ABOUT US

 

 

 

The 32 County Sovereignty Movement was founded at a meeting of like-minded Republican activists in Fingal County Dublin on Sunday 7th December 1997.

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Most of those present were members of SinnFein who were finding themselves increasingly marginalised due to their open concerns at the direction in which the party was being led following revelations of Britain's latest proposals for ''peace'' in Ireland.

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Minutes from that first gathering point out how,

''Those attending the meeting shared a common concern regarding the failure of the current peace talks to tackle the key issue of Irish Sovereignty. Indeed it was felt that the peace talks, based on the Mitchell and joint framework documents which guarantee a Unionist veto, will ensure an internal Six-county settlement and prohibit the probability of an end to partition''

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Many of those present had been 'advised' to keep quiet about their concerns and others were simply expelled from SinnFein with no real explanation.

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It was in such circumstances that these SinnFein members found it necessary to organise themselves into an 'identifiable unit' in order to prevent themselves from being 'scattered into the political wilderness' which was what the provisional leadership had hoped for.

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Formerly called the 32 County Sovereignty Committee (as in a committee inside SinnFein) the individuals were then formally expelled from the party necessitating the formation of a distinct organisation the 32 County Sovereignty 'Movement'. The original constitution stated that the first aim of the organisation was to:

''Seek to achieve broad unity amongst the Republican family on the single issue of Irish Sovereignty''

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There was considerable agreement and admiration within Republicanism for the stance which the 32 County Sovereignty Movement had taken and many key figures withing SinnFein privately admitted at the time to agreeing with the organisation.

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The willingness of the provisional leadership to compromise on such a key principle as the Sovereignty of the nation had caused confusion, even panic within the Republican grassroots nation-wide, a fact which was highlighted by the enthusiastic response the 32 County Sovereignty Movement received during a series of lectures it had organised in Belfast, Dublin and Dundalk in the same week as the 'Good Friday Agreement' was revealed.

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Over twenty years on our stance remains the same, our ideals have not wavered and we will continue as strong as ever.

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