A podcast looking at Left politics in Ireland from the Irish Left Archive. We talk to activists, writers, historians, politicians and others involved in Left organisations and movements about their experiences of participating in Left parties and campaigns; Left publications and political documents they’ve been involved in; and the history and development of progressive politics in Ireland. We also look at the role of the Irish Left Archive and similar informal projects. The podcast is hosted by Ciarán Swan and Aonghus Storey.
https://podcast.leftarchive.ie/@ILAPodcast
episode 52: Des Dalton: Republican Sinn Féin and Independent Republicanism
In this episode we talk to Des Dalton. Des is a long-term Republican activist who joined Republican Sinn Féin in the late 1980s and has served on the party’s Ard Comhairle and as party President from 2009 to 2018. Since leaving the party in 2021, Des has been an independent Republican activist.
We discuss Des’s political background and his Republicanism, which led him to joining Republican Sinn Féin from Ógra Fianna Fáil in his teens; the politics of Republican Sinn Féin, its position in Left politics and the role of Internationalism in Republicanism; his experience in the party as a member and later as President, and the party’s publications and newspaper, Saoirse; and finally his departure from the party and his perspective on contemporary Republicanism and its future direction.
Two articles written by Des, which are mentioned in the discussion, are linked below:
- The 1962 IRA Ceasefire: Lessons for Today. By Des Dalton.
- All Republican Groups Should Call A Ceasefire