Communist Party of Northern Ireland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Communist Party of Northern Ireland
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|---|---|
| Leader | Sean Murray William McCullough Hugh Moore |
| Chairman | Sean Murray Andy Barr |
| Founded | 1941 |
| Dissolved | 1970 |
| Preceded by | Communist Party of Ireland |
| Succeeded by | Communist Party of Ireland |
| Headquarters | Belfast |
| Youth wing | Northern Ireland Young Communist League |
| Ideology | Communism Marxism–Leninism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| International affiliation | Comintern (1941-1943) |
The Communist Party of Northern Ireland (CPNI) was a small political group in Northern Ireland. It believed in Communism, which is an idea about how society and the economy should be organized. This party joined with another group, the Irish Workers' Party, in 1970. Together, they formed the reunited Communist Party of Ireland.
Contents
How the Party Started
The CPNI began in 1941. It was formed after a split from the original Communist Party of Ireland (CPI). At the same time, another group called the Irish Workers' League (IWL) was formed in the Republic of Ireland.
The split happened because it was hard for the CPI to work in the Republic of Ireland. Also, people in the Republic didn't want Ireland to join World War II. But in Northern Ireland, many people supported joining the war.
In July 1941, the main Communist Party stopped its own activities. Its members were told to join and influence the Irish Labour Party and trade unions. The Irish Labour Party didn't operate in Northern Ireland. So, in October, the Communist Party of Northern Ireland published its own plans.
The CPNI held its first big meeting in October 1942 in Belfast. Many former members of the CPI from the Republic came. By 1943, the party had grown to 35 local groups. However, it couldn't work openly in areas that were mostly Catholic. Interestingly, while the party in Belfast had many Catholic members in the 1930s, after the split, most members became Protestant.
Ups and Downs of the CPNI
The CPNI put forward its own candidates in the 1945 Northern Ireland general election. They didn't win any seats, but they got a good number of votes. Their three candidates (Betty Sinclair, William McCullough, and Sid Maitland]) received about 12,000 votes. They also managed to keep their election deposits, which means they got enough votes not to lose money.
Despite this, the CPNI didn't grow much afterwards. Its membership dropped from 1,000 in 1945 to just 172 by 1949. The party also stopped printing its newspaper, Unity, in 1947. In the 1949 Northern Ireland general election, the party only ran one candidate, William McCullough, who received only 623 votes.
Even with fewer members, the CPNI became important in trade unions. These are groups that protect workers' rights. For example, Betty Sinclair became a full-time leader of the Belfast Trades Council.
The party kept trying to be part of elections. They supported Jack Beattie from the Irish Labour Party in a special election in 1950. They also had Jimmy Graham and Eddie Menzies run in local elections in Belfast that year, but they didn't win.
The CPNI and the Irish Workers' League (IWL) worked together. They formed a Joint Council to plan their activities. However, they sometimes disagreed, especially about how important it was to oppose the partition of Ireland. This was the division of Ireland into two parts.
Working for Civil Rights and Merging
In the early 1960s, the CPNI supported the Northern Ireland Labour Party. Then, starting in 1965, they tried to create a civil rights movement. This movement aimed to get equal rights for all people. The CPNI worked with important trade union leaders and Irish republicans.
A big moment for them was the civil rights association (NICRA) in the late 1960s. Betty Sinclair was a key figure in this group. Other CPNI members involved were Noel Harris (Chairman) and Denis O'Brien Peters (Secretary).
Eventually, the CPNI became a smaller partner in a merger with the Irish Workers' Party. This party was once again working as an independent group. In 1970, these two parties officially joined together to form the Communist Party of Ireland.
The CPNI also published a newspaper called The Red Hand when it started in 1941. Its other newspaper, Unity, became the weekly publication for the Belfast area of the Communist Party of Ireland after the merger in 1970. However, Unity has not been published by the Communist Party of Ireland since 2021.
Party Leaders
- 1941: Sean Murray (he was also an organizer from 1950-61)
- 1942-46: William McCullough
- 1963-70: Hugh Moore
