Connolly Youth Movement

The Connolly Youth Movement (CYM) (Irish: Ógra Uí Chonghaile) is an all-Ireland Marxist-Leninist youth organisation,[1] being affiliated to the World Federation of Democratic Youth. It takes its name from the revolutionary socialist James Connolly.

Connolly Youth Movement
ChairpersonA.C. O'Connor
Secretary GeneralAlexander Homits
Founded1963
HeadquartersConnolly House, Dublin
Ideology
International affiliationWorld Federation of Democratic Youth
Websitewww.cym.ie

History and current status

The CYM was founded in 1963 by young republicans who were influenced by the Communist Party during the Dublin Housing Action struggle. In 1970 with the merger of the Irish Workers' Party and Communist Party of Northern Ireland, to form the Communist Party of Ireland, the Northern Ireland Young Communist League joined the CYM, with Madge Davison as its general secretary. The CYM disbanded in 1991 due to a reduction in membership following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and eastern and central European bloc and the resulting political crisis in the World Communist Movement. However, following the resurgence of the left and anti-capitalist movement in Ireland, the CYM re-formed in 2002, grouped mainly around young members of the Dublin Branch of the CPI and student activists in NUI (National University of Ireland), Galway. The Connolly Youth Movement has relations with a number of young communist organisations around the world. The Connolly Youth Movement attends the Meeting of European Communist Youth Organizations (MECYO).[2]

The organisation was affiliated with the Communist Party of Ireland, though ceased their affiliation with the party after an Ard Fheis on the 9th of January 2021.[3]

Activities

In 2017, members of the Cork branch of the Connolly Youth Movement occupied and re-purposed three derelict buildings near UCC as part of an initiative to highlight rising levels of homelessness.[4][5] In 2018, two of these buildings were repossessed by the Garda Emergency Response Unit acting in conjunction with a contractor for the O'Dwyer Asset Management Company that owned the vacant properties.[6][7][8] The first occupation, still ongoing as of 2021, is referred to as Connolly Barracks by the organisation.[9]

The Connolly Youth Movement was involved in highly publicised instances of direct action in 2018[10] and 2019[11][12] when members of the movement disrupted Fine Gael public meetings in Cork in protest of government policy in relation to homelessness and wealth inequality. One such action was criticised by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who stated "I think no matter what political party you come from or what your political views, we should all be committed to democracy and freedom of speech and trying to shout other people down and trying to shut down their meetings is profoundly anti-democratic".[13] The organisation responded that it had a right to challenge and question the government on policy issues.[14] In a March 2020 interview, CYM General Secretary Alex Homits stated "Socialism will not and cannot be delivered through the ballot box and the CYM and its membership will not lie about this or endorse those who do."[15]

Publications

CYM publishes a magazine titled Forward quarterly.[16]

Affiliations

Prominent past members of CYM

References
  1. "Constitution". CYM. 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  2. "Communist Party of Greece - Message of support of the Communist Youth Organizations". es.kke.gr. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  3. editor (2021-01-18). "CYM Statement on Disaffiliation". CYM. Retrieved 2021-01-18.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  4. "Group squat in Cork house to highlight crisis". Echo Live. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  5. "Students face eviction from liberated building | University Express". UCC Express. 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  6. https://www.eveningecho.ie/corknews/Gardai-evict-anti-homelessness-protestors-6bb050fd-99c0-4d7b-840e-8db918a683bd-ds
  7. https://cym.ie/2018/07/26/armed-response-unit-break-up-political-protest-in-cork-ireland/
  8. https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/north-frederick-street-looks-like-proof-that-the-system-is-conspiring-against-the-people-1.3628003
  9. https://www.pressreader.com/ireland/hot-press/20191218/282046213995457
  10. "Connolly Youth Movement Disrupt Simon Coveney Event in UCC | University Express". UCC Express. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  11. Duffy, Rónán. "'Have you a job? Have you a job?' - Tense exchanges as FG Cork meeting disrupted by protesters". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  12. Roche, Barry. "Varadkar calls protesters who halted Fine Gael meeting 'anti-democratic'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  13. Roche, Barry (1 May 2019). "Varadkar calls protesters who halted Fine Gael meeting 'anti-democratic'". Irish Times. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  14. "Taoiseach brands Cork protest 'profoundly undemocratic'". Breaking News. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  15. Norton, Alexander (4 March 2020). "Red ambition: the Connolly Youth Movement in 2020". Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  16. https://www.cym.ie/category/forward/
  17. "Communist Party of Ireland". www.communistpartyofireland.ie. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  18. Declan Bree
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.