National Organiser Address to Comhdháil Náisiúnta Cork '08

Barry McColgan
National Organiser
Ógra Shinn Féin

In January this year we assembled in Dublin, where we outlined our vision for the coming months, highlighting the upcoming Lisbon Treaty and the NARC campaign as two crucial means of re-asserting Sinn Féin’s stance in the 26 County.

Gerry Adams, effectively launched the No! 2 Lisbon campaign at last year’s National Congress, addressing you, the assembled Republican Youth on the challenges that lay ahead, the important role we held in ensuring the 26 County electorate send a resounding No to the Dublin Government, and the Neo Liberals superstate agenda of the EU.

Through a hard fought campaign, through engaging with Irish youth across schools, colleges, communities, and through the ever increasing use of the internet, we overcame any censorship to shout our message loud and clear, and comrades, we where successful.



By our actions, and the resounding No! Vote, a small nation often marginalised in Europe, stood up for the other 500 million EU citizens denied a vote, and sent the Dublin government back to the drawing board for a better deal.

The Irish rejection of Lisbon was a huge upset for those who work to sap national sovereignty and establish a neo liberal super state, and it instilled huge confidence in the left progressive movements throughout Europe, who like us want co – operation between nations, but in Jame’s Connolly’s view of Europe, ‘a free federation of free peoples.’

When we travelled to the International Fete d’humanities, the Basque Country and Catalan Countries following the rejection of Lisbon, it was clear how groundbreaking the decision was, everyone was speaking about Ireland, and especially Sinn Féin’s part in ensuring a No! Vote.

Ógra played a key role in this, and we should be as active and more in campaigning against any notion of a re-call. The Irish people voted, there must be no back doors, or waste of money, resources and time on another referendum, that time should be spent in ensuring a better deal for Ireland and Europe.

At the same time as running a successful campaign on Lisbon, we where tackling head on the massively crucial issue of Drug and Alcohol Awareness, that allowed us to debate crucial and testing topics, and engage with a huge number of young people.

It demonstrated just like Suicide Prevention, or Road Safety that we are willing to deal with the most difficult issues that affect modern Irish youth. And just like the Suicide Prevention campaign, it has equipped our activists to deal with this issue when ever it arises.

There are many new faces here today, many from areas where we don’t currently have an Ógra cumann, but in a short period of time will have, and many from new cumann who weren’t represented last year. This, alongside the fact that we have dozens of young people travelling from all over Ireland to a weekend of political debate in Cork, demonstrates the dedication, strength and continued growth of Ógra and Republican Youth.

We have debated the most relevant issues here this weekend, all debates that help us recruit, campaign and educate. And especially campaign, because we are the campaigning edge of the party, and it sustains us, if we are active, vocal and impacting on issues, then we recruit and educate through this.

Republicanism and republican youth are built on activism, and we have made ourselves relevant and popularised support through campaigns last year on, the Irish language, where we marched in support of Acht na Gaeilge and organised a hugely successful Slogagh na nÓg, on Student Fees where activists across Ireland have marched, protested, occupied offices and even been arrested to show our commitment to ensuring Free Education For All, Anti Imperialism, by opposing George Bush, and the UDR murder machine coat trailing in Belfast, and who can forget the Green Post Box campaign, where flying columns of dedicated Ógra activists where dispatched to literally ‘green the north.’

The past year also witnessed a renewed focus on Universities with a streamlined comhairle ceantair being established in Uladh, and stronger ties with the Organisational Development Unit which has resulted in record Freshers recruitment, re activated dormant college cumann and increased activism across areas.

In the year ahead and with our new members and revitalised activists from this Congress we can consolidate and build on growth and professionalisation of Ógra.

We can use our new Education campaign, fight back against the budget cuts and neo liberal agenda and the 100th Anniversary of Na Fianna hÉireann as a platform to popularise the demand for Irish unity.

100 years on from the foundation of the first republican youth movement in 1909, and we should be using strong imagination and initiative to remember, and proudly commemorate the proud tradition and lasting legacy of Republican Youth which burns strong today in Ógra. The young Na Fianna on the roll of honour, where as young or younger than people assembled in this room, yet they give the ultimate sacrifice for an Irish Republic.

They have set the standard, they have shown the determination of young republicans and they should be a reference to all of us in our daily actions. No matter how tough or how hard we think our struggle is, we never will be asked to go to jail, to go on the run, or to die in order to achieve our objectives.

We need to put our struggle in perspective and we’ll all be a better activist as a result.

And just like Na Fianna producing fine republican leaders like Frank Ryan and Liam Mellowes, Ógra Shinn Féin will produce fine republican leaders of the future, some of whom are in this room.

It is clear, it is not a cliché, we are the future of this struggle, and we will achieve our objectives.

Let’s have confidence, and attempt the impossible..

Onwards to the Socialist Republic!