Communists in the Kingdom

Long in the background, but ever present in the minds of the Munster members of the CYM, and indeed in the whole organisation, was the launch of the CYM in the Kingdom of Kerry. After careful development of our existing Kerry members, and their hard work within their schools, workplaces and local areas advocating the cause of the international working class, a new era for southwest Munster is underway.

Whatever background we come from, all of us can recognise that the root of our strife can at its core always be traced back to the exploitative system of capitalism. The genocide in Palestine, the housing and cost of living crises, the Healy-Rae’s, Shannon LNG; all of it is due to profit, greed, and the inherent laws of capitalism.

With the help of the CYM, the young people of Kerry have begun to recognise this, people who might not have been familiar with the world-view of Marxism-Leninism, but were disparaged by the laziness, opportunism, and the ideological weakness of the bourgeois ‘left’ parties and organisations present in Kerry, and all over the island.

Through education, praxis, and mentorship, the CYM presence in Kerry has strengthened and attracted others. As we explored James Connolly’s Labour in Irish History through our reading group or discussed the historical situations of Cuba and Palestine in our local meetings, we simultaneously protested in Killarney, ran stalls in Tralee, and doorknocks in Killorglin.

The focus of the CYM is always to develop our members into ‘professional revolutionaries’ as Lenin put it, who have the ability, skill and knowledge to lead the charge when the revolutionary situation arises. The very same can be said for our approach in Kerry, and our most immediate goal has been building up and educating our new comrades on the principles of Marxism-Leninism and on the organisational methods of the CYM.

After a very successful Summer of development, including the attendance of some of our members at the CYM National Summer School in County Down – where, it must be noted, the Kerry team beat the Ard Chomhairle to take first place in the National 5-aside soccer tournament, reaffirming the Kingdom’s superiority when it comes to sports and competition – members returned home as we completed preparations for our first CYM public event in Kerry, a fundraiser for our dear comrades in the Palestinian Communist Youth Union.

All members put in excellent work, as the event stood as a test of strength for our outreach within the County, and Tralee in particular. We were delighted to attract a crowd of over 75 people as we filled up our venue, the Klub. John Loughrey, the highly respected chairman for Kerry IPSC, and a lifelong political activist stood as quizmaster for us, where he did an excellent job, though he pulled no punches with his very difficult questions, which had those of us organising thankful we were simply correcting the answers as opposed to taking part. Due to the efforts of all our members and the generous patrons of the county, we had an impressive sum of spot prizes for the raffle. Despite criticism that we had left the ticket prices too low, which we were insistent on to allow all age and class ranges to attend, we raised a whopping €1,509 euros for the PCYU and their lifesaving and revolutionary work in Palestine.

This was an incredible feat, and we would once again like to extend our thanks to all the people of Tralee and beyond who attended, many of which were committed activists for the Palestinian cause, but many fresh young faces were met with open arms too.

As we left the Summer behind us, many comrades sights were turned to college and new departures, but we are all of us still active and engaged with the progression of the CYM in Kerry, and the hunger for expansion was tangible at our Day School, which had comrades from Cork, Dublin, and Wexford travelling down to the Kerry Sports Academy in the North Campus of the MTU. Here we discussed and brainstormed over the process of building the CYM, which was led by a Wexford comrade who was more than happy to share his experience from their thriving Cumann. The fundamentals of Marxist philosophy, democratic centralism and the laws of socialist revolution were all topics that were discussed as well, all of which energised and inspired the attendees as we move forward with the organisation, and its role in Kerry.

There’s a lot that lies ahead of us, and there’s no shortage of issues for us to take on, be it in Killarney or Caherciveen. Though there are some representatives that give us in Kerry a bad name up in Leinster House, like Norma Foley or the Healy-Raes, we’re not all gombeens and slumlords. Against all the odds, despite internal migration to the cities, or emigration thousands of miles away, despite a scattered and isolated rural population, despite it all, we see the potential in Kerry, and the need for a real revolutionary organisation of the youth and working class here in the South-West.

Though there are usually rain clouds overhead, the future of the communist movement in Kerry is looking bright. We must continue to learn, and develop ourselves and the CYM, as we strive ever onwards to a new, free and socialist Ireland.

An Ríocht Abú!