Armed Struggle,Peace Process and Parliamentarism: James Connolly and the Changing Politics of Provisional Republicanism

Since 1998 Sinn Féin has moved from supporting an armed campaign to full participation in the electoral politics of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In so doing they have had to moderate much of their rhetoric in regard to revolution and armed struggle. They have not, however, jettisoned the attachment to one of their key iconic figures, James Connolly. The retention of Connolly as a central figure in the Provisionals’ political discourse presents an opportunity to use him to examine both continuity and change in the doctrine of Ireland's most prominent republican faction.