Mid Theme Visit: Country Links - Ireland and Russia

 Mid-Theme Visit: Country Links

Ireland and Russia

Hello, and welcome to a new country links article, and this time, east and west, like many times before, collide, but maybe not how it appears on face value, which we will explore.

As has been the case with other recent articles, we will go into the 1900s, as it is just so tempting with the excitement of the political landscape produced. We will also be revisiting communism, with the first time being another country links article, United Kingdom and Vietnam, which is also available to view on my blog.

 Here, however, unlike other history CAM articles, we will discover an element of secrecy. Involving this secrecy, today, we will be viewing Ireland, and Russia. A treat I also have is a slightly longer country links article than usual as this link does merit extra. Before that however, I would like to clarify that I am neutral regarding the topics discussed in this article, and my post is not politically motivated.

Revolutionary Mayhem

To get into it now, this article will specifically look at the link between the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the United Soviet Socialist Republic, known to us all as the USSR.

Firstly though, for context, the issue surrounding Ireland during this period had persisted for a very long time. But to mark it here for us, beginning in 1870, the Home Rule Movement in Ireland was one of the first waves of strong and prominent Irish nationalism, this being about Ireland gaining world recognition and independence from Britain. The movement maintained its strong position for almost half a century, but in 1918 was overtaken by the newer version of Republicanism with broadly similar ideals. The, in future, very militant group was spearheaded by the Irish political party Sinn Fein, founded over a decade before, in 1905, by Arthur Griffith.

Interestingly, these events in Ireland were also around the same time as the Bolshevik Revolution, just the year before, in 1917. Though, the overthrown ruler, Tsar Nicholas II, only abdicated in 1918, making the communist state only official then. Ireland had also seen its fair share of internal political turmoil during the First World War, as WW1 just so happened to be in the timeframe of the Irish Revolution. The main incident of these was the Easter Risings in 1916, about the same kind of nationalism as just mentioned. With both countries undergoing dramatic political change, it was inevitable that they would need connections to aid them soon…

It was shortly after these major occurrences that the direct link begins to form. Subtle signs consisted of the major USSR figure Vladimir Lenin approving strongly of the actions of the Irish fighters in 1916, partially considering the Soviet’s tense and up-and-coming rivalry with Britain, which was a modern western power opposing the Soviet regime. Action strengthened the growing bond through an exchange of goods in 1920, this being the first behind-closed-door deal between the two. In this trade, Ireland gave the USSR $20,000, now a quarter of a million, and Ireland was given Russia’s crown jewels. Therefore, a successful first encounter.

Later, political frustration for Irish nationalists would fit right into future discussions with the USSR. This consisted of the Anglo-Irish treaty between the British and Irish nationalists in 1921, granting Ireland autonomy, but still remaining under Britain in name. Unfortunately, this deprived the Irish of their ambitions for national recognition. The boiling over of the agitation this treaty caused was seen through the founding of the first Irish Republican Army, the year after the treaty, in 1922.

Common Enemy

However, the IRA did lack crucial resources, and perhaps recalling Lenin’s past praise, they chose to open the Iron Curtain, venturing into Soviet Territory. Led by Irish communist politician Pa Murray, representing the national cause, Sean Russell and Gerald Boland journeyed to see Josef Stalin, the infamous USSR leader, in 1925. Keen to aid Ireland’s cause, they were granted a monthly amount of £500, starting the following year, in 1926, amounting to over £25,000 now. Though the USSR was not a charity, however much they liked another country’s regime, and part of the deal was that Irish nationalists would feed information to the Soviets regarding Britain, which was useful to the USSR as it still had an uneasy relationship with Britain.

Another IRA member, Andy Cooney even managed to get the Soviets to fork out £1,000 as a one-off payment the following year, in 1927, which today would be over £50,000.

After this monetary aid, however, we now jump forward by over four decades, going to the founding of the second IRA, in 1969, roughly when the infamous Troubles in Ireland started. The USSR would help the Irish through important provisions for attacks, devising the ‘Plan for the Operation of a Shipment of Weapons to the Irish Friends’, or SPLASH, in 1972. The leader of the Soviet’s secret police, the KGB, in charge of domestically keeping the population in check, developed this plan. Yuri Andropov was his name, and he provided a generous amount to the Irish nationals of 40,000 ammunition, a couple of machine guns, 10 pistols, and 70 auto rifles, arming their unofficial allies to the teeth.

It is important to remember here that Ireland and Russia had multiple links, being political, ideological, financial and military, as the IRA of Ireland received funding and weaponry from Russia, as part of the USSR and the IRA fed the USSR intelligence. Also the USSR's funding as partially due to being a fan of the IRA's desired state of government and ideals, similar to their own.