XPost: alt.home.repair, alt.politics.scorched-earth, uk.politics.misc   
   XPost: uk.legal, alt.politics.uk   
   From: bowman@montana.com   
      
   On 03/24/2017 08:18 AM, abelard wrote:   
   > the modern ira have often been characterised as marxists...as such   
   >     they would not be catholics...they would be at best apostates   
   > you seem to know the history...   
   > world you please comment...   
      
   There has been infighting about the degree of socialism in the IRA. In   
   1969 the IRA split into the Provisional IRA and the Official IRA. The   
   OIRA were the socialists. Sinn Fein had a similar split and the Official   
   Sinn Fein became the Workers Party. The OSF split further into the Irish   
   Republican Socialist Party with its paramilitary wing, the Irish   
   National liberation Army.   
      
   The IRSP sees themselves as the true heirs of the Irish Socialist   
   Republican Party that was founded in 1896 by James Connolly. Connolly   
   was a Marxist theorist also linked to the IWW. He took part in the 1916   
   Uprising and was gravely wounded. Since he was too weak to stand, the   
   British tied him to a chair to face the firing squad. That was another   
   fantastic PR move by the Brits; they made a martyr.   
      
   Like all the rest of them, the ISRP split, and in the aftermath Connolly   
   emigrated to the US. That leads to the oddity of a monument to Connolly   
   in my hometown:   
      
   http://www.troyrecord.com/article/TR/20160424/NEWS/160429811   
      
   Ironically, Troy was also the home of Sam Wilson, the legendary Uncle Sam   
      
   http://anb.org/articles/20/20-01883-print.html   
      
   So, short answer, some branches of the IRA are socialists and are   
   frowned on by the Church. The Church knows which side its bread is   
   buttered on.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)