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Template:Infobox Irish Political Party
Republican Sinn Féin (RSF) is a minor political party operating in Ireland. It formed in 1986 as a splinter from Provisional Sinn Féin.
The decision was taken in response to Provisional Sinn Féin's decision at their 1986 Ard-Fheis to end their policy of abstaining from taking seats won in Dáil Éireann. RSF viewed this as an acceptance of the legitimacy of the Republic of Ireland and hence of partition of Ireland into the Republic and Northern Ireland.
The splinter was led by the former leader of Provisional Sinn Féin, Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and much of the older Southern based membership of the provisionals who disagreed with Gerry Adams and his Northern based backers. The Continuity IRA, founded in 1994 in opposition to the ceasefire declared by the Provisional IRA, is believed to have links to RSF. Both RSF and the CIRA have been proscribed by the United States State Department as terrorist organisations.
RSF claims to be the true inheritor of a tradition of Irish republicanism that includes the original Sinn Féin of the secessionist Irish Republic declared in 1919, and the 'Old' Irish Republican Army that fought the 1919-1921 War of Independence. It claims via a kind of apostolic succession:
- the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 was incompatible with the Irish Republic and hence null and void.
- all Irish elections subsequent to the Second Dáil election in 1921 were based on the Treaty and hence illegitimate.
- The 64 TDs who voted for the Treaty in 1922 had violated their oath to the Irish Republic and abdicated their legitimacy.
- in entering the Dáil of the Irish Free State in 1927, the anti-Treaty TDs who had joined Fianna Fail had done likewise.
- the 7 "faithful" TDs of the Second Dáil had transferred their authority to the Army Council of the IRA in 1938.
- the last remaining of the seven, Tom Maguire, had in 1969 recognised the Provisional IRA (rather than the Official IRA).
- Maguire subsequently switched to recognising the Continuity IRA in 1987Template:Footnote.
These claims are not universally accepted among republicans.
RSF remains a small party and continues its policy of abstentionism, thus meaning they have not stood in elections to either the Commons or the Dáil. They also opposed the establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly as they felt this further entrenched a British presence in Ireland. They have therefore not participated in elections to the Assembly either.
They stand on a platform of the establishment of social justice based on what they describe as the principles of Irish Republican Socialism, based on the 1916 proclamation of an Irish Republic. They also have a policy named Éire Nua ("New Ireland"), which would see the establishment of a 32 county Ireland completely independent of the United Kingdom and set up as a federation of the four Irish provinces.
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh remains RSF's President.
Notes
External link
- Official web site (http://www.rsf.ie/)