by Ed Moloney
5. The Army Authority shall retain, maintain and ensure the safety of all armaments, equipment and other resources of Oglaigh na hEireann until such times as the sovereignty and unity of the Republic of Ireland has been attained. Once a settlement has been agreed, leading to a united Ireland, all decisions relating to decommissioning of armaments, equipment and other resources must be ratified by an Army Convention.
6. General Army Convention:
1. (a) A General Army Convention of Delegates {selected as set out hereinafter} shall meet every four (two) years unless the majority of these delegates notify the Army Council that they deem it better for military purposes to postpone it. When a General Army Convention is postponed, it must (shall) be summoned to meet not later than twelve months after postponement (as soon as the majority of the delegates shall notify the Army Council that they deem it advisable).
1. (b) A Convention must be called within 15 months of a cessation being declared.
2. An Extraordinary General Army Convention shall be called when a majority of the Executive so decide.
3. That should it be necessary to summon an Extraordinary General Army Convention and that the urgency of the issue for the Convention does not permit of the selection of delegates as prescribed, that the delegates to the previous General Army Convention constitute the Extraordinary General Army Convention. When for any reason a delegate to the previous General Army Convention has become ineligible, or is not available, the Battalion Council shall elect a delegate in his/her stead. Every active Volunteer in the Battalion shall be eligible to stand as a delegate.
4. An Executive of twelve members shall be elected by ballot at the General Army Convention: at least eight of these members shall be delegates to the Convention: Four members may be elected from active Volunteers who are not delegates. The next six in line shall, however, be eligible as substitutes to the Executive in order of their election. The Executive shall always have six substitutes in readiness.
5. No member of the Executive may also be a member of the Army Council and members of the Executive subsequently elected to the Army Council will resign from the Executive. Vacant positions on the Executive arising in such a way shall be filled by those substitutes next in line from the Convention delegates.
6. The following shall be entitled to attend and vote at the General Army Convention:
Delegates selected by Battalion Convention.
Delegates selected by General Headquarters Staff and Staffs of Brigades,
Divisions and Commands.
Two members of the Executive.
All members of the Army Council.
The Chief of Staff, the Adjutant-General and the Quartermaster-General.
7. Only Volunteers on the Active List shall be eligible as delegates to the General Army Convention.
8. A majority of the General Army Convention may invite anyone whom they wish to attend to speak.
9. The Chairperson of the General Army Convention shall be chosen by the General Convention.
7. Duties and Powers of the Executive:
1. The Chairperson of the General Army Convention or his/her representative shall, within forty-eight hours of the termination of the Convention, summon a meeting of the Army Executive over which he/she shall preside during the election of a Chairperson and Secretary. The Army Executive shall then proceed with the election of an Army Council of seven members.
2. The Army Executive shall meet at least every three (once every six) months. The Secretary of the Executive shall be responsible for the summoning of the members. The Chairman of the Army Council and the Chief of Staff attend all meetings of the Executive with the right to speak but without voting rights.
3. It shall be the duty of the Executive to advise the Army Council on all matters concerning the Army. This includes ratifying any cessation within four months of its declaration and two further extensions of four months.
4. The Executive shall have powers, by a majority vote, to summon an Extraordinary General Army Convention.
5. A member of the Executive who, for any reason, ceases to be an active member of Oglaigh na hEireann shall cease to be a member of the Executive.
6. Casual vacancies on the Executive shall be filled by co-option after any substitutes that [sic] may be elected by the General Army Convention have been exhausted. Vacancies shall be filled within a period of one month.
7. The Executive shall hold office until the following General Army Convention shall elect a new Executive.
8. An extraordinary meeting of the Executive shall be summoned by the secretary of the Executive when a majority of the Army Council or a majority of the Executive so decide.
9. Two-thirds of the available members shall constitute a quorum of the Executive, for co-option purposes only. Full Executive powers shall not be vested in less than five members.
10. The Army Executive are the custodians of the constitution and have the right to rule and arbitrate or rule on policy matters which may infringe the constitution and Volunteers have the right to petition the Executive on such matters.
8. Duties and Powers of the Army Council:
A
1. The Chairperson of the Army Executive or his/her representative shall, as soon as possible after the election of the Army Council, summon a meeting of the Army Council, over which he/she shall preside, until a Chairperson and Secretary have been elected.
2. The Army Council shall meet at least once a month.
3. Vacancies occuring in the Army Council shall be filled from substitutes elected by the Executive or co-opted by the Army Council in advance. Co-options by the Army Council must be ratified by the Executive at its next meeting.
4. Any active Volunteer shall be eligible for membership of the Army Council.
5. The Army Council shall:
1) Maintain the organisational integrity and cohesion of Oglaigh na hEireann until the objectives have been achieved.
2) Maintain the political and military strengths and capabilities of Oglaigh na hEireann until the objectives have been achieved.
B
1. The Army Council shall have power to conclude peace or declare war when a majority of the Council so decide. The final conclusion of peace must be ratified by a Convention.
2. The Army Council shall have power to appoint a Chief of Staff and ratify all appointments to the Commissioned ranks.
3. The Army Council shall have power to make regulations regarding organisation, training, discipline, equipment and operations, such as will ensure that the Army will be as efficient as possible.
4. The Army Council shall have power to take all necessary steps to secure co-ordination with other republican organisations.
5. The Army Council shall have power to keep in touch with all foreign organisations and countries which may help the Army in any way.
6. The Army Council shall have power to arrange for the care of wounded Volunteers and their dependants and the dependants of Volunteers killed, imprisoned or on active-service.
7. The Chief of Staff, Adjutant-General and Quartermaster-General shall be entitled to attend and speak at all meetings of the Army Council but not be entitled to vote unless they are members of the Army Council.
8. Four members shall constitute a quorum of the Army Council for co-option purposes only. Full power shall not be vested in less than five members.
9. A member of the Army Council who, for any reason, ceases to be an active Volunteer, shall cease to be a member of the Army Council.
10. The Army Council shall appoint a commission which sits every two years to ascertain the views and opinions of Volunteers at all levels in the Army.
9. Selection of Delegates:
Delegates to the Command Conventions shall be elected by ballot as follows:
1. At each parade called for the purpose, each unit in Command Area shall elect a delegate to attend the Command Convention.
2. One member of the Command Staff, elected by the Staff at a special meeting call
ed for the purpose.
3. The Command OC shall be entitled to attend and vote at the Command Convention.
4. Each Command Convention shall meet when instructed by the Army Authority and elect one delegate when the total number of Volunteers who parade for Unit Conventions do not exceed twenty, and two when the number of Volunteers do not exceed fifty, and one delegate for each twenty additional Volunteers on parade at Unit Conventions.
Brigade Conventions:
Where the Independent Unit is a Brigade, a Brigade Convention may be held consisting of the delegates elected by the Units, Battalion Staffs and the Brigade Staff, with the power to pass or reject any resolution brought forward by these delegates. The delegates from each Battalion shall each elect their own delegates to the Army Convention.
Election of Brigade, Divisional and Command Staff delegates to the General Army Convention:
Two delegates shall be elected at a meeting of General Headquarters Staff officers, with the exception of the Chief of Staff, Adjutant-General and Quartermaster-General.
Resolutions to General Army Convention:
Command Conventions and the meetings of GHQ Staff for the election of delegates to General Army Convention shall have power to discuss any matter relating to the Army or to the Nation and to pass resolutions regarding such matters. These resolutions shall be forwarded to GHQ within the time specified by the Army Authority and shall appear on the agenda for the General Army Convention.
10. Changes to the Constitution:
It shall require a two-thirds majority of a General Army Convention to change articles in this Constitution.
APPENDIX 4
IRA Executive Chairman Seamus McGrane’s Speech at the 1997 Convention
As chairman of the outgoing Executive it is my duty to outline to Convention the reasons behind the decision made by the Executive to call an extraordinary Convention. It is our opinion that only an extraordinary Convention, recalling the delegates from the previous Convention, would be sufficient to clarify major inaccuracies on fundamental constitutional and policy decisions taken by the Convention at that time.
This decision was not taken lightly. It came about after much debate and consultation. At all times the Executive acted in good faith striving to fulfil its constitutional role as laid down in the constitution. It is our opinion that only an extraordinary Convention would be sufficient to prevent serious internal problems in ONH over the foregoing fundamental principles.
The critical issues cited for the calling of this Convention are: (1) The Mitchell Principles, (2) Non-ratification of the ceasefire, (3) Treatment of the Executive by the Army Council, (4) Morale of the Volunteers.
Although these have been cited as separate they are inextricably linked.
Mitchell Principles
The Executive ruled that the signing of the Mitchell Principles was a breach of the constitution. They alerted the Army Council to this and after a lengthy, heated debate the Army Council agreed with this but stated they could give special dispensation to allow a Volunteer to break the Constitution. This was not accepted by the Executive. We are all aware of the consequences of when past leaderships attempted to interfere with or alter the fundamental aims and constitutional status of ONH.
The Army Council was advised by the Executive of the consequences of allowing this to happen. Furthermore the Executive insisted that a public statement be released clearly stating the Army’s position in relation to the Mitchell Principles. Experience on this occasion after the heroic struggle of the last 27 years means that the present leadership must be clear with the membership on these vital points so as on this occasion the great advances made will not be wasted. It must be fully recognised that great advances have been made but are we going to throw these away?
Non-ratification of the Cease-fire
The majority of the Executive were opposed to the cease-fires. They were critical of the timing of it, concerned about the weak state of the Army having just emerged from a previous lengthy “suss.” It was felt that the consensus of the last Convention was against a “suss” and the subsequent Donegal meeting re-affirmed this with the rejection of the aide-memoire.
A majority of the Executive felt that a reconvening of the delegates would have been the proper thing to do to clarify this position. Furthermore there was grave concern about the implementation of the integrated strategy. The Executive agreed with the principle of an integrated strategy but were critical of the term integrated as there was no evidence of a military strategy and the political strategy contained elements that were in conflict with the Army constitution.
For almost the last year we have relayed these concerns to the leadership and as yet a strategy which could be truly described as integrated has not been forthcoming. The most recent attempt at a military strategy was cobbled together and presented no later than three days ago at an Executive meeting after it was stated at a previous Executive two weeks earlier that there hasn’t been time to assemble one as people were tied up with meetings and going to talks at Stormont.
Treatment of the Executive by the Army Council
Having been a member of the previous Executive since 1986 I feel I am in a position to state that the outgoing Executive in my opinion was the first Executive I have seen which took its role seriously. This Executive was determined to carry out its function as laid down in the constitution by the last Convention.
In order to fulfil its role as advisers to the Army Council on policy matters relating to the Army it was essential for the Executive to be fully briefed. Resolutions passed at Convention help formulate future Army policy. The Executive repeatedly requested a copy of these at all meetings from after the Convention was held. These were withheld and only came into our possession a few weeks ago by mistake. It transpired that we were not to have them at all. These documents would have undoubtedly been of assistance in clarifying the consensus of the last Convention in its attitude to cease-fires being called, dual roles etcetera.
Incidentally a number of other documents were requested, one in particular, the aide-memoire, was requested and the reply was: these can be got in government buildings.
Prior to the general election in the Six Cos. the Army Council decided on a “tactical period of quiet” which lasted several weeks. The Executive was not informed of this. When it was raised at the Executive meeting in May the Army Council Chairman apologised and gave commitments that this would not happen again and that there would be better communication.
At this same meeting and as a consequence of what had already taken place members of the Executive expressed fears of a possible cease-fire being called. The Army Council chairman stated: “There was no case for a ceasefire” and he didn’t understand why it was even being discussed. We had only to wait a few weeks to see this commitment flounder. At the next meeting of the Executive the Army Council joined us. We were informed of the decision to call a ceasefire. We were informed that it was to be announced within 48 hours. Pressure was brought to bear on the Executive to support the decision. We were told to “endorse it or go to a Convention.”
The Executive realised the enormity of their responsibility and was reluctant to make rash decisions before discussing and consulting on this further, regardless of the criticism being directed at them. Several meetings took place where much consideration was given to the feedback from the Volunteers and the constitutional implications of the Mitchell Principles.
We were criticised for taking time to make our decision and then when we finally did we were asked to reconsider it. This is an example of the double talk and contradictions which we had become accustomed to. We were told: “If such a Convention is [held] at this time there is potential for disaster coming out of a Convention.” Yet as stated earlier we were also told “endorse or go to a Convention.”
The Morale of the Volunteers
In conclusion the majority of the Executive were conscious of the confusion and frustration felt by Volunteers when the decision t
o call a ceasefire was announced. Three months on this has not subsided, in fact it has been fuelled by conflicting assurances being given by members of the Army Council to Volunteers that we are going back to war in a couple of months while other members have stated they are fearful the struggle would be over if we did go back. Confusion breeds fear; fear breeds disillusionment; disillusionment breeds dissent. Too many sacrifices have been made by the Volunteers of ONH; for us to allow this sort of practice to continue we would be undermining our responsibility to the Volunteers who elected us to the position of Executive.
APPENDIX 5
IRA Chiefs of Staf
1. Sean MacStiofain – from December 1969 until November 1972
2. Joe Cahill – until March 1973
3. Seamus Twomey – until June 1973
4. Eamon Doherty – until June/July 1974
5. Seamus Twomey – until December 1977
6. Gerry Adams – December 1977 until February 18, 1978
7. Martin McGuinness – until autumn of 1982
8. Ivor Bell – until September 1983
9. Kevin McKenna – until October 1997
10. Tom “Slab” Murphy – from October 1997
APPENDIX 6
The Mitchell Principles
Accordingly, we recommend that the parties to such negotiations affirm their total and absolute commitment:
(a) To democratic and exclusively peaceful means of resolving political issues;
(b) To the total disarmament of all paramilitary organisations;
(c) To agree that such disarmament must be verifiable to the satisfaction of an independent commission;
(d) To renounce for themselves, and to oppose any effort by others, to use force, or threaten to use force, to influence the course or the outcome of all-party negotiations;
