the Unity and Independence of Ireland as a Republic.
On 29 Nov 2020, the late Liam Kennedy, late of this parish, wrote a blog, “The Successes and Failure of Fianna Fáil “in which he praised the leadership of FF under DeValera:
“Whereas Cosgrave had embraced imperialists from Redmondite and Unionist camps, and Fascist principles on losing office, De Valera had sought reconciliation with his former comrades and friendship with all nations. I have never read of him uttering a term of abuse of anyone, nor showing any evidence of bigotry of any description.
Haughey, the Lenihans and O’Malleys who succeeded the party’s founders, came from “Pro-Treaty” families.
Frank Aiken, a brilliant field commander in both the War of Independence and the Civil War, became in 1923 IRA Chief of Staff at the age of 25. He immediately ordered his men to cease fire and return their arms to secure dumps for possible future use.
De Valera within three years founded Fianna Fáil to explore political means of securing their objectives took most of the IRA with them. In 1932 when Fianna Fail took office, Aiken released IRA men imprisoned by Cosgrave, and, as Minister of Defence secured the willing obedience of the Free State Army to the Fianna Fail Government.
If Aiken had then retired from public life his reputation would have been unique among statesmen. But he had more to do.
For instance. As Minister of External Affairs, Aiken promoted discussion of Mao Tse Tung’s China admission to the United Nations. New York’s Cardinal Spelman phoned the Irish delegation to object. But Fianna Fáil never took orders from bishops. Indeed they did not, in those days, take their cue from the State Department or the White House.
The crowning glory of Aiken’s achievement was the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968. It was the fruit of ten years’ hard work. Aiken’s signature was the first to it, in Moscow, at the invitation of the Soviet Union.
The attempted unravelling of that Treaty by the Ukrainian Regime in February this year(2020) preceded Russia’s crossing of that state’s borders.”
Kennedy concluded:
“In this Decade of Remembrance, Fianna Fail has forgotten its history of rational and ethical and successful service to Ireland and the world community.”
Following the 2020 General Election FF went into coalition with their old enemies in Fine Gael solely to prevent Sinn Fein taking power in the 26 counties. They persuaded the Green party to support their new arrangement. The two major parties alternated the job of Taoiseach. This coalition arrangement, with alternating Taoisigh, has continued to the present.
Sinn Fein is already the largest party in the 6 counties and is the single largest political party in the 26 counties with 39 representatives in the Dail.
The three main aims of Fianna Fáil today appear to be:
1. To maintain partition and the status quo in Ireland in order to stay in power with Fine Gael in the 26 counties. The current leadership of FF has reneged on its primary aim ”the unification of Ireland.” They have inserted ‘reconciliation’ as a pre-condition for unity thereby giving unionism/loyalism an excuse never to reconcile with Irish nationalists/republicans.
2. To offer minimal support to the promotion of the Irish language as a spoken language. The Irish revival has been spear-headed by citizens rather than the government.
3. To make the resources and wealth of Ireland (26 counties) subservient to the needs of a certain section of the Irish people and to ignore the needs and well-being of the poor, the homeless, those who live on the breadline, and those who end up in prisons which are already over-crowded. The present dependence of the Irish economy on foreign direct investment (especially from the US) means that the government is unable to pursue a non-aligned role in global affairs. Contrary to everything that previous FF governments have done, the current strategy is to erode Irish neutrality and to seek to align with Western military alliances whether NATO or an EU army.
It is clear that the present Fianna Fáil regards the growth of the new Sinn Fein party -north and south- as a real threat to their very existence. FF have occupied the republican base for so long without having delivered any of what they set out to do that they now fear that Sinn Fein is going to get into power and deliver on what they had promised to do for the last 100 years. Their fears are sometimes expressed in vitriol and hatred for Sinn Fein. But it is now clear that their days as the rulers of the 26 counties are numbered – as are the days of the 26 county Free State –and partition. We are entering a period of momentous change in Ireland. The preparation for the Border Referendum as included in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 must continue.
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