Eoin Ó Murchú is a writer and retired journalist in both Irish and English, a political activist and a former member of Official Sinn Féin/the Workers' Party, and the Communist Party of Ireland.[1] He is currently the interim national chairperson of the Irish Communist Party.[2]
Biography
Background
Ó Murchú was born and reared in England, where he joined the Connolly Association and got involved in the republican movement. He studied at Trinity College Dublin and was a founding member of the Republican Club in the college and served as its chairman.
Official Sinn Féin and Communist Party
Ó Murchú edited the newspaper of the official republican movement United Irishman[3] and served on the Ard Comhairle of Official Sinn Féin.[4] His 1971 work Culture and Revolution in Ireland, formed a synthesis of Gaelic revival and Maoist themes. Ó Murchú was aligned with the faction who moved the Official Republican movement away from the armed struggle towards a socialist and electoral path.[3] After joining the Communist party he served as its southern secretary, and also edited the party's newspaper The Irish Socialist.[5] In 1984, he stood unsuccessfully in the Laois–Offaly by-election as the Communist Party candidate.[6]
RTÉ and journalism
He worked as political correspondent for RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. Although retired from RTE, Ó Murchú remained active as a columnist and commentator appearing on Vincent Browne Tonight programme on TV3 from time to time. He also writes Political and Irish language columns for An Phoblacht.
^ abHanley, Brian; Millar, Scott (2009). The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers' Party. Dublin: Penguin Ireland. ISBN978-1844881208.