View source for Irish Republican Socialist Party

{{Short description|Irish political party}}
{{For|the early 20th-century party founded by James Connolly|Irish Socialist Republican Party}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Primary sources|date=April 2008}}
{{Infobox political party
| country          = the Republic of Ireland
| country2         = Northern Ireland
| name             = Irish Republican Socialist Party
| native_name      = {{lang|ga|Páirtí Poblachtach Sóisalach na h-Éireann}}
| abbreviation     = IRSP
| logo             = Irish Republican Socialist Party.svg
| leader           = Ard Chomhairle<br/>(National Executive)
| chairman         = Martin McMonagle
| leader2_title    = Founder
| leader2_name     = [[Seamus Costello]] and others
| leader1_title    = Deputy leader
| foundation       = {{start date|1974|12|8|df=y}}
| split            = [[Workers' Party (Ireland)|Official Sinn Féin]]
| headquarters     = Costello House,<br />392b [[Falls Road, Belfast|Falls Road]],<br />[[Belfast]], BT12 6DH,<br />[[County Antrim]],<br />[[Northern Ireland]]
| ideology         = {{Nowrap|[[Communism]]<br/>[[Marxism–Leninism]]<br/>[[Irish republicanism]]<br/>[[Hard Euroscepticism]]}}
| position         = [[Far-left politics|Far-left]]
| newspaper        = ''[[The Starry Plough (magazine)|The Starry Plough]]''<br />''Worker's Republic'' (Belfast)<ref>{{Cite web |title='Workers' Republic'. Newsletter, Belfast IRSP. Winter 2017 |url=http://www.irsp.ie/news/?p=2390 |website=irsp.ie |publisher=Republican Socialist News}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
| colours          = {{colorbox|Red}} Red<br/> {{colorbox|Yellow}} Yellow<br/>{{colorbox|White}} White
| youth_wing       = Republican Socialist Youth Movement (RSYM)
| wing1_title      = Paramilitary wing
| wing1            = [[Irish National Liberation Army]] (INLA, 1974–present)
| wing2_title      = American Affiliate
| wing2            = [[Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America]]
| colorcode        = #e80504
| website          = {{url|https://irsp.ie/}}
}}
The '''Irish Republican Socialist Party''' or '''IRSP''' ({{langx|ga|Páirtí Poblachtach Sóisialach na hÉireann}}) is a small [[Communism|communist]] and [[Irish republicanism|Irish republican]] party in [[Ireland]]. It is associated with the [[Irish National Liberation Army]] (INLA) paramilitary group.<ref name="beeb">"[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/northern_ireland/latest_news/156435.stm UK and Ireland welcome INLA ceasefire] ", BBC News, 23 August 1998</ref> The party's youth wing is the Republican Socialist Youth Movement (RSYM). It was founded by former members of [[Workers' Party (Ireland)|'Official' Sinn Féin]] in 1974 during [[the Troubles]]. Initially it described itself as a [[Socialism|socialist]] Irish republican party, but in 1984 it adopted [[Marxism–Leninism]].<ref name="Ross182">{{cite book |last1=Ross |first1=F Stuart |title=Smashing H-block The Rise and Fall of the Popular Campaign Against Criminalization, 1976-1982 |date=2011 |publisher=Liverpool University Press |page=182 |quote=In 1984, the IRSP publicly declared itself a Marxist–Leninist party}}</ref> The party opposes the [[Good Friday Agreement]] and the [[European Union]]. It has no elected representatives.

==History==
===1970s===
[[File:StarryPlough-darkblue.svg|left|thumb|200x200px|The [[Starry Plough (flag)|Starry Plough]] is often used as a symbol to represent the Irish Republican Socialist Party, its armed wing the [[Irish National Liberation Army]], and other [[Irish Republican Socialist Movement|Irish republican socialist]] groups]]
The Irish Republican Socialist Party was founded at a meeting on 8 December 1974 in the Spa Hotel in [[Lucan, Dublin|Lucan]], near [[Dublin]], by former members of [[Workers' Party (Ireland)|Workers' Party]] (aka 'Official' Sinn Féin), headed by [[Seamus Costello]]. He had been expelled from the [[Official Irish Republican Army]] (OIRA) following a [[court-martial]], and from Official Sinn Féin on the same basis.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hanley |first1=Brian |title=The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers' Party |last2=Millar |first2=Scott |publisher=Penguin Ireland |year=2009 |isbn=9781844881208 |pages=252–281}}</ref> Along with other activists, he was dissatisfied with the group's tactics and policies, especially on the issues surrounding the 1972 OIRA ceasefire and his growing belief that the emerging conflict was sectarian.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1975-04-01 |title=INTERVIEW WITH SEAMUS COSTELLO |url=https://www.leftarchive.ie/document/view/1596/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |work=The Starry Plough |publisher=Irish Republican Socialist Party |pages=4–5 |via=leftarchive.ie}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Revolutionary Works: Seamus Costello |publisher=Foreign Language Press |year=2018 |isbn=9782491182137 |location=Utrecht |chapter=“Principled Stand” (Interview) |quote='''What are the main ideological differences between the IRSP and the Officials?''' - The principal ideological differences would be their attitude towards the National Question as against our attitude. Basically, the position of the leadership of the Officials is that there is no hope of achieving National Liberation until such time as the Protestant and Catholic working class in the North are united and therefore there is nothing which can be done in political terms or in any other terms about this particular issue. Our attitude, on the other hand, is that the British presence in Ireland is the basic cause of the divisions between the Protestant and Catholic working class in the North. It follows from that, in our view, that the primary emphasis should be on the mobilisation of the mass of the Irish people in the struggle for National Liberation. We believe, also, that the left in Irish politics should play a leading role in this struggle. Up until recent years, many of us felt that the Official Movement was capable of and willing to do this. Indeed the rank and file of the Official Movement had expressed their views on this at the 1972 and 1973 Ard Fheiseanna, where they rejected the position of the national leadership on the national question and put forward a policy which would have led to a more militant approach on this question. However, the leadership disagreed with this policy and deliberately frustrated its implementation. The result of this was that the Official Republicans, who, at that time, were the largest single body of organised left-wing opinion in Ireland, deliberately divorced the working-class struggle from the national struggle and gradually degenerated taking a reformist position on a number of very important issues. '''What issues in particular?''' - The principal issues that come to mind immediately are the Civil Rights struggle, the Assembly Elections, the question of taking seats and the question of the rent and rates strike. In all these issues, the leadership of the Officials hesitated to take a stand. They have, for instance, regarded the Civil Rights struggle since 1969, as the only struggle worth taking part in. They ignored the presence of 15,000 troops on the streets. They ignored the torture and terror perpetrated by the British Army on the Nationalist population and they acted as though there was no change in the situation since 1969... In other words, they failed to realise the change in the nature of the struggle in Ireland, particularly in the North. They failed to realise that struggle within the context of the Six County State to an outright struggle against Imperialism, as manifested by the British political and military presence in Ireland.}}</ref> According to the IRSP, 80 people were in attendance.<ref name=PD /> A paramilitary wing, the [[Irish National Liberation Army]] (INLA), was founded the same day, although its existence was intended to be kept hidden until such a time that the INLA could operate effectively.<ref name=":2">{{Cite thesis |last=Sawyer |first=John Paul |title=COMPETITION IN THE MARKET FOR POLITICAL VIOLENCE: NORTHERN IRISH REPUBLICANISM, 1969–1998 |date=2010-12-08 |access-date=2024-04-10 |degree=PhD of Philosophy in Government |publisher=Georgetown University |url=https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/553106/sawyerJohn.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |pages=163-165, 202-204}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Perspectives on the future of Republican Socialism for Ireland |url=https://irsp.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/PerspectivesDocument.pdf |website=irsp.ie |publisher=Irish Republican Socialist Party |page=8 |quote=A military wing, the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), was founded the same day, although its existence was intended to be kept hidden until such times when the INLA could operate effectively. Seamus Costello was elected as the party’s first chairperson and the army’s first chief of staff. Together, the IRSP and the INLA refer to themselves as the Irish Republican Socialist Movement (IRSM).}}</ref> Costello was elected as the party's first chairperson and the Army's first chief of staff. Together, the IRSP and the INLA were referred to as the [[Irish Republican Socialist Movement]] (IRSM).<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Morrison |first=John F. |title=The Origins and Rise of Dissident Irish Republicanism |date=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1501309236 |page=85 |quote=This chapter covers the relatively short process which resulted in the division in the Official Republican Movement resulting in the formation of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement (IRSM) which consisted of an armed wing, the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and a political wing, the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP)}}</ref>

Former [[Unity (Northern Ireland)|Unity]] MP for [[Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)|Mid-Ulster]] [[Bernadette Devlin McAliskey|Bernadette McAliskey]] served on the executive of the IRSP.<ref>[[Tim Pat Coogan|Coogan, Tim Pat]]. ''The IRA'';  St. Martin's Griffin; revised & updated edition : 5 January 2002; {{ISBN|978-0312294168}}</ref> In December 1975 she resigned following the failure of a motion to be passed which would have brought the INLA under the control of the IRSP {{lang|ga|[[Ardfheis#Ard Chomhairle|Ard Comhairle]]}} (executive committee).<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Mass Resignations in the IRSP |url=https://www.rte.ie/archives/2015/1130/750277-mass-resignations-in-the-irsp/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=RTÉ Archives |language=en |quote=20 members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) resigned on 1 December 1975. Two days earlier, 11 members of its National Executive had walked out of an Ard Comhairle in a dispute over control of the INLA. These included Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, who had helped found the party the previous year with chairman Seamus Costello, and meant that the presence of the IRSP in Northern Ireland was substantially weakened.}}</ref> This led to the resignation of half the {{lang|ga|Ard Comhairle}}, which weakened the party.<ref name=":4" /> [[Tony Gregory]], a future Dublin [[Teachta Dála|TD]], was also a member for a short time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mulqueen |first=John |title='An Alien Ideology': Cold War Perceptions of the Irish Republican Left |publisher=Liverpool University Press |year=2019 |isbn=9781789629453 |page=213 |chapter=Soviet Policies in Dáil Éireann: Workers’ Party advances ‘Irish neutrality’ and attacks NATO |doi=10.3828/liverpool/9781789620641.003.0008 |quote=Gregory joined the IRSP 'on paper' and had been 'devastated' by Costello's assassination.}}</ref>

In one of the first of the INLA's armed operations, [[Billy McMillen]], commanding officer of the OIRA Belfast Battalion, was murdered by INLA member [[Gerard Steenson]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morris |first=Allison |date=2018-02-20 |title=Decommissioning special report: Bloody feuds followed 1972 ceasefire |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/decommissioning/2018/02/20/news/official-ira-bloody-feuds-followed-1972-ceasefire-1259102/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240410125325/https://www.irishnews.com/news/decommissioning/2018/02/20/news/official-ira-bloody-feuds-followed-1972-ceasefire-1259102/#selection-683.0-683.14 |archive-date=2024-04-10 |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=The Irish News |language=en |quote=The Officials later murdered the INLA's founder, Seamus Costello, while senior OIRA member Billy McMillen was shot dead in April 1975 by the infamous INLA killer Gerard Steenson.}}</ref>

On 5 October 1977, Costello was shot dead in his car by a man armed with a shotgun. His supporters blamed the Official IRA for the killing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://republican-news.org/current/news/2018/10/seamus_costello.html|title=Seamus Costello|website=republican-news.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://redfightback.org/remembering-seamus-costello/|title=Remembering Seamus Costello|date=5 October 2019|website=Red Fightback|access-date=12 May 2022|archive-date=28 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528011126/https://redfightback.org/remembering-seamus-costello/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The party's poor showing in the [[1977 Irish general election]], resignations, and the assassination of Costello, weakened the organisation.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=McDonald |first1=Henry |title=I.N.L.A - Deadly Divisions |last2=Holland |first2=Jack |date=2010 |publisher=Poolbeg Press |isbn=9781842234389 |page=154 |quote=The feud, though long over, had created the conditions that led to Costello’s death. It weakened the IRSP to such an extent that by the summer of 1977 Costello was at the lowest political ebb he had ever reached. The Officials were aware of this, and must have noticed his poor performance at the June 1977 general election. By crippling the IRSP, they had made him vulnerable. |orig-date=1994}}</ref>

===1980s===
In 1980, several IRSP and INLA members—including [[John Turnley]], [[Miriam Daly]], [[Ronnie Bunting]] and Noel Little—were killed by [[Ulster loyalism|Ulster loyalist]] paramilitaries, most prominently the [[Ulster Defence Association]] (UDA).<ref name="Lost Lives">''Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles'' by [[David McKittrick]], et al. Mainstream Publishing (10 May 2001); {{ISBN|184018504X}}, {{ISBN|978-1840185041}}, pp 840-41</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Connla |date=2018-03-19 |title=INLA man's shooting may be linked to Tory MP's murder |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2018/03/19/news/advocate-general-to-make-inla-men-inquest-decision-1281557/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240411111323/https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2018/03/19/news/advocate-general-to-make-inla-men-inquest-decision-1281557/#selection-761.0-769.239 |archive-date=2024-04-11 |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=The Irish News |language=en |quote=The murders took place over a year after Tory MP Airey Neave was killed when an INLA booby trap bomb exploded under his car at the House of Commons in London. In the months after Mr Neave’s death, several high profile figures linked to the IRSP and the National H-Block Committee were shot dead or seriously injured, including Miriam Daly who had resigned from the party shortly before she was killed in June 1980. John Turnly, a Protestant who was a member of the National H-Block Committee, was killed in Co Antrim in June 1980 while former IRSP member and H-Block campaigner Bernadette McAliskey was also injured in her Co Tyrone home in January 1981.}}</ref> The IRSP have contended that the killings were a result of collusion between loyalists and security forces, even suspecting that some of the killings were carried out by the [[Special Air Service|SAS]] with responsibility attributed to the UDA.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Connla |date=2020-06-04 |title=John Turnley remembered as 'brave' on fortieth anniversary of murder |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2020/06/04/news/john-turnley-remembered-as-brave-on-fortieth-anniversary-of-murder-1962163/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240411105544/https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2020/06/04/news/john-turnley-remembered-as-brave-on-fortieth-anniversary-of-murder-1962163/ |archive-date=2024-04-11 |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=The Irish News |language=en |quote=A FORMER British soldier who embraced Irish nationalism and campaigned for republican prisoners has been described as “brave" on the 40th anniversary of his murder by a loyalist gang linked to the SAS. ... In 2016 it emerged that one of the three, William McClelland, had been a member of the UDR. Brothers Robert and Eric McConnell were also convicted for their part in the murders. During his 1982 trial Robert McConnell claimed he had been working for the SAS saying they supplied him with weapons, uniforms and listening devices. ... He was one of several prison H-Block campaigners targeted by the UDA including former IRSP member Miriam Daly (45), who was killed weeks later on June 26 at her home in Andersonstown in west Belfast. In October that year IRSP members Ronnie Bunting (32) and Noel Little (45) were both shot dead at a house in west Belfast. ...  Although the murders have been attributed to the UDA, the SAS is suspected by some of being involved. Former IRSP member and H-Block campaigner Bernadette McAliskey was injured in a UDA gun attack at her Co Tyrone home in January 1981. It later emerged that a British soldiers were watching the house but failed to intervene.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ronnie Bunting & Noel Little Remembered |url=https://irsp.ie/ronnie-bunting-noel-little-remembered/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=IRSP |language=en-US |quote=In the early hours of the 15th October, British death squads entered the home of Ronnie; assassinating both Ronnie & Noel. While the killing was claimed by the UDA at the time, it is widely believed through eyewitnesses that the SAS were involved on the direct orders of Margaret Thatcher who had a personal agenda to smash the IRSP/INLA and in particularly to kill Ronnie.}}</ref>

Three members of the INLA and IRSP died in the [[1981 Irish hunger strike]] in [[Her Majesty's Prison Service|HM Prison]] [[Maze (HM Prison)|Maze]], also known as Long Kesh: [[Patsy O'Hara]], [[Kevin Lynch (hunger striker)|Kevin Lynch]], and [[Michael Devine (hunger striker)|Michael Devine]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=CAIN: Events: Hunger Strike 1981 - List of Dead |url=https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/events/hstrike/dead.htm |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=cain.ulster.ac.uk}}</ref>

During its first ten years, the IRSP described itself as "socialist", but in 1984 the IRSP formally adopted the communist ideology of [[Marxism-Leninism]].<ref name="Ross182"/> It rejected "parliamentary means", "left-republicanism" and "Hibernianised socialism".<ref name="Hepworth">{{cite book |last1=Hepworth |first1=Jack |title=The Age-old Struggle: Irish Republicanism from the Battle of the Bogside to the Belfast Agreement |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=112, 127}}</ref> By this time, most of the IRSP activists who played a prominent role in the hunger strikes were no longer associated with the party. "Costello traditionalists had been jailed, displaced, or simply left".<ref name="Ross182"/> This adoption of Marxism-Leninism caused misgivings in the INLA. In December 1984, an INLA GHQ representative acknowledged that "many within our ranks who have a more traditional republican viewpoint" were uneasy with the decision.<ref name="Hepworth"/>

In 1987, the IRSP and INLA came under attack from the [[Irish People's Liberation Organisation]] (IPLO), an organisation founded by [[Gerard Steenson]], [[Jimmy Brown (Irish republican)|Jimmy Brown]] and [[Martin O'Prey|Martin 'Rook' O'Prey]], consisting of people who had resigned or been expelled from the INLA.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Leslie |first=David |title=Lighting Candles: A Paramilitary's War with Death, Drugs and Demons |date=2014-05-15 |publisher=Black & White Publishing |isbn=9781845027940 |quote=While Manny was in jail, the arguing and infighting had come to a head and a core of the INLA, including Gerard Steenson, Manny's good friend Jimmy Brown and Martin 'Rook' O'Prey, had broken away and set up the Irish People's Liberation Organisation. At Brown's behest, a political wing, the Republican Socialist Collective was also formed.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=van Um |first=Eric |year=2012 |title=Why Militant Groups Fight Each Other: The Role of Support, Political Objectives and Revenge |url=https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/119390/1/diw_econsec0064.pdf |journal=Economics of Security |location=Berlin |issue=64 |issn=1868-0488 |quote=In 1986, fighting between IPLO and INLA started shortly after IPLO had been formed by expelled members as a breakaway faction of the INLA.}}</ref> A political wing, the [[Republican Socialist Collective]] (RSC), was also formed by Brown.<ref name=":5" /> The IPLO's initial aim was to destroy the IRSM and replace it with their organisation.<ref name=":2" /> Five members of the INLA and IRSP were killed by the IPLO, including leaders [[Ta Power]] and John O'Reilly.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Connla |date=2017-03-29 |title=CrimeCall reconstruction of INLA killings |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/2017/03/29/news/crimeline-reconstruction-of-inla-killings-980933/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240411121652/https://www.irishnews.com/news/2017/03/29/news/crimeline-reconstruction-of-inla-killings-980933/ |archive-date=2024-04-11 |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=The Irish News |language=en |quote=Thomas ‘Ta’ Power (33) and then INLA 'chief of staff ' John Gerard O’Reilly (26) were gunned down as they sat in the Rossnaree Hotel, near Drogheda, in January 1987 by members of the Irish People’s Liberation Organisation (IPLO).}}</ref> The INLA retaliated with several killings of their own. After the INLA killed the IPLO's leader, Steenson, a truce was reached.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Tooher |first=Patrick |date=1987-12-01 |title=the battle for the inla |url=https://docplayer.net/100898180-Regulars-8-front-what-s-new-edited-by-ian-parker-10-despatches-richard-guilliatt-on-new-york-posses-ilo-instant-images-polaroids-by-ruby-wax.html |access-date=2024-04-09 |magazine=BLITZ |page=62 |quote=The death of Steenson in a hail of bullets in west Belfast on March 15th effectively ended the feud. The IPLO did retaliate, killing two minor INLA figures a week later, but only to demonstrate that the group was not dependent on Steenson alone. An uneasy peace has since broken out, engineered by two Belfast priests.}}</ref> Although severely damaged by the IPLO's attacks, the INLA continued to exist.<ref name=":2" /> The IPLO, which was heavily involved in drug dealing, was forcibly disbanded by the Provisional IRA in a [[Night of the Long Knives (1992)|large scale operation in 1992]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Monaghan |first=Rachel |year=2002 |title=The Return of "Captain Moonlight": Informal Justice in Northern Ireland |url=https://pure.coventry.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/28441825/The_Return_of_Captain_Moonlight_.pdf |journal=Studies in Conflict & Terrorism |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=41–56 |doi=10.1080/105761002753404140 |quote=... and in October 1992 took action against the Irish People’s Liberation Organisation (IPLO). The IPLO had a history of criminal activities including a gang rape of a woman in the Divis flats complex and involvement in the growing drug trade. The IRA’s action resulted in the execution of one IPLO member and the shooting of a further 20 members with assault rifles in Belfast. The IPLO disbanded shortly after this.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Holland |first=Jack |date=2011-02-16 |title=A View North Shocking! Paramilitaries running North's rackets |url=https://group.irishecho.com/2011/02/a-view-north-shocking-paramilitaries-running-norths-rackets-2/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Irish Echo |quote=The Irish People’s Liberation Organization, a splinter from the Irish National Liberation Army, under the direction of Jimmy Brown, were the first to commence with the importation of drugs on a sizable scale, mainly ecstasy tablets popular at rave parties in the late 1980s. Brown, who fancied himself as something of an intellectual, justified this by pointing to the guerrillas in Colombia, who finance their war against the state through proceeds from the trade in cocaine. The IPLO was forced to disband by the Provisional IRA in November 1992. But the drug trade goes on, mainly in the hands of elements within the Ulster Defense Association.}}</ref>

===Recent history===
In the 2000s and 2010s, the IRSP has been involved in campaigns and political protests, mainly around [[Belfast]] and [[Derry]] but also in of parts of the [[Republic of Ireland]] as well. Some of these protests included [[austerity|anti-austerity]] protests,<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 December 2012 |title=Cork IRSP attend Post Budget Anti-Austerity March. |url=https://irsp.ie/cork-irsp-attend-post-budget-anti-austerity-march/ |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=IRSP}}</ref> the [[Right2Water Ireland|Right2Water]] campaign against water charges,<ref>{{Cite web |title=A people 'forced onto the streets' |url=https://republican-news.org/current/news/2014/12/a_people_forced_onto_the_stree.html |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=republican-news.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maguire |first=Stephen |date=2016-01-19 |title=GROUPS STEP UP PRESSURE FOR MAJOR ANTI-WATER TAX PROTEST |url=https://www.donegaldaily.com/2016/01/19/groups-step-up-pressure-for-major-anti-water-tax-protest/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Donegal Daily |language=en-US |quote=Along with members from Donegal Water Warriors, Inishowen Against Water Charges and Donegal Right2Water, delegates from Sinn Fein, the IRSP and Buncrana Together were also in attendance.}}</ref> opposition to welfare reform and introduction of [[Universal Credit|universal credit]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-01-10 |orig-date=2018-12-21 |title=Video: Sickness entitlement review office closed after IRSP/32CSM led protest |url=https://www.derryjournal.com/news/video-sickness-entitlement-review-office-closed-after-irsp32csm-led-protest-168516 |access-date=2024-04-11 |work=Derry Journal |quote=After the protest the IRSP stated: “The IRSP and 32CSM were joined by community groups and residents outside the Capita Offices in Derry, protesting at the ongoing implementation of Tory/Stormont Welfare reform that continues to wreak economic chaos on working class people across the North of Ireland. “Capita, which is a private profit making organisation, was assigned by the Tory government following the approval of Sinn Féin, DUP and the Alliance Party to implement welfare reform and in particular, facilitate the changing of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) payment to the new PIP system.” The IRSP was referring to the replacement of the old DLA sickness entitlement payment to PIP in June, 2016, which has resulted in a deeply unpopular system of rolling reviews that has seen many stripped of their entitlements.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sinn Féin have lied to the people. The people must now take to the streets! |url=https://irsp.ie/1667/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=IRSP |language=en-US |quote=Last month the IRSP challenged Sinn Féin ,the party who claim to oppose austerity, to reveal whether or not – under the Stormont House Deal – they had agreed to the destruction of Disability Living Allowance, the subsequent degradation of Carers Allowance, the introduction of a benefits cap, and the ending of Severe Disability Premiums via the deliberately deceptive ‘Universal Credit’ system, all of the core attacks which made up the savage Tory Welfare Reform Bill.}}</ref> and supporting striking nurses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Belfast IRSP Support Striking Health Care Workers Protest at RVH |url=https://irsp.ie/belfast-irsp-support-striking-health-care-workers-protest-at-rvh/ |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=IRSP}}</ref>

In November 2016, after a number of raids on members of the party's homes, the IRSP issued a warning saying the PSNI were "playing with fire". IRSP's [[Lower Falls (District Electoral Area)|Lower Falls]] representative Michael Kelly claimed that "British security forces risk bringing serious conflict onto the streets" and said that "The Irish Republican Socialist Party has been in existence for over 40 years, in that time we have never tolerated attacks on our membership from any quarter," The comments drew criticism from [[Ulster Unionist Party|UUP]] MLA [[Doug Beattie]] and [[SDLP]] [[Alex Attwood]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2016/11/03/news/irsp-claims-police-playing-with-fire--767534/|title=IRSP warn police 'playing with fire' after series of house raids on members|first=Connla|last=Young|date=3 November 2016|newspaper=[[The Irish News]]|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220182649/http://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2016/11/03/news/irsp-claims-police-playing-with-fire--767534/|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the [[COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19 pandemic]], the IRSP launched Republican Socialist Aid, which aimed to distribute [[Personal protective equipment|PPE]] to [[Health professional|healthcare]] and [[Key worker|essential workers]] in communities across Ireland at risk of exposure to the [[SARS-CoV-2|virus]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Limerick IRSP continue with Republican Socialist Aid initiatives over Christmas |url=https://irsp.ie/limerick-irsp-continue-with-republican-socialist-aid-initiatives-over-christmas/ |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=IRSP}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-04-23 |title=Graffiti on Derry church condemned as an attempt to intimidate |url=https://www.derryjournal.com/news/crime/graffiti-on-derry-church-condemned-as-an-an-attempt-to-intimidate-2546978 |quote=“These attacks and threats come at a time when the IRSP and wider Republican Socialist Movement have been involved in a sustained and essential effort to provide much needed PPE to care homes and doctors surgeries across Derry and indeed across Ireland,” a spokesperson said. “Thousands of items such as visors, masks, aprons and hand sanitiser have been given to front line workers across our community by the IRSP through an initiative called Republican Socialist Aid."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-22 |title=Mayo community mourns passing of dedicated political activist |url=https://www.con-telegraph.ie/2020/05/22/mayo-community-mourns-passing-of-dedicated-political-activist/ |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Connaught Telegraph |language=en-US |quote=He was proud, as a Mayo activist for the Irish Republican Social Party, to have delivered much vital PPE to the frontline staff at Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar in recent weeks with a commitment to continue to do so 'until the virus is beaten'.}}</ref>

In September 2020 the IRSP started a 'Drop The Rents' campaign,<ref>{{Cite web |title=IRSP Step Up The Drop The Rents Campaign in Belfast |url=https://irsp.ie/irsp-step-up-the-drop-the-rents-campaign-in-belfast/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=IRSP}}</ref> requesting landlords and letting agencies in Belfast to lower their rent prices to local housing benefit levels and protesting against landlords and letting agencies that would not <ref>{{Cite web |title=Drop The Rents! {{!}} Last night IRSP activists targeted a property off the Suffolk road as part of our 'Drop the Rents' campaign. This 2 bed apartment was charging well over... {{!}} By IRSP Greater Andersonstown Cumann {{!}} Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/100069119470952/videos/drop-the-rents/234926768727728/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=www.facebook.com |language=en}}</ref>  and that issued threats of eviction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Drop The Rents - Local Landlord Begins Eviction Threats |url=https://irsp.ie/drop-the-rents-local-landlord-begins-eviction-threats/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=IRSP}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Election '22 - West Belfast: Dan keeps the red flag flying |url=https://belfastmedia.com/election-22-west-belfast-dan-murphy-irsp |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Belfast Media Group |language=en |quote=However, the Beechmount man said the decision to stand on May 5 comes off the back  success of IRSP initiatives like its 'Drop the Rents' campaign to reduce private rental costs in line with housing benefit levels. "We've found ourselves in a really good position and we want to push this campaign forward," he said. ... Mr Murphy said that housing is the most pressing issue in the current election campaign. "There's a lack of social housing in West Belfast, high rents, and there's a cost-living-crisis," he said. "These all fit into the same bubble. People just can't afford to live anymore. That's the black and white reality of it. "We want to bring rentals in areas of high social housing demand down to what the social housing benefit level is," he continued. "Ultimately the goal of the 'Drop the Rents' campaign is to make private landlordism unprofitable. I'm not going to say that private landlordism is single-handedly to blame for the housing crisis, but it has played a major role in it. There's no doubt about that. The more people we drive away from that the better. Putting more pressure on the Housing Executive to either buy back or build new houses is pivotal to make those changes on a structural level. We're not going in thinking that a single MLA is going to change the structural issues facing the people of West Belfast, but we can act as a serious voice for changing things in that direction."}}</ref> The campaign has achieved some level of success.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Drop The Rents Success in Belfast! |url=https://irsp.ie/drop-the-rents-success-in-belfast/ |access-date=2023-08-17 |website=IRSP}}</ref>

IRSP members have publicly supported the 2022 [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], and the INLA have been accused of receiving "dark money" from the Russian state.<ref>{{cite news |title=INLA accused of receiving Russian State 'Dark Money' |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/podcasts/the-beltel/inla-accused-of-receiving-russian-state-dark-money-amid-republican-support-for-war-in-ukraine/a1076463017.html |work=[[Belfast Telegraph]] |date=2 August 2024}}</ref> On 25 February 2022, one day after the invasion of Ukraine, the party affirmed its support for the Russian-controlled [[Donetsk People's Republic]] in a social media post in which they called Ukraine a "[[Russian allegations of fascism against Ukraine|Nazi regime]]" and a "[[NATO]] puppet". It included a picture of IRSP members posing in front of [[Free Derry Corner]] with the flags of the [[Soviet Union]] and the Donetsk Republic. This was condemned by local SDLP councillors.<ref>{{cite news |last= Barnes |first= Ciaran| date=26 February 2022|title= Soviet flags 'not in Derry's name' amid war in Ukraine |url = https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/soviet-flags-not-in-derrys-name-amid-war-in-ukraine-41389323.html |work= Belfast Telegraph |access-date= 3 May 2022}}</ref>

During the [[East Wall]] protests in November 2022, the IRSP opposed the housing of 380 refugees due to the absence of notice given to residents about the move prior to arrival and the feasibility of using the housing there for a large number of refugees. They said the residents were not opposed to refugees, just the lack of notice and uncertainty of feasibility.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IRSP Dublin on X: "Inner city IRSP members attended a residents'... |url=https://twitter.com/DublinIrsp/status/1594787210661969920?lang=en |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref> This differed to the majority of other groups who opposed any housing of refugees, regardless of notice.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Connor |first=Ciarán |date=2022-12-04 |title=Ireland's far-right pushes its 'invasion' propaganda |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41020730.html |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=Irish Examiner |language=en}}</ref>

==Policies and ideology==
{{Primary sources section|date=May 2022}}
{{Irish republicanism|Active parties}}
The IRSP are [[Marxist–Leninist]]<ref name="Ross182"/> and [[Irish republicanism|Irish republican]], seeking the establishment of an [[all-Ireland]] "[[Socialist state|worker's republic]]". As of 2009, the IRSP stated that their objective will only be achieved exclusively through peaceful and political means, and in 2018 they launched the 'Yes For Unity' campaign, to campaign for a Border Poll on Irish Unity.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2019/04/22/news/irsp-committed-to-political-means--1603214/|title=IRSP 'committed to political means'|first=Connla|last=Young|date=22 April 2019|newspaper=The Irish News|access-date=13 August 2021|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813235156/https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2019/04/22/news/irsp-committed-to-political-means--1603214/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Like many republican socialist groups, the IRSP claim the legacy of the early 20th century republican [[James Connolly]] and say their policies are the "logical development in the twenty-first century of the programme established under Connolly's leadership by the Irish Socialist Republican Party".<ref name=RSP/>{{Primary source inline|date=August 2024}}

===Physical force Irish republicanism===
{{See also|Physical force Irish republicanism}}
The IRSP opposes both the [[Good Friday Agreement]] and the [[Northern Ireland Peace Process]], The party supports a 'No First Strike' policy, allowing people to see the perceived failure of the peace process for themselves without taking military actions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Irish Republican Socialism?|url=http://www.irsp.ie/Background/history/whatis.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110630224345/http://www.irsp.ie/Background/history/whatis.html |archive-date=30 June 2011 |access-date=9 December 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

As of 11 October 2009, the INLA has ordered an end to the armed struggle,<ref name=beeb /> because unlike during the Troubles, the current political stance in Ulster allows the IRSP to contest fairly in new campaigns and local elections, as mentioned in their 2009 statement. INLA admitted to "faults and grievous errors" in their prosecution of the armed struggle, stating that "innocent people were killed and injured" and offering "as revolutionaries" a "sincere and heartfelt apology".<ref name=beeb />

===European Union===
The IRSP supports greater strengthening of Ireland's independence, and although understanding the benefits brought through [[European Union]] (EU) membership, it also notes the incompatibility of EU membership with the need for a socialist society. Consequently, the IRSP supports moves towards greater co-operation between European socialist political organisations.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2018 |title=RepublicanSocialistProgramme-1.pdf |url=https://irsp.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/RepublicanSocialistProgramme-1.pdf |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=irsp.ie |page=9 }}</ref>

The IRSP supported [[Brexit]] and supports the [[Republic of Ireland]] leaving the European Union.<ref>"[http://www.irsp.ie/news/?p=1978 IRSP reiterates call for full British, EU and US Military, Economic and Political withdrawal from Ireland at Moscow conference]{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}", ''Republican Socialist News'', 26 September 2015</ref>

===NATO and Russia===
The IRSP supports Russian and [[Russian separatist forces in Ukraine|Russian proxy forces]] fighting against Ukraine in the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]].<ref name="SMO">{{cite web |title=Russian SMO Two Years on – our analysis |url=https://irsp.ie/russian-smo-2-years-on-our-analysis/ |publisher=Irish Republican Socialist Party |access-date=18 September 2025}}</ref> It expresses solidarity with the Russian-controlled [[Donetsk People's Republic]] and condemns the "Ukrainian regime".<ref name="SMO"/> The IRSP refers to the [[Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present)|invasion of Ukraine]] by the Russian government term "special military operation".<ref name="SMO"/> The party blames the war on "[[Russian opposition to Ukrainian NATO membership|NATO expansionism]]" rather than Russia.<ref name="Kula"/> It boasts about the INLA's bombing of a radar station on [[Mount Gabriel]], County Cork in 1982, which it said was used by NATO.<ref name="Kula">{{cite news |last= Kula |first= Adam |date= 4 March 2022 |title= Socialist republican group blames west for Ukraine war and praises INLA 'NATO' bombing |url= https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/defence/socialist-republican-group-blames-ukraine-war-on-west-and-praises-inla-bombing-3595291 |work= Belfast News Letter |access-date= 9 March 2022}}</ref> In August 2022, IRSP members and Russian nationalists staged a protest against the Ukrainian military, outside Dublin's General Post Office. The Irish security services say that the Russian government were involved in organizing the protest through its [[Ireland–Russia relations|Dublin embassy]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Kremlin 'staged Ukraine protest in Dublin with republicans' |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/ireland-world/article/kremlin-staged-ukraine-protest-in-dublin-with-republicans-svbb267tw |work=[[The Times]] |date=14 August 2022}}</ref>

===Broad Front===
The IRSP supports the formation of what it calls the "Broad Front" which would bring together all Irish "anti-imperialist forces" to bring about a United Ireland. This would be formed on the basis of the following demands:

* The United Kingdom must formally renounce all claims of sovereignty in Ireland
* All British forces in Northern Ireland must be withdrawn, all republican and socialist prisoners must be released, a general amnesty must be granted to republicans for offences committed by them during the Troubles and "repressive legislation" must be replaced by a bill of rights
* The United Kingdom "must also agree to compensate the Irish People for the exploitation which has already occurred"<ref name="RSP">{{Cite web |title=Republican Socialist Programme for Ireland |url=http://www.irsp.ie/programme/RepublicanSocialistProgramme.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000724/http://www.irsp.ie/programme/RepublicanSocialistProgramme.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2017 |website=irsp.ie}}</ref>

===Policing===
The IRSP is in favour of an All-Ireland, democratically controlled, unarmed police force.<ref name=RSP/>

The IRSP views the reforming of the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary|RUC]] into the [[Police Service of Northern Ireland|PSNI]] as a cosmetic exercise<ref>{{Cite web |year=2018 |title=RepublicanSocialistProgramme-1.pdf |url=https://irsp.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/RepublicanSocialistProgramme-1.pdf |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=irsp.ie |page=7 }}</ref> and strongly opposes 'political policing' by the PSNI.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-11-29 |title=Political Policing in Ireland – Ten Years of the RUC/PSNI {{!}} the irish revolution |url=https://theirishrevolution.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/political-policing-in-ireland-ten-years-of-the-rucpsni/ |access-date=2024-01-28 |via=[[WordPress]]}}</ref> They demand an immediate cessation of the activities of [[MI5]] in the North and calls for their expulsion from Ireland.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |year=2018 |title=RepublicanSocialistProgramme-1.pdf |url=https://irsp.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/RepublicanSocialistProgramme-1.pdf |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=irsp.ie |page=8 }}</ref>

The IRSP does not believe that there is an ‘independent’ judiciary, or an objective judicial system, and that the judiciary both North and South presides over the laws which were enacted by partitionist governments and representing the interests of the ruling class.<ref name=":0" />

===Abstentionism===
The IRSP are not abstentionist in principle, but they would support [[abstentionism]] in certain situations for tactical reasons.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interview with Séamus Costello |url=http://www.irsp.ie/Background/costello/interview.html |website=irsp.ie |quote=When we say that we are not an abstentionist party, what we mean by this is that we are not a party, in principle, committed to abstention. But there are circumstances and conditions under which is might be desirable to abstain and if we felt that it was tactically desirable at any particular point in time, in either the North or the South to abstain from Parliament, then we would do so. That would depend, however, on the circumstances existing at that particular point of time. If a situation existed, for instance, where there was a possibility of large scale dissatisfaction, on the part of the people, with either the 26 County parliament or the 6 County parliament then abstention, on our part would be a legitimate tactic. We are not, however, abstentionist in principle |access-date=24 January 2017 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306033407/http://www.irsp.ie/Background/costello/interview.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The IRSP will also consider contesting any particular election on the basis of a thorough analysis of the conditions prevailing at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2018 |title=RepublicanSocialistProgramme-1.pdf |url=https://irsp.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/RepublicanSocialistProgramme-1.pdf |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=irsp.ie |page=6 }}</ref>

===Social policies===
IRSP believes that the right to a home is a fundamental human right and that the state has a responsibility to deal with homelessness.<ref name=PD />

The party's policy on abortion is that it should be legalised, available on demand and free of charge.<ref name=PD />

==Elections==
In [[1981 Northern Ireland local elections|May 1981]], party members Gerry Kelly and Sean Flynn won two seats on the [[Belfast City Council]] in a joint campaign with the [[People's Democracy (Ireland)|People's Democracy]] party.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Local Government Elections 1973 - 1981: Belfast |url=https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/73-81lgbelfast.htm |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=www.ark.ac.uk |quote=IRSP: 3,418 (2.6%), 2 Councillors}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=IRSP to contest Assembly election for first time |url=https://belfastmedia.com/irsp-election-announcement |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=Belfast Media Group |language=en |quote=In 1981, the party had two members elected to Belfast City Council following a joint campaign with People's Democracy.}}</ref> Neither councillor served a full term, with one going on the run after being implicated during the [[Supergrass (informer)|supergrass]] trials.<ref name="PD">{{Cite web |title=Perspectives on the future of Republican Socialism in Ireland |url=http://www.irsp.ie/programme/PerspectivesDocument.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202000852/http://www.irsp.ie/programme/PerspectivesDocument.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2017 |access-date=20 January 2017 |website=irsp.ie |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=Allison |date=2009-10-17 |title=Probe '81 deal claim ex-INLA man says |url=https://www.irishnews.com/articles/540/5860/2009/10/17/630288_397262961945Probe82.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017000000/https://www.irishnews.com/articles/540/5860/2009/10/17/630288_397262961945Probe82.html |archive-date=2009-10-17 |access-date=2024-04-11 |work=Irish News |quote=He was one of two IRSP candidates elected to Belfast City Council in 1981 but served only half of his four-year term after going on the run to the Republic when he was implicated in paramilitary activity on the word of supergrass Harry Kirkpatrick.}} [http://www.longkesh.info/2009/10/17/probe-%E2%80%9981-deal-claim-ex-inla-man-says/ Alt URL]</ref>

In June 1981, the IRSP ran two candidates, [[Kevin Lynch (hunger striker)|Kevin Lynch]] and Tony O'Hara (brother of [[Patsy O'Hara]]), in the Irish parliamentary election as Independent [[Anti H-Block]] candidates. Neither candidate won, but Lynch received 3,337 votes (7.63%) and came within 300 votes of winning a seat in [[Waterford (Dáil constituency)|Waterford]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=ElectionsIreland.org: Kevin Lynch |url=https://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3405 |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=electionsireland.org}}</ref><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Thomas G. |title=Native vs. Settler: Ethnic Conflict in Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland, and South Africa |date=2000-08-30 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=9780313001390 |page=183 |quote=Kevin Lynch ran in Waterford with Gerry Roche acting as his agent and came within 300 votes of being elected.}}</ref> while O'Hara received 3,034 votes (6.49%) in [[Dublin West (Dáil constituency)|Dublin West]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |date=2016-10-03 |title=How The Irish Times reported end of 1981 hunger strikes |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/how-the-irish-times-reported-end-of-1981-hunger-strikes-1.2814663 |access-date=2024-04-11 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en |quote=Kevin Lynch, Waterford, 3,337; Tony O’Hara, Dublin West, 3,034;}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ElectionsIreland.org: Anthony O'Hara |url=https://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3340 |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=electionsireland.org}}</ref> In 1982, party member [[Brigid Makowski]] won a seat on the [[Shannon Town Commission]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.shannon.ie/stcmeetings/stc_elections.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080623053615/http://www.shannon.ie/stcmeetings/stc_elections.html |url-status=dead |title=Shannon Town Commission Local Elections shannon.ie|archivedate=23 June 2008}}</ref>

The IRSP put forward five candidates in the [[2011 Northern Ireland local elections]], its first foray into electoral politics in almost 30 years. They failed to secure any seats. Candidate Paul Gallagher of [[Strabane]] missed out on a seat by just a single vote. He was originally elected but after a requested recount by the SDLP his election was overturned.<ref name="LE">{{Cite web |title=IRSP Local Council Election Results |url=http://www.irsp.ie/news/?p=317 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102121242/http://www.irsp.ie/news/?p=317 |archive-date=2 November 2011 |access-date=26 June 2011 |website=irsp.ie |publisher=Republican Socialist News |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 May 2011 |title=Mourne District Electoral Area Results |url=http://www.strabanedc.com/filestore/documents/elections/Mourne_DEA_Results_2011.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401081832/http://www.strabanedc.com/filestore/documents/elections/Mourne_DEA_Results_2011.pdf |archive-date=1 April 2014 |access-date=12 January 2013 |publisher=[[Strabane District Council]] }}</ref>

The IRSP has explained its lack of participation in elections as due to "very limited" resources.<ref name=LE />

In 2022 for the first time the IRSP fielded candidates for the [[2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election|Northern Ireland Assembly election]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=239 candidates confirmed for Stormont Assembly election |language=en-GB |work=belfasttelegraph |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/239-candidates-confirmed-for-stormont-assembly-election-41535740.html |access-date=2022-05-07 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> Initially their candidates were rejected by the [[Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)|Electoral Commission]], but this was eventually corrected.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IRSP barred from running in Assembly election |url=https://belfastmedia.com/irsp-barred-from-election |access-date=2022-05-07 |website=Belfast Media Group |language=en}}</ref> Candidates were fielded in [[Belfast West (Assembly constituency)|Belfast West]] (1,103 [[First-preference votes|first preference votes]], 2.5%)<ref>{{Cite news |title=Belfast West result - Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2022/northern-ireland/constituencies/N06000004 |access-date=2024-04-11 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> and [[Foyle (Assembly constituency)|Foyle]] (766 first preference votes, 1.6%).<ref>{{Cite news |title=Foyle result - Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2022/northern-ireland/constituencies/N06000008 |access-date=2024-04-11 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Northern Ireland Assembly
!Election
!First Preference Vote
!%
!Seats
!±
!Government
|-
| align="center" |[[2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election|2022]]
| align="center" | 1,869 
| align="center"| 0.2% (#11)
| align="center"| {{Composition bar|0|90|hex=#FF3300}}
|
|{{no|No seats}}
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%"
|+Local elections
|-
!Election
!First Preference Vote
!%
!Seats
|-
| align="center" |[[1981 Northern Ireland local elections|1981]]
| align="center" |3,654
| align="center" |0.5%
| align="center" |{{Composition bar|2|523|hex=#FF3300}}
|-
| align="center" |[[2011 Northern Ireland local elections|2011]]
| align="center" |2,133
| align="center" |0.3%
| align="center" |{{Composition bar|0|572|hex=#FF3300}}
|-
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==Publications==
''The Starry Plough'' ({{Langx|ga|An Camchéachta}}) is the official newsletter (initially a [[newspaper]], then a magazine) of the party. In 2006 it proclaimed on its website that "The Starry Plough is the only paper that stands firmly against [[British rule in Ireland|British rule]] and for the destruction of [[capitalism]] in [[Ireland]]."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://irsm.org/irsp/starryplough|title=Starry Plough - An Camchéachta<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=1 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060709034412/http://irsm.org/irsp/starryplough/|archive-date=9 July 2006|url-status=live}}</ref>

The name of the paper is taken from the [[The Starry Plough (flag)|flag of the same name]]. The decision to use the name ''the Starry Plough'' was inspired by a newspaper produced by [[Official Sinn Féin]] in [[Derry|Derry City]] in the early 1970s.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.clririshleftarchive.org/publication/160/ | title=The Starry Plough (Derry) | publisher=Irish Left Archive | access-date=25 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926010017/http://www.clririshleftarchive.org/publication/160/ | archive-date=26 September 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> Produced by the local branch of [[Official Sinn Féin]] in Derry, it was edited by Jackie Ward (who went on to edit ''[[United Irishman (1948 newspaper)|The United Irishman]]'')<ref>''Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers' Party'', Brian Hanley and Scott Millar, {{ISBN|1-84488-120-2}}</ref> and Joe Sweeney (who sided with the IRSP following the split with the Officials). The suggestion for the IRSP newspaper was made by Derry members to the IRSP Ard Comhairle in early 1975. The Irish translation An Camchéachta was provided by Mairin Bean Ui Chionnaith, an Irish-language scholar and republican.

The first edition of the new (IRSP) ''The Starry Plough'' was published in April 1975 under the editorship of Mick Ahern. It included details of the first IRSP public meeting (Dublin, 12 February), an editorial on the IRSP, an interview with [[Seamus Costello]], [[Easter Rising]] commemoration notices and a statement from the National Executive of the IRSP.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.clririshleftarchive.org/document/view/1596/ | title=''The Starry Plough'' | date=April 1975 | agency=Irish Republican Socialist Party | access-date=25 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925231230/http://www.clririshleftarchive.org/document/view/1596/ | archive-date=25 September 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref>

Subsequent editors included Osgur Breatnach, James Daly, Mary Reid, [[Seamus Ruddy]] and (again) Mick Ahern. Important contributors have included [[Bernadette McAliskey]], Tom Hayes, Ite Ni Chionnaith, [[Eamonn McCann]], Niall Leonach, Redmond O'Hanlon, Gerry Lawless, Siobhan Molloy, and London SWP cartoonist Phil Evans.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.clririshleftarchive.org/document/478/ | title=Freedom Struggle, Vol. 1, No. 1 | publisher=Irish Left Archive | date=9 April 2012 | access-date=25 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925220415/http://www.clririshleftarchive.org/document/478/ | archive-date=25 September 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref>

==Membership==
Party members are often referred to as the "Irps" (pronounced "Erps"). In the late 1970s, [[Divis Flats]] in west [[Belfast]] became colloquially known as "the planet of the Irps" (a reference to the IRSP and the film ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'').<ref>"[http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/islandpublications/hall09-ip92.pdf Preventing a return to conflict: A discussion by ex-combatants] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608062704/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/islandpublications/hall09-ip92.pdf |date=8 June 2011 }}," compiled by Michael Hall, Island Publications, August 2009</ref><ref>''The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers' Party'', Brian Hanley and Scott Millar, Penguin Books, {{ISBN|1-84488-120-2}} p. 290</ref>

==International representation==
The party is represented in North America by the '''Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America'''.<ref>{{Cite news |year=2008 |title=First Issue of IRSN |url=https://www.leftarchive.ie/document/view/1725/ |work=Irish Republican Socialist News |publisher=Irish Republican Socialist Committees for North America |page=12 |via=leftarchive.ie |volume=1 |issue=1 |quote=Thank you for reading the first issue of Irish Republican Socialist News, which is published by the North American section of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-07-20 |title=IRSP Ard Fheis Resolutions, 5 December 1998 |url=http://irsm.org/irsp/ardfheis/1998/afresolutions.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720144350/http://irsm.org/irsp/ardfheis/1998/afresolutions.html |archive-date=2008-07-20 |access-date=2024-04-11 |website=irsm.org}}</ref>

==List of secretaries==
* Kevin Morley<ref>{{Cite web |title=IRSP OPPOSE SECOND REFERENDUM: BUT URGE A NO VOTE |url=http://www.irsp.ie/Statements/irsp_cur.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519003450/http://www.irsp.ie/Statements/irsp_cur.html |archive-date=19 May 2015 |access-date=30 December 2016 |publisher=irsp.ie}}</ref>
* John Martin<ref>{{Cite web |title=IRSP Political Secretary John Martin's presentation on republican socialism to the IRSP's ideological conference 29–30 May 99 |url=http://www.irsp.ie/Background/theory/repsocialism.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326213948/http://www.irsp.ie/Background/theory/repsocialism.html |archive-date=26 March 2015 |access-date=30 December 2016 |publisher=irsp.ie |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* Mick Plunkett<ref name=PD />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://irsp.ie/ Irish Republican Socialist Party's official website]
* [http://irsm.org/history/historyofirsp.html Brief history of the IRSP] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406182430/http://irsm.org/history/historyofirsp.html |date=6 April 2012 }}
* [https://republicanarchive.com/2024/09/16/irish-republican-socialist-party/ IRSP documents] at the Irish Republican Digital Archive

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[[Category:Irish Republican Socialist Party| ]]
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