Workers' Party of Ireland
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This article is part of SpinWatch's Northern Ireland Portal. |
The Workers' Party formerly Official Sinn Féin was a left-wing political party in Ireland which was associated with the Official Irish Republican Army.
The CAIN website at the University of Ulster describes the party's evolution:
- The Workers' Party (WP) grew out of Official Sinn Féin which was considered the political wing of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA). The Workers' Party is organised in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland with the Northern section being semi-autonomous. The organisation is a Socialist / Marxist Republican party which arose from the "Official" majority faction which remained loyal to the then leadership of Sinn Féin in the 1969-70 split. At that time the Northern section of Sinn Féin operated under the name Republican Clubs and following the split became known as Official Republican Clubs (then Republican Clubs the Workers' Party; then Sinn Féin the Workers' Party; finally in 1982 the Workers' Party).[1]
Media influence
The Workers' Party acquired a reputation for being influential in the Irish media. Authors Brian Hanley and Scott Millar note that ex-members have been well represented in Irish journalism:
- Eoghan and Ann Harris were prominent at the Sunday Independent, as was Patricia Redlich. For a long period ex-WP members Liam Clarke and Henry McDonald interpreted Irish politics for the Sunday Times and The Observer respectively, while Hugh Jordan was employed by the Belfast Sunday World.[2]
Other writers associated with the party have included Martin O'Hagan, Kathryn Johnston and Robin Wilson.[3] O'Hagan was the first reporter killed during the Troubles.[4]
External resources
- Garland told East Berlin party would not be restricted in fundraising methods, Irish Times, 14 January 2013.
Notes
- ↑ Abstracts on Organisations - 'W', Conflict Archive on the Internet, accessed 26 September 2009.
- ↑ Brian Hanley & Scott Millar, The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers' Party, Penguin Ireland, 2009, p.597.
- ↑ Brian Hanley & Scott Millar, The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers' Party, Penguin Ireland, 2009, p.597.
- ↑ David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton, David McVea, Lost Lives, Mainstream Publishing, 2004, p.1499.
