Ireland's OWN: Hungerstrikes

Ireland's OWN: Hungerstrikes

Interview with Tommy McKearney*

Tommy McKearney, a former Irish republican prisoner and hunger-striker, told Fiona Foster why he doesn't support the current 'peace process'.

One of 'the unmanageables'

Tommy McKearney is an Irish republican from the small town of Moy in County Tyrone. He was released from jail last year, after serving 16 years for the killing of a British soldier.

Tommy McKearney has lost three brothers in the Irish War. Sean was killed by his own bomb in 1974; Padraig was shot dead by the SAS while on active service in Loughgall in 1987; Kevin was gunned down by a Loyalist death squad while working in the family butcher's shop in January 1992. Tommy himself narrowly escaped death after spending 53 days without food as part of the 1980-81 H-Block hunger-strikes demanding political status for republican prisoners of war.

In March, Tommy McKearney was invited to London by the Irish Freedom Movement to address the Campaign Against Militarism's War Drums and Peace Talks conference at Wembley. I asked him about the prospects for war and peace in Ireland.

Fiona Foster: Do you have any hope that the current peace process can deliver peace in Ireland?

Tommy McKearney: First and foremost I don't believe that it is a peace process at all. As far as I'm concerned it's a devious ploy by the British government to cover up, to attempt to wash away the outward signs of conflict without resolving it.

Fiona Foster: Republicans I've spoken to seem convinced that the process in some way reflects the British government's desire to manoeuvre itself out of Ireland. Would you agree?

Tommy McKearney: No. On the contrary I would argue that the so-called peace process is aimed at strengthening the connection between Britain and Northern Ireland, at two levels. Firstly by convincing the general public in Britain and Ireland that they are genuinely interested in peace. Secondly by aiming to neutralise the most active opposition to British rule in Ireland, the republican population of the Six Counties, by convincing them that they no longer have cause for active opposition.

Fiona Foster: Do you think the peace process results from Britain's weakness or strength in relation to the Irish War?

Tommy McKearney: I think we have to ask ourselves whether this is a situation where the British are being forced to concede to the realities of the battlefield. They have had to make concessions before, like in Kenya or where six or seven hundred million Indians said you can have it any bloody way you want it, peaceful or otherwise. They made the concessions in bad grace surely, but they had to make them. But I ask myself is this the reality of the field in Ireland, and I have to say, no, I don't think it is. So then I am forced to question why Britain is doing this. To use a Northern Irish expression, I ask "are we being sold a pup?".

Fiona Foster: Are you saying that it's the republican movement that is in a position of weakness?

Tommy McKearney: When you see some heads going down and the feet starting to lag, though it may be temporary, I would say yes, there has to be weakness. Let's not cover it up, if we're hurt, let's say OK we're hurt. We need to stop a minute and draw breath. But our situation hasn't changed. We have to continue the fight, but we have to be honest about where we are. My concern is that we could be misled for a number of years, and then we're saying that another generation is going to have to come along and take this awful, bloody baton from us.

Fiona Foster: You have said that the Downing Street declaration should have been rejected straight away. Why?

Tommy McKearney: Quite simply, there is nothing in it for nationalists or republicans. Britain has said "we respect your aspirations" but they've done nothing to realise those aspirations. I'd say that's just about as bogus as your boss saying I recognise your aspiration to be paid on a Friday night but I'm not going to give you any money.

Fiona Foster: But what's wrong with simply refusing to respond to the declaration?

Tommy McKearney: My concern is that by failing to reject the declaration out of hand, the republican leadership is creating the impression that the British are a disinterested party in the conflict, who could deliver peace. The problem is that this can undermine morale, because if you take people who are locked into a long, drawn-out struggle and you hold out the prospects of peace, it's very hard to go back on that. I believe that the British ruling class are skilfully taking the republican people down a long path that is going to be difficult to get off. And unfortunately it's not the path to peace.

Fiona Foster: What do you see as the role of the IRA's armed struggle today?

Tommy McKearney: Firstly I want to say that there is a false counterposition made in the media between those who would accept the declaration and those who would 'bomb on'. To my mind we have, for too long, been forced to define ourselves as republicans through the use of armed force. But Irish republicanism is not equated simplistically with the use of armed force. I understand the role of force, but, by the same token, I don't say we'll use force and see what happens.

Let me make this clear, I'm opposed to the declaration and I reject Britain's right to be in my country. The question now is how do we redefine and reorganise our struggle in such a way as it succeeds. I would say that the struggle has now become directionless to the extent that we're pinning our hopes on the decency of the British doing the right thing. I would argue that we need a comprehensive re-examination of the struggle and as such everything should be on the table, including the tactical question of the armed struggle.

Fiona Foster: How do you see the struggle against British rule in Ireland fitting in with an international anti-militarism?

Tommy McKearney: As an Irish rebel and one of the unmanageables, it gratifies me to see Britain in decline. Yet she retains her seat at the inner circle of world imperialist powers. As such it's still the case that any blow against Britain will damage Western imperialism. The very existence of a peace process shows that the Irish are still a thorn in the side of Britain, that we can still damage their prestige. I was born in Ireland and I will continue to fight imperialism where I stand as an Irish republican and as an internationalist.

Fiona Foster: Finally, what contribution do you think anti-militarists in Britain can make to challenging British rule and ending the war in Ireland?

Tommy McKearney: You can give the lie to the idea that Britain is a peacemaker. You can remind people that the regime that is talking peace in Ireland is the same one that coldly and cynically decided to sink the Belgrano with the objective of ensuring that the war with Argentina would go ahead in 1982. It is the same regime that in the last few weeks has admitted to the aid-for-arms deal in Malaysia.

Now unless there is something in the Irish air that transforms these people into peacemakers, we must conclude that they are not well intentioned. You can give the lie to the idea that this declaration is the path to peace.

*Reproduced from Living Marxism, Issue 66, April 1994