“Fight Capitalists, Not Their Wars! Struggle for Solidarity & Socialism!”

Ard Fheis 2025 | 22 – 23 February

The Connolly Youth Movement, the Communist Youth of Ireland, gathered in Dublin for their 2025 Ard Fheis [Congress], in the context of imperialist crises and a drive towards militarism both north and south.

1. Ireland: An Island Divided

Elections and the State

The recent 26-county general election has reaffirmed the position of the centre-right parties of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael as the leaders of the government in the south. Their united position throughout the campaign has demonstrated the unification of the main political parties of the southern bourgeoisie, working in collaboration in the interests of the capitalist class and the Irish monopolies. Sinn Féin, while maintaining their position as the third party, has failed again to enter into government. Their shift to the right, inclusive of overtures towards IBEC as well as the EU, NATO & US, clear in their assurances that Sinn Féin is no threat to the interests of capital, has failed to win them the requisite political support.

While the Green Party collapsed to a singular elected representative, a reaction to their abandonment of election promises upon entering into coalition with FF & FG, the other social democratic parties, Labour and the Social-Democrats, achieved some modest electoral gains. Yet they were swift to demonstrate their character, entering immediately into government formation negotiations with FF & FG. The Social Democrats also have faced a scandal with one of their newly elected TDs, found to have held shares in a company involved in arming the Israeli state, exposing the shallowness of bourgeois “solidarity”.

Despite the failures of the far-right to make electoral gains, they have succeeded in influencing the policies of the establishment right. The incoming coalition, composed of FF, FG and right-wing independents, will be more reactionary in character, advancing the further the ongoing assault on the Irish working class.

The political situation in the north remains mired in dysfunction following the last Stormont and Westminster elections. Sinn Féin is now the largest party in Stormont and holds the position of First Minister for the first time, with the DUP as their secondary partner. This power-sharing, the compromise reached through the Good Friday Agreement, maintains not only partition, but the rule of capital in the north, through its entrenchment of sectarian division within the apparatus of the legislature.

The ongoing genocide in Palestine has also revealed the extent of Sinn Féin’s “internationalism” and their integration into the bourgeois system. Despite widespread pressure, Sinn Féin’s leadership chose to visit the White House. They justified this on the basis that they would “speak up” for Palestinians to Biden, yet reality shows that they held meetings with the likes of Caterpillar – whose bulldozers are used in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians – and were instead representing bourgeois interests.

Similarly, the cosying up to the British royal family and attendance at Remembrance Day ceremonies – whilst further distancing themselves from the republican struggle – are further proof of the lengths that Sinn Féin will go to show that they are a safe pair of hands who can be trusted partners in capitalist exploitation.

However, we have also seen a heightening of tensions among the varying sections of the northern bourgeoisie on the matter of a “border” down the Irish sea. Brexit presented a challenge for the capitalist entente. The capitalists whose economic interests lie primarily with Britain, politically represented typically by the forces of unionism / loyalism, seek to solidify political and economic relations across the Irish Sea. Meanwhile those others who have greater economic interest in maintaining access to the EU single market, represented by SF and the Social Democratic and Labour Party, are seeking unification for the purpose of re-entry into the EU. The Alliance Party – and some sections of Sinn Féin – are happy to maintain the status quo in the six counties and are keen to leverage the “unique” position of the six counties through its access to both UK and EU markets.

Accomplishing the tasks of revolutionary socialist-republicanism, that is national liberation, is the immediate historical task of the Marxist-Leninist movement. Republicanism is central to the overall proletarian struggle, and it serves as the vehicle for national liberation and combatting imperialism in Ireland.

Yet it is the bourgeois parties that dominate the movement for unification. A unified capitalist Ireland, within the EU imperialist bloc, rather than presenting an opportunity for Irish communists, would likely consolidate and strengthen the forces of capital in Ireland. It is therefore essential that socialism is central to movement for unity, and that partition is ended on the terms of the Irish working class. Inversely, the British state retains sole power over any hypothetical border poll as per the Good Friday Agreement, and is unlikely to concede one unless it believes that British imperialist interests are best serviced or advanced by holding one

The CYM recognises that the struggle for socialism must take place on a 32 county basis, and that the struggle to end the occupation of the six counties has potentially revolutionary implications for all of Ireland. The CYM reaffirms its commitment to the vision of James Connolly, that “The cause of Ireland is the cause of labour, the cause of labour is the cause of Ireland: the two cannot be dissevered”. To this end the CYM recognises that the struggle for socialism must be waged jointly north and south, and that a partitioned struggle is one ultimately doomed to fail. Inversely, we recognise that due to the nature of modern imperialism, only a struggle led by the working-class of Ireland for socialism can fulfil the long-held Republican ambition for sovereignty, by severing all ties with imperialism.

To this end, the CYM appeals to the working youth of the world for their support in ending the occupation of the six counties and in demanding for the withdrawal of the British security apparatus, an end to “anti-terror” legislation, and in demanding justice for political prisoners. We appeal particularly to the young anti-imperialists of Britain for their active support and collaboration.

Failures of Capitalism

In both jurisdictions, governments have prioritised capital over the working class. On housing, policies have enriched landlords while condemning thousands to homelessness. Health services are gutted under the guise of austerity, with more and more hospitals facing cuts and closures. Regarding reproductive healthcare, despite legislative changes, provision of abortion services remains poor, with hundreds still travelling to Britain to avail of these services. Likewise we see a concerted drive against trans healthcare – north and south – as part of a generalised campaign of transphobia. As a result, more people are now being compelled to take matters into their own hands – either through at-home abortion pills, or DIY HRT – with potential risks due to lack of adequate medical support. Education is increasingly commodified, and public services are increasingly outsourced to private profiteers.

Meanwhile, in the context of heightening imperialist tensions, there is both external and internal pressure to further incorporate Ireland into the EU-NATO-US imperialist military bloc. The EU is seeking to extend the military role of the union, the US and Britain seek to shore up a geopolitical “vulnerability”, while the Irish monopolists look for military assurances to protect their economic interests internationally. The “neutrality” of the 26 county state is under targeted attack, with the legal mechanisms preventing direct military engagement being gradually repealed. Shannon airport is used by the US military to transport weaponry to Israel and their other fronts of imperialist conflict with the explicit consent and complicity of the southern ruling class. While the north, through British occupation, is directly integrated into NATO.

The past number of years has seen increased repression of anti-war and anti-imperialist activists. Our own members have faced charges for their activism and we note the many young people who have faced prison for their activism. We note with concern as well that in both the US and UK that activists are now being held and trialled under “anti-terror” legislation.

In the impending generalisation of imperialist war, it will be the working class youth that will bear the brunt of the violence and destruction. The CYM strives to fight militarisation in Ireland; we will fight the capitalists, not their wars!

2. International: The Tide of Imperialism and Resistance

Inter-Imperialist Conflict

The uneven development of capitalism and competition between countries and blocs for spheres of influence, new markets and natural resources, is an inherent aspect of capitalism in its imperialist stage, and leads inevitably to the proliferation of war. We have seen this with the outbreak of inter-imperialist war in Europe through the invasion of the EU-NATO-US proxy Ukraine by capitalist Russia.

The election of Donald Trump in the US, despite the many allusions made to the withdrawal of the US from conflicts such as Ukraine, will likely heighten tensions between the EU-NATO-US bloc and China, the leading force in the emerging conflicting bloc. BRICS, or the notion of multipolarity, does not present an alternative to imperialism, but rather demonstrates the emergence of new forces which seek to obtain and consolidate new markets for their own monopolies.

With capitalism having developed internationally into its imperialist phase, to be anti-imperialist is to struggle for socialism. The role of communists therefore is not to support one capitalist bloc over another, but rather to support the struggles of working people across the world against imperialism, and to win the struggle for socialism at home.

China: A New Imperialist Power

China, once a bastion of socialism, has now emerged as an imperialist power after the restoration of capitalism throughout the country. Both bureaucratic and private monopoly capital have become dominant in China, and they have become a major exporter of capital in Asia, Africa and Latin America. China, as the leading force in BRICS, has become a competitor to Western imperialism for the redivision of spheres of influence.

The path taken by Chinese imperialism is lined with dead communists and workers. China has been active in crushing workers organisations and revolutionary movements throughout the world, from arming reactionary states and their death squads against anti-imperialist and communist movements in Nepal, Philippines, Palestine, India among other, to the union-busting practices of Chinese firms of Greek dock workers. No semblance of proletarian internationalism can be found in their actions, and they have worked decisively against the proletariat internationally and the communist movement.

The cause behind this is the restoration of capitalism in China following the rightist counter-revolution of 1976 led by Hua Guofeng and Deng Xiaoping. The leaders of the communist party were deposed in a coup, with the so-called “Gang of Four” being imprisoned for life. A wave of reaction and the mass persecution of communists all over China followed, after which capitalist relations of production have since been fully restored.

Decollectivisation in the countryside ensued and the people’s communes were destroyed. There has been a transition to an increasingly market-driven economy with privatisation on a large scale and enterprises operating on a for-profit basis. Despite nominal collective or public ownership, land and many enterprises became de facto private property, leading to rising inequalities and the reappearance of a bureaucratic bourgeoisie protected by the state and a petty landlord class in the countryside subleasing contracted lands to poor peasants under the household responsibility system.

Special Economic Zones permit the exploitation of Chinese labour by capital with tax exemptions or reduced labour regulations. A reserve army of labour has appeared, and the subsidisation of consumer goods, including essentials such as food, ended in favour of market forces. Corruption has flourished with party bureaucrats manipulating the market reforms to their own advantage at the expense of the working masses.

With billionaires in the communist party, the PRC can no longer be considered a dictatorship of the proletariat. The dissolution of China’s proletarian dictatorship was further cemented with Jiang Zemin openly permitting the bourgeoisie to enter the party following the adoption of his Theory of Three Represents, analogous to Khruschev’s “party of the whole people.” Dialectical materialism has been utterly abandoned in favour of vulgar mechanism and a repudiation of class struggle, repeatedly ratified by Xi Jinping.

Chinese FDI in the 26 counties has grown rapidly, rising from €1.3 billion in 2015 to €9.3 billion in 2023, a sevenfold increase in 8 years. Presented as China’s “gateway to Europe”, major Chinese corporations — including Shein, Huawei, TikTok, WuXi Biologics, and Temu — have firmly established themselves in Ireland. China is one of the world’s largest arms exporters, and despite its blustering over Palestine, China remains Israel’s third largest trading partner.

Irish workers are being exploited by Chinese companies and communists around the world are being murdered by Chinese weapons. The future of the communist movement does not rest with China or any competing imperialist blocs but with the revolutionary masses all over the world.

Palestine and Proletarian Internationalism

The Zionist regime’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people and their invasion of Lebanon underscore the brutality of imperialism in the Middle East. Recently we have also seen the Assad government in Syria fall to imperialist intervention, with Israel now expanding their occupation of Syrian territory, facing no opposition from the new Syrian Islamist leadership in HTS. Israel has been supported both politically and militarily by the US-NATO-EU, who have allowed the genocidal conclusions of Zionism to be carried out with the expectation of their economic interests in the region being protected and advanced in the process.

Zionists have extended its reach beyond Palestine, inflicting further suffering on oppressed peoples in Sudan and Western Sahara through the Abraham Accords. In a blatant disregard of self-determination, the US recognised Morocco’s illegal annexation of Western Sahara in exchange for Morocco normalising relations with Israel. This deal has legitimised land theft and occupation and Israel’s expansionist agenda while trampling on the rights of the Sahrawi people, waging struggle on their occupied land. Their trade with Morocco largely concerns the purchase of cyberintelligence and weapons for selling off occupied territory and raw materials in Western Sahara.

Similarly, Sudan was coerced into normalising ties with Israel in exchange for removal from the US terrorist list, a move that came too late to prevent Sudan’s economic crisis and subsequent descent into its largest war and famine in decades. EU policy strengthened destructive forces within Sudan, such as the RSF. Originally formed to suppress popular uprisings, it was given increased power and resources under the guise of managing Europe’s external borders under the sinister Khartoum Process.

We reject the calls for a two-state solution, whether along the 1947 or 1967 borders. In the racist logic of Zionism, the political viability of Israel is dependent on the ultimate elimination of the Palestinian people, their very existence poses a fundamental threat to the settler-colonial nature of the Zionist regime. As such there will be no end to the oppression of the Palestinian people while the Israeli state still exists. The only solution is for Zionism to be smashed as a political force, only at which point can a unified and secular Palestine be achieved. Therein lies an essential task for Jewish communists within the Zionist occupation, to support fully the Palestinian resistance, and to work to combat Zionism in all its forms.

The CYM again reiterates its unreserved support of the right of the Palestinians to resist the Israeli occupation and genocide, and sends solidarity to those leading the struggle.

Similarly the Cuban people and the leaders of the Cuban revolution continue to stand resolutely against the imperialist US blockade. This brutal attempt to force the Cuban people into submission by provoking economic strangulation, has only intensified in recent years with the strengthening of measures to prevent Cuba from accessing necessary fuel for energy production. Nevertheless, Cuba has resisted these efforts and remains a beacon of socialist resilience.

The CYM expresses its full support and solidarity for the Cuban government and people, and demands an immediate end to the imperialist blockade and for a removal of Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.

3. The Rise of the Far-Right: An International Threat

The last two years has seen an explosion in the activity and scope of nationalist and fascist groups. Far from external phenomena, these movements are a domestic product of capitalist crisis and state policy in both jurisdictions. The leaders of these movements, composed of largely petit-bourgeois and lumpen elements, have stoked fears among the working class of the “threat” of migrants, hiding the true cause of the current crises.

The CYM stands resolutely with migrant and refugees, who not only face racist abuse and violence, but are subject to some of the most acute exploitation in Ireland today, with employers and landlords alike taking advantage of their uncertain residency.

The relationship between fascists in the south with loyalism in the north, as seen recently by their united front during last year’s Belfast riots, demonstrates their mutual role as defenders of the interest of capital north and south. The riots have also demonstrated the contrasting response of the police forces. While there has long been state repression of communist and republican activists, most recently seen with the bogus arrests of CYM activists while conducting Palestinian solidarity actions in QUB and Shannon airport, there has been a light-touch policing approach to the far-right, where they have been allowed to set-up ad-hoc check-points to prevent the movement of migrants across the country.

While the far-right failed to make any substantial breakthroughs in the Dáil and local elections, we have seen a professionalisation of their organisations and the adoption of some of the rhetoric and demands of the workers’ movement. This is a direct threat that must be carefully addressed.

In response to this, we have seen calls the creation of anti-fascist fronts to combat this growth of the reactionary right, similar to what has been done in France before the recent Assembly Election. We categorically reject any proposal of “unity” with bourgeois or social-democrat parties through a “popular front”, which history has shown to be disastrous for the workers’ movement, reducing it to the role of capitalist managerialism. We maintain the only antidote to fascism is the working class, united in the struggle for socialism.

4. Climate: Greenwashing and the Capitalist Crisis

We are facing an environmental crisis of multiple interlinked phenomena; climate change, environmental destruction, collapse of biodiversity. This crisis has already begun eroding the living conditions of working people across the world, with rising sea levels, increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and rising temperatures. This is only likely to worsen, as CO2 emissions continue to rise year on year. Capitalism is not only deeply linked with the origin of these environmental issues, with its productive forces becoming increasingly forces of destruction, but has demonstrated itself incapable of resolving or mitigating them in any form.

In Ireland, despite the promotion of a “Green Transition” by successive governments, we have seen the complete ecological collapse of our largest lake, Lough Neagh, and the continued polluting of our rivers through effluent from intensive and unsustainable farming practices, while data-centres with energy requirements equal to entire cities remain an area of development priority. This is combined with the promotion of individualised and consumption based “solutions”, which are not aimed at resolving environmental issues but instead at hiding the class basis of this crisis.

Capitalist accumulation is fundamentally in contradiction with nature and is an obstacle to human progress. Only a socialist planned economy, by replacing the anarchy of capitalist production with the rational organisation of production, prioritising the social needs of the people instead of the profit needs of capital, can address the climate crisis.

The question of the climate catastrophe is part of the class struggle, without addressing it we will never be able to conduct class struggle fully. Socialist revolution, with the immediate implementation of a revolutionary programme to address the climate crisis will we be able to solve the environmental problems we face.

5. The “Left”: Rebuilding the Communist Movement

The left in Ireland is hamstrung by reformism and collaboration with the capitalist state. The objective of a “Left Government”, championed by sections of Sinn Féin and PBP, will never succeed in advancing the interests of the working class. The electoral promises of these parties, those that have not already been morphed to match the neoliberal consensus, will inevitably come into conflict with the capitalist requirement to have a government which governs based on its interests. To entertain this illusion of the possibility of “governing” capitalism, will only drive more youth and workers into the hands of the far-right.

The CYM rejects the analysis put forward by some communists that our role as communists is to somehow “push Sinn Féin left” or to support Sinn Féin in order to facilitate unity on a bourgeois basis. Whilst the CYM supports Irish unity, we recognise that the leadership of Sinn Féin is firmly committed to capitalism even if some of the membership considers themselves individually to be socialist, and that it is not the role of communists in Ireland to act as the left-flank of a bourgeois party. Instead, the struggle for social liberation and unity must be waged in tandem by the working-class.

Meanwhile the trade union movement has allowed itself to be relegated to irrelevance, through a combination of commitment to the class-collaborationist principles of social partnership and to capitalist neoliberalism. Despite the coordinated assault by capital on the terms and conditions of the most exploited workers, in particular the youth and migrants, the trade union movement has failed to meet the task of defending the interests of the working class.

The CYM is committed to advancing the workers movement through the organising of the youth within trade unions. However, their character must be fundamentally altered if they are to remain relevant. No longer can unions be allowed to hide behind anti-union legislation to justify their inaction. The CYM will struggle to build a class-based trade unionism, that is unabashed and militant in its defence of the rights of working class.

The necessity and urgency for the process of building the Communist Movement is increasingly evident. No Communist alternative was present in the recent elections, and the “Left” represented only provide the dead-end of social-democracy and reform. We call for the reorganisation of the communist movement in Ireland along principled lines, grounded in militant class struggle, embedded within the working class, and committed to the scientific laws of socialist revolution.

Join Us in the Struggle!

The fight against imperialism is international, and the struggle for socialism is our only path to liberation. We invite all young people committed to class-struggle, solidarity, and revolution to join us in building a movement capable and willing to win socialism in our lifetime!

Fight Capitalists, Not Their Wars! Struggle for Solidarity & Socialism!