Page:Schüller - Jim Connolly and Irish Freedom (1926).djvu/11



N this age so prolific in anniversaries, one event should not be forgotten—at the end of April and the beginning of May, 1926, we celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of the Irish Rising in 1916, and the shooting of its leader, James Connolly.

During the past few years Ireland has been relatively quiet, both as regards general and internal British policy. But it would be a serious mistake to regard as permanent the present stagnation in the political life of the workers and toiling peasantry of Ireland. Already there are signs of revival. The Irish question has not been solved by the creation of the Irish "Free State" with Dominion rights, nor has the misery of the oppressed Irish workers and small peasantry been in any way alleviated thereby. Directly under the noses of the lords of the greatest Imperialist State in Europe exists the greatest anti-imperialist force, the significance of which will continue to develop the greater the decline of British capitalism. The mutual support of the British and Irish working masses in their struggle against the common enemy is of the greatest importance, and not least for the British worker.

It is noteworthy that Ireland, in spite of its revolutionary significance and possibilities, has hitherto played but an insignificant role in the Communist International. The main reason for this lies in the decline of the revolutionary Labor movement in Ireland itself; this of late years has reached a regrettable level, the causes of which call for investigation. Ireland with its complicated conditions presents special difficulties to the Communist movement. It is therefore most important for us to study these special conditions and the experience of the