An Phoblacht
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''An Phoblacht'' (Irish pronunciation: ; ) is a
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
-affiliated online
Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...
news platform which also publishes a quarterly print magazine format. Editorially the paper takes a
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
position and was supportive of the
Northern Ireland peace process The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political develop ...
. Along with covering Irish political and trade union issues the newspaper frequently featured interviews with celebrities, musicians, artists, intellectuals and international activists.


History


Earlier publications

The original ''An Phoblacht'' was founded as the official organ of the Dungannon Clubs in Belfast in 1906 and its first edition was printed on 13 December 1906 under the English-language version of the title ''The Republic''. In the first edition,
Bulmer Hobson John Bulmer Hobson (14 January 1883 – 8 August 1969) was an Irish republican. He was a leading member of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) before the Easter Rising in 1916.D.J. Hickey & J. E. Doherty, ''A New D ...
, one of the founders of the Dungannon Clubs, set out their aims: A year later the paper merged with a Dublin publication called ''The Peasant''. However, the title ''An Phoblacht'' was again used from 1925 with Patrick Little (P. J. Little) as its editor during a tumultuous period of internal splits and constant suppression by the government. From 1925 into 1926,
Seán Lemass Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...
wrote a number of articles advocating engagement in politics prior to the establishment of
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil â€“ The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
.
Peadar O'Donnell Peadar O'Donnell (; 22 February 1893 – 13 May 1986) was one of the foremost radicals of 20th-century Ireland. O'Donnell became prominent as an Irish republican, socialist politician and writer. Early life Peadar O'Donnell was born into an I ...
took over as editor in April 1926 following a split in the Irish republican movement (Little became one of the founding members of Fianna Fáil). Frank Ryan also edited the paper for some time; other prominent contributors during this time included Maurice Twomey,
Seán MacBride Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was an Irish Republican activist, politician, and diplomat who served as Minister for External Affairs from 1948 to 1951, Leader of Clann na Poblachta from 1946 to 1965 and Chief of Staff o ...
, Frank Gallagher (who became the first editor of ''
The Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (irish language, Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. History Foundation The paper's first issue was published o ...
''),
Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington Johanna Mary Sheehy-Skeffington (née Sheehy; 24 May 1877 – 20 April 1946) was a suffragette and Irish nationalist. Along with her husband Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, Margaret Cousins and James Cousins, she founded the Irish Women's Franch ...
and Fr Michael O'Flanagan. The title appeared again in 1966 as the paper of a small IRA splinter group based in Cork.


1970-founded publication

Its modern version was again refounded immediately following the Sinn Féin split by Jimmy Steele in January 1970, ''An Phoblacht'' supporting the group led by Ruaírí O'Bradaigh that became the
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
when the split with the
Official Irish Republican Army The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a " workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerge ...
occurred. In 1970, ''An Phoblacht'' was at first circulated only in the South with another republican paper also established in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
in 1970, '' Republican News'', under the editorship of veteran republican Jimmy Steele. It supported the campaign of the
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
and published a weekly column titled "War News", which outlined IRA actions and conflict with the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, and provided in depth analysis of the policies being formulated by the Republican movement. ''An Phoblacht'' began with a circulation of 20,000 per month. Located at 2a Lower Kevin Street in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
's south inner city, it moved to the northside of the capital, to Kevin Barry House, 44
Parnell Square Parnell Square () is a Georgian square sited at the northern end of O'Connell Street in the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the city's D01 postal district. History Formerly named ''Ruthland Square'', it was renamed after Charles Stewart ...
, in August 1972. And in that October it became a fortnightly publication under the editorship of Éamonn MacThomáis, a writer and historian who instituted changes in layout and general improvements so that it became a weekly publication. After 1976, the then Minister for Post and Telecommunications,
Conor Cruise O'Brien Donal Conor David Dermot Donat Cruise O'Brien (3 November 1917 – 18 December 2008), often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish diplomat, politician, writer, historian and academic, who served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1973 ...
, a Labour Party minister in the
Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...
/Labour coalition, strengthened
Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979. He was Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, ...
's original 1971 Section 31 censorship directive banning members of the IRA or its political wing Sinn Féin from the airwaves. However this ban did not extend to the print media. Section 31 produced a climate where many career journalists engaged in
self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure. Self-censorship is c ...
to avoid official opprobrium. ''An Phoblacht'' became more important in disseminating the republican message and highlighting what it saw as the naked state oppression by the Unionist Party and the
Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...
in Northern Ireland. However, it was the southern Irish government which harassed ''An Phoblacht'' most stridently, with regular Garda
Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
investigations into the publication's links (both real and alleged) to the IRA. Mac Thomáis was arrested and charged with IRA membership and sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment having been found guilty of the offence. The paper continued under the stewardship of Dublin journalist Deasún Breathnach until Mac Thomáis resumed duties on his release in July 1974. Within two months, Mac Thomáis was again arrested and sentenced to another 15 months. Another editor, Coleman Moynihan, who had succeeded Seán Ó Brádaigh in 1972, suffered a similar fate. The paper continued on with the succeeding editors being Gerry Danaher (1974–75), Gerry O'Hare (1975–77), and Deasún Breathnach (1977–79).


Amalgamation with ''Republican News''

The Republican Movement (Sinn Féin and the IRA) felt that a single paper for the whole of Ireland was required to provide a clear and coherent line from the leadership and to counter what they regarded as any partitionist thinking which might flow from the
Partition of Ireland The Partition of Ireland () was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK) divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland (the area today known as the R ...
. Accordingly, on 27 January 1979, the first 12-page issue of the merged publications, under the banner of ''An Phoblacht/Republican News'' (AP/RN), appeared under the editorship of Danny Morrison. In the final editorial of ''Republican News'' on 20 January 1979, the essential thinking behind the merger was outlined: "To improve on both our reporting and analysis of the war in the North and of popular economic and social struggles in the South... the absolute necessity of one single united paper providing a clear line of republican leadership... ndthe need to overcome any partitionist thinking which results from the British-enforced division of this country and of the Irish people." On 12 May 1979 ''An Phoblacht'' published extracts from a secret British Ministry of Defence intelligence document which contained a detailed analysis of the
Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
and the situation in Northern Ireland. The document, written by Brigadier JM Glover, described the IRA as "highly-professional" and capable of sustaining their campaign for at least a further five years, and predicted increasing British military casualties. The publication caused considerable embarrassment to the incoming British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Humphrey Atkins with Danny Morrison, the paper's editor, forced into hiding for several months. A representative of the
Press Association PA Media (formerly the Press Association) is a multimedia news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and ...
who was passed a copy of the document by AP/RN was also issued an arrest warrant by the British authorities and fled to the United States in response. During the 1980s An Phoblacht was to the fore in reporting many issues including allegations of abuse of prisoners in Castlereagh and Gough Barracks, the H-Block and Armagh Prison hunger strikes and also coverage of the ongoing conflict in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. Miniature versions of the paper which were about a third of the size were also printed and smuggled into prisoners in Long Kesh,
Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. Portlaoise was the fastest growing of the top 20 largest town ...
, Armagh and other prisons. During the 1981 hunger strike sales of the newspaper reached up to 60,000 copies per-week and some issues quadrupled in size resulting in some editions running to 48 pages long. During this period ''An Phoblacht'' also opened another office based in west Belfast. In October 1982 Morrison left the newspaper after being elected to the Northern Assembly for the Mid-Ulster constituency. He was succeeded by Mick Timothy who expanded the newspaper from 12 to 16 pages. Timothy died suddenly in January 1985 and was replaced by Rita O'Hare. The headquarters of ''An Phoblacht'' was subsequently named after Timothy. During this period ''An Phoblacht'' focused strongly on alleged collusion between the British security forces and
loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
paramilitaries A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
such as the UVF. In response the paper came under attack from the UVF and other Loyalist
hit squad The Hit Squad is an American hip hop collective of East Coast hip hop artists. Originally formed in the 1990s by Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith of the rap group EPMD, the group included rap artists such as K-Solo, Redman, Das EFX, Top ...
s. In the 1980s, top Irish government officials questioned senior ministers as to why the paper had not been banned under the Offences Against the State Act 1939 and suggested that the publication could be classed a "treasonable document or seditious document" and thus make it illegal to send it through the post. The officials also suggested blocking the publication's application for official newspaper status. The
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
at the time dismissed the move. State papers also revealed that during a meeting on 10 January 1984, the British
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...
Jim Prior and Irish Minister for Justice Michael Noonan discussed the possibility of banning the publication but recognised that "if one title was stopped, the same paper could appear under a new title".


Ulster loyalist attacks

In 1991 a group calling itself the ''Loyalist Retaliation and Defence Group'' launched a spate of attacks against newsagents who sold ''An Phoblacht'' and also targeted AP/RN delivery drivers. On 10 August 1991, a 33-year-old shopkeeper (James Carson) was shot dead in his shop on the Falls Road, Belfast. This was followed by the shooting death of a 66-year-old shopkeeper (Lawrence Murchan) on St James's Road on 28 September 1991. Both were targeted for selling ''An Phoblacht'' in their newsagents. On 12 December 1992 AP/RN worker Malachy Carey was shot dead by loyalist gunmen in
Ballymoney Ballymoney ( , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated ...
. In January 1991 the RUC also raided the offices of ''An Phoblacht'' in Belfast seizing computer equipment and disks. Letter bombs were also frequently sent to ''An Phoblacht'' by loyalist paramilitaries in the 1990s. In one incident on 4 January 1994 a bomb disguised as a book was carried outside of the offices by AP/RN book reviewer Aengus Ó Snodaigh where it exploded a short time later, injuring two members of the
Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces (, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used in other contexts (e.g. ...
bomb disposal unit as they attempted to defuse it. In January 2018, loyalist Winston Churchill Rea was charged with encouraging the murder of "persons working in shops selling An Phoblacht in republican and nationalist areas" between November 1977 and October 1994.


Peace Process onwards

During the early 1990s AP/RN was the publication which was first to report on many of the moves towards the IRA ceasefire as well as the first place where Sinn Féin peace documents such as ''Towards a Lasting Peace'' were published. The paper also played an important role in winning support for a peace strategy from republican activists. In 1997 the paper became one of the first in Ireland to go online. The paper was officially relaunched in September 2005 as ''An Phoblacht'', dropping the ''Republican News'' title although it is still often referred to as such. In 2010, the paper went from a 16-page weekly paper to a 32-page full colour monthly paper. The current editor is John Hedges. In 2013, Seán Crowe TD told the Dáil that republican prisoner John Anthony Downey, from
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
, who had been arrested in connection to the
Hyde Park bomb Hyde or Hydes may refer to: People *Hyde (surname) * Hyde (musician), Japanese musician from the bands L'Arc-en-Ciel and VAMPS American statutes * Hyde Amendment, an amendment that places well-defined limitations on Medicare spending on abor ...
ing and was being held in Belmarsh Prison, had been refused copies of the paper by prison authorities because of the Irish language content contained within it. He stated that other prisoners who spoke different languages had no difficulty in obtaining other publications. In November 2017 it was announced that ''An Phoblacht'' would cease as a monthly print publication and would become an internet based news service with only special editions being made available in magazine format.


Republican Publications

An Phoblacht also publishes books, booklets, posters and magazines under the name ''Republican Publications''. These include: * ''The History of the Irish Citizen Army'', by RM Fox, 2014 (reprint), * ''The Rotunda: Birthplace of the Irish Volunteers'', by Aengus Ó Snodaigh, 2013, * ''Lockout 1913 – Austerity 2013'', by Mícheál Mac Donncha, 2013, * ''Glimpses of an Irish Felon's Prison Life'', by Thomas J Clarke, 2012(reprint) * '' Brian Keenan 1941–2008: A Republican Legend'', by Various, 2008 * '' Máire Drumm: Voice of a Risen People'', by Ella O'Dwyer and Caoilfhionn Ní Dhonnabháin, 2006 * ''Down Dublin Streets'', by Éamonn MacThomáis, 2005 * ''British Intelligence and the Rearming of the Loyalist Death Squads'', 1994 * ''Songs of Resistance'', 1968–1982 * ''Prison Poems'', by Bobby Sands, 1981 * ''Our Own Red Blood: The Story of the 1916 Rising'', by Seán Cronin, 1966 * ''Tragedies of Kerry'', by Dorothy Macardle, 1923


Editors


1925–1937

:1925: Patrick Little :1926:
Peadar O'Donnell Peadar O'Donnell (; 22 February 1893 – 13 May 1986) was one of the foremost radicals of 20th-century Ireland. O'Donnell became prominent as an Irish republican, socialist politician and writer. Early life Peadar O'Donnell was born into an I ...
:1930: Frank Ryan :1933: Terry Ward of and Liam Mac Gabhann as joint-editors :1934: Domhnall O'Donoghue :1937: Tadhg Lynch


1970–2017

:1970: Seán Ó Brádaigh :1972: Coleman Moynihan :1972: Éamonn MacThomáis (Arrested) :1973: Colman Ó Muimhneacháin (Arrested) :1973: Deasún Breathnach :1974: Éamonn MacThomáis (Arrested) :1974: Gerry Danaher :1975: Gerry O'Hare :1977: Deasún Breathnach :1979: Danny Morrison :1982: Mick Timothy :1985: Rita O'Hare :1990: Mícheál Mac Donncha :1996: Brian Campbell :1999: Martin Spain :2005: Seán Mac Brádaigh :2010: Joanne Spain (acting editor during transition from weekly to monthly) :2010: John Hedges


Notable contributors

*
Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...
* Bobby Sands * Danny Morrison (former editor) *
Roy Greenslade Roy Greenslade (born 31 December 1946) is a British author and freelance journalist, and a former professor of journalism. He worked in the UK newspaper industry from the 1960s onwards. As a media commentator, he wrote a daily blog from 2006 to ...


List of current frequent contributors

*Robert Allen (Environment, Food and Fisheries) *
Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...
(Political columnist) *
Martina Anderson Martina Anderson (born 16 April 1962) is an Irish former politician from Northern Ireland who served as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2020 to 2021, and previously from 2007 to 2012. A member of Sinn Féin, she served ...
(EU Affairs) * Lynn Boylan (EU Affairs) * Matt Carthy (EU Affairs) * Megan Fearon (Opinion) *Jane Fisher (Britain correspondent) *John Hedges (Editor) *Declan Kearney (Peace Process) *
Mary Lou McDonald Mary Louise McDonald (born 1 May 1969) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition in Ireland since June 2020, as President of Sinn Féin since February 2018, and as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central constituen ...
(Political columnist) *Mícheál Mac Donncha (Historian) *Michael Mannion (Book reviews) *Dr Conor McCabe (Finance) *Michael McMonagle (Northern reporter) *Mark Moloney (Staff Journalist) * Seán Murray (Peace Process) * Liadh Ní Riada (EU Affairs) * Eoin Ó Broin (Political columnist) * Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Irish language columnist) * Eoin Ó Murchú (Political and Irish language columnist) *Robbie Smyth (Media columnist) *Joanne Spain (Finance columnist) *Peadar Whelan (Staff Journalist)


References


External links


An Phoblacht/Republican News
– website of the newspaper
Archived issues
at the Irish Republican Digital Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Phoblacht An 1906 establishments in Ireland English-language newspapers published in Europe Irish news websites Irish political websites Irish republican newspapers Irish-language newspapers Left-wing politics in Ireland Monthly newspapers Political magazines published in Ireland Political newspapers published in Ireland Newspapers established in 1906 Sinn Féin Socialist newspapers Weekly newspapers published in Ireland Bobby Sands