Revolutionary communists from across Ireland gathered in Dublin on the 5th and 6th of April for the historic second Congress of the Revolutionary Communists of Ireland!
With 50 comrades in attendance throughout the weekend, we took stock of the significant progress made over the past year: the expansion of our organisation into Derry, Sligo, Wicklow, Meath, Cork, Limerick, Wexford, and Kildare, as well as growing stronger roots in Dublin, Belfast and Galway. Most importantly, we have now surpassed the milestone of 50 active communists in Ireland! And such was the enthusiasm at the event, that we raised a staggering €10,700 to fund the struggle for communism here in Ireland, including €850 in revolutionary literature sales!
Since our Congress last year, our organisation has grown by more than 50 percent, with the introduction of the Congress celebrating this incredible fact: we now have 56 active members in Ireland!
This is historic growth for our organisation that did not exist even a few years ago, and is a testament of the correctness of the ideas of genuine Marxism and the methods of Bolshevism!
At last year’s Congress, we resolved to significantly grow our organisation, launch our own website, to begin the circulation of our paper as a quarterly publication, and to hire our first full-time revolutionary paid in full just by our members’s contributions. All of which we have achieved!
Yet we are far from complacent. The tasks imposed upon revolutionary communists by history are great, and we must strive to rise to the occasion.
Thus, by the next Congress, we have resolved to grow our organisation to 100 members, hire our second full-time revolutionary, relaunch our newspaper as a bi-monthly publication, and materialise our ideas by establishing a revolutionary HQ in Dublin!
A new epoch in world capitalism
We opened our Congress with a discussion on World Perspectives. One thing is clear: we are not living through ordinary times. The epoch of so-called “normal” capitalist politics is over, and we are witnessing the death throes of the liberal world-order order and the convulsions of a system in terminal decline.
Throughout the discussion, comrades outlined the deepening crisis of US imperialism. Once the unrivalled master of global capitalism, the American empire is now a declining colossus, battered by internal decay and geopolitical fragmentation. Donald Trump’s doubling down on protectionism is precisely a qualitative expression of the relative decline of the US as the sole world superpower.
The European Union – the US’s historic ally, is increasingly finding itself at odds with the US. The illusion of Western unity lies in tatters. What we are witnessing is nothing less than the disintegration of the post-war liberal world order.
At the heart of this global turmoil lies the objective crisis of capitalism itself. The 2008 financial crash marked a historical turning point – laying bare the fundamental contradictions of the system.
However, the ruling class staved off this collapse by injecting trillions into the veins of finance capital, but this only deferred the crisis while inflating a debt bubble of unprecedented proportions. That bubble is now threatening to burst with ever renewed force, potentially dragging the entire system into a spiralling crisis.
Globalisation, once heralded as capitalism’s saving grace, is now reversing and becoming its opposite. The very imperialists who once extolled the virtues of free trade and open markets now scramble to erect protectionist walls, unable to compete on a world scale. The contradiction between the nation state and internationalised production is becoming ever more explosive, threatening to tear the system apart at the seams.
But the masses are beginning to stir. A burning anger simmers beneath the surface which is stirring leaps in consciousness amongst the working class and youth.
It was highlighted in the discussion how in the absence of a revolutionary alternative, this class rage is finding outlets in distorted form, specifically in the rise of right-wing demagogues. The rise of figures like Trump is not a sign of capitalist strength, but of its crisis.
Our task is to prepare the revolutionary forces capable of intervening into the movement, to provide leadership to the working class, and to bring about the final overthrow of this rotten system through socialist revolution.
Ireland and the period ahead
Ireland is far from immune to this crisis. As we highlighted during our second session on Irish Perspectives, Ireland is incredibly vulnerable to shifts in global relations.
Ireland finds itself ensnared between three contending imperialist blocs: US, Britain and EU. The so-called “economic miracle” of the Celtic Tiger, built on foreign direct investment, is rapidly unravelling. The Irish ruling class, paralysed by this growing contradiction, have no strategic response. In the face of rising protectionism, what was once Ireland’s greatest strength, is turning into its greatest weakness.
Economically, despite the official statistics of GDP growth, the material conditions of the working class continue to deteriorate. Real wages are stagnating or falling, disposable income is declining, and over one million people in the South now live in poverty. Housing, healthcare, and public services are in profound crisis.
In the North, this crisis is further compounded by the unresolved national question. Decades of capitalist mismanagement has left the North filled with flammable material. Infrastructure is decaying, from the NHS to the roads, while the housing crisis continues to worsen.
The DUP, wracked with scandals, has left a vacuum for the more extreme wing of unionism to step into. With the question of the border once again on the agenda at the behest of Trump’s tariffs, this contradiction threatens to burst asunder once again. And yet more austerity is on the agenda. Sinn Féin, have accepted the conditions of the imperialists and cultivate illusions that a united Ireland can be achieved by constitutional means.
But capitalism cannot deliver. The only viable path to Irish unity is through revolution. Only the overthrow of capitalism across the island by a conscious and united working class can break the chains of partition, and set about the forging of a 32-county Socialist United Ireland.
The tasks of communists in 2025
The second day of our Congress began with a discussion on the organisational tasks necessary to build a party capable of overthrowing capitalism.
While the current organisation of 56 comrades is an important achievement, it is merely a starting point. To achieve our revolutionary aims, we must rapidly expand both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Our immediate task is to train every comrade in the methods of party building, revolutionary theory, and Bolshevism. Each comrade is not just a member, but a potential cadre in the struggle for socialism.
To meet the needs of the coming revolution, we must aim to become an organisation of hundreds and then thousands. Every new recruit represents a step forward in building the future vanguard of the working class.
To this end, the Congress resolved to reach 100 comrades by our next gathering and to ensure that every comrade is fully developed into a Marxist cadre. This requires not only theoretical education but a deep understanding of our practical tasks and the need to develop revolutionary leadership at every level.
Additionally, we resolved to relaunch our publication, The Revolutionary Communist at a higher frequency. Currently a quarterly, it will now become a bi-monthly, with the aim of moving to a monthly as soon as possible after that. The rapid developments in society demand a revolutionary press that can offer timely and sharp commentary on the unfolding situation.
Achieving these goals requires sacrifices, both material and organisationally. As Cicero famously stated, “Finance is the sinews of war.” And we are waging a war, the most just of all: the class war! To translate our ideas into a material force, we require material means. This is why our financial independence is critical to our survival and growth.
Earlier this year, we achieved a significant milestone by recruiting our first full-time revolutionary, funded entirely by the dues of our members. This marks a huge step forward in building the material foundation for our work. But we are not stopping here. The Congress has resolved to hire a second full-time revolutionary and to begin the development of a revolutionary centre in Dublin – a physical hub and symbol of the advance of revolutionary communism in Ireland.
The dedication of our comrades is unquestionable. During our financial collection, where we aimed to raise €6,000 for our fighting fund, we surpassed that target by a significant margin and raised about €9,000!
This shows that the Revolutionary Communists of Ireland are not only growing in numbers, but in determination and willingness to smash through every obstacle in front of us too! We need to prepare for the titanic events to come.
A world party of revolution
The final session at our Congress centred on reports from the rest of the International. The struggle to build the Revolutionary Communists of Ireland is not a struggle to create a separate Irish movement, but part of the global struggle for world communism as part of the Revolutionary Communist International.
The discussion centred on the work of our International over the recent period, and on where we have come from, specifically the tireless work of Ted Grant, whose efforts ensured the survival of genuine Marxism during the post-war period.
The growth of the Revolutionary Communist International reflects both the deep crisis of capitalism, and the correctness of our methods. Comrades reported that over the past few years, our international membership grew from 2,600 to over 6,800 comrades, with significant gains in countries like Britain, the US, Mexico, and Pakistan.
What is clear across our International, is that our strength lies in our unwavering commitment to orthodox Marxism.
Here in Ireland, our task is the same. To build a party that can overthrow capitalism when the time comes. Each and every session of our Congress, each and every resolution, discussion, and vote contributed to this goal.
Now is the time of action. Not just to vote on targets – but to head out with audacity to fulfil them. This second Congress is set to act as a launchpad for our work in the period ahead.
Forward to 100 members!
Forward to building the Revolutionary Communists of Ireland!
