"In Ireland, young people feel that politics is far from the citizens, under the control of some elites"
- This is Grian Ni Dhaimhin, a young man born in Straban, Northern Ireland, where he resides. Study History at Queens University in Belfast. It participates in the student movement, in the movement against fossil fuel holdings Fosil Free and in various campaigns in favour of Gaelic, among others. The youth organization of Sinn Féin has been part of the Sinn Fein Republican Youth group, although it decided to leave the group "for not having been able to complete its socialist formation". His father was in jail for twelve years because he was an IRA militant. We have talked to him about the situation and the problem of youth in Northern Ireland, about feminism and about alternatives to reverse the precarious situation of young people.
What is the situation of young people in Ireland?
My perspective is rural. In Northern Ireland, where there is not enough work and resources, young people have to leave to cities. The youth unemployment rate is very high and poor jobs are very precarious. In some cases, however, the high qualifications of young people are also often a problem. Young people have a very negative feeling about politics and that causes them apathy. They feel that politics is far from the citizens, under the control of some elites. Citizen policy is not being promoted at present. Young people don't know how to start organizing to make a change.
Is religion a hindrance?
Yes, Ireland is a very Catholic country. The student union Union of Students of Ireland ran a major abortion campaign and had a huge impact on citizenship. However, despite the low importance of religion among young people, religion remains a mechanism to curb progressive positions, a kind of brake.
What are the main problems of youth?
On the one hand, the university rate cannot be paid. Tuition at the public university in Northern Ireland costs EUR 4,500 per year. Students must be indebted to meet expenses. In addition, many young people who are going to study in Belfast are not able to pay for their homes. So some of them are forced to sleep in their friends' sofas. On the other hand, mental health-related diseases have increased significantly in recent years. The suicide rate is very high. The Good Friday agreements were signed between 1998 and today with a higher number of suicides than people who lost their lives in an armed conflict in Ireland. In addition, many of the basic rights of youth are not recognized: the right to housing, gay and lesbian rights…
“The Republican movement has no roadmap to independence”
What strength does the feminist movement have in Ireland?
As Ireland is a very traditional country, we are working on the discourse “our bodies our rights”. We want to break with the binomial of women and cooking. In the tributes of the Republican movement, it is women who serve cafes and teas. Women are not given leadership because their empowerment is not sought. There's a male and male mentality in Northern Ireland. Play in Gaelic football. In our village there are groups of boys and girls. Unlike men, our group does not receive any form of financial aid.
Are there alternatives to reverse the situation?
On 26 April, on the centenary of Ireland’s independence, thousands of people gathered in the streets of Dublin. I was glad to have seen in the celebrations many social demands outside the Republican movement. The power of the people will be the force that provokes change. If you want to achieve something without this force, it will be impossible. In order for Sinn Féin to be the political force that channels this social power, it will have to set in motion a strategy that must be based on that objective. You have to look beyond Sinn Féin and have honesty. It is important to establish alliances with all these popular sectors, as they are the ones that can bring about change.
What is the Republican Party’s independence plan?
The problem is that Sinn Féin does not have an independence plan, that is to say, it is not clear whether we are fighting for the independence of the 32 Irish counties or whether the Northern provinces will join the South. Do we start paying for services that are still public in Northern Ireland (water, basic education, health)? What does the unity of Ireland mean and how are we going to do it? There are currently no plans to start working on it. A consensus is needed between the north and the south. The prospect cannot be to trample over the Unionist community, but to convince them that the unity of Ireland will benefit us all. In order to do this, the Republican parties will have to obtain the necessary majority in the executives of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. A proposal must be made to the loialists to participate in this project. The most important thing is to bring the utopia that we have in our head, conducting profound economic, political and sociological research.
“The number of suicides in Ireland since 1998 is higher than that of those
who lost their lives in an armed conflict”
Does the Right2Change movement, created in Southern Ireland against the privatization of water, go down that road?
If we are to achieve these objectives, we must go beyond party policies. Right2Change is a good example of that. People of different sensibilities and parties have come together to protest against the privatization of water. The Scottish independence movement went beyond the SNP, the Scottish independence party: it was activated through the movement of women, trade unions and students.
Who is going to have to do that activation work?
It can be anybody. Erica Fleming delivered an anthological speech at the Sinn Fein Congress in Dublin in April. The 30-year-old has spent more than a year homeless with his nine-year-old daughter, as he does not have enough money to rent a house. The case of Fleming is an example of this, as it has managed to create a movement from its personal situation. The fact that today that woman becomes a symbol in favour of the right to housing shows that the vanguard of change does not have to be an organization or a political party.
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