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Neither democratic nor a programme: the Democratic Programme of 1919
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2016
Abstract
On 21 January 1919, the first Dáil adopted four constitutional documents, the best known of which is the Democratic Programme, a statement of social values, based on proposals from the Labour Party. The Programme is usually regarded as a cynical reward to Labour for its abstention from the 1918 general election, and nationalist elites have frequently been criticised for reneging on it. This paper will argue that the Programme was written to advance the Irish cause at the International Socialist Conference at Berne in February 1919, that parts of the Programme were implemented, and that it is very likely that the Labour Party did not write it to be implemented.
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References
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2 Technically, this was true of the second Dáil, but it is reasonable to assume that the film was not distinguishing between the first and second Dáil, to which almost all Sinn Féin deputies were returned unopposed.
3 The programme opens: ‘All successful revolutions depend on popular support. In the general election of December 1918 we, the Irish people, said yes to the pursuit of the republic … In return for the support it received, Sinn Féin made certain promises. The Democratic Programme … promised to Irish people that things would get a lot better: that their welfare would be a number one priority. Not only would this not happen, for many Irish men, women, and children, life would get worse.’
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