Thomas 'Ta' Power
Encyclopedia
Thomas 'Ta' Power was an Irish republican socialist who was a leading member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party
(IRSP) and Irish National Liberation Army
(INLA). According to the Irish Republican Socialist Movement
(IRSM) biography page on Power, he was "from Friendly Street in the Markets area of south Belfast, he had been in the OIRA but joined the INLA in 1975 while a prisoner in Long Kesh.".
At age 33, he was shot and killed in County Louth
alongside INLA leader John O'Reilly
by the Irish People's Liberation Organisation
which was largely composed of former INLA members, as he arrived to negotiate a truce .
Power was a Marxist theorist and historian within the IRSM, who advocated dramatic changes in its strategy and structure. This is the current policy blueprint for the IRSM. These ideas can be read in the 'Ta Power Document' and include the principles of 'collective leadership', 'politics in command' and other concepts Power believed would steer the IRSM away from a military-led strategy. Power's vision was that INLA would become the cutting edge of a new, genuinely all-Ireland, revitalised, revolutionary socialist party and play a secondary supporting role to the IRSM. These ideas were adopted by the INLA just before Power's death and were finally implemented within the movement as a whole under the direction of Gino Gallagher
.
Holland and McDoanld note that "Subordinating military struggle to carefully thought-out political strategy had been Ta Power's dream for a long time. In the 1980s Sinn Fein and the IRA made that a reality with their ballot box cum armalite policy. The provos learnt well from the lessons and mistakes of the IRSP/INLA.".
Irish Republican Socialist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican socialist party active in Ireland. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising of 1916.- History :The Irish Republican...
(IRSP) and Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
(INLA). According to the Irish Republican Socialist Movement
Irish Republican Socialist Movement
The Irish Republican Socialist Movement is an umbrella term for the political-paramilitary grouping of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the Irish National Liberation Army, prisoners who belong to either the IRSP or the INLA, the Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America, and the...
(IRSM) biography page on Power, he was "from Friendly Street in the Markets area of south Belfast, he had been in the OIRA but joined the INLA in 1975 while a prisoner in Long Kesh.".
At age 33, he was shot and killed in County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
alongside INLA leader John O'Reilly
John O'Reilly
John Francary O'Reilly is a Canadian politician. He represented the Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock riding for the Liberal party from 1993 to 2004. He lost his job in the 2004 election to the Conservative candidate Barry Devolin. He is now a real estate broker by profession.-References:...
by the Irish People's Liberation Organisation
Irish People's Liberation Organisation
The Irish People's Liberation Organisation was a small Irish republican paramilitary organization which was formed in 1986 by disaffected and expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army whose factions coalesced in the aftermath of the supergrass trials...
which was largely composed of former INLA members, as he arrived to negotiate a truce .
Power was a Marxist theorist and historian within the IRSM, who advocated dramatic changes in its strategy and structure. This is the current policy blueprint for the IRSM. These ideas can be read in the 'Ta Power Document' and include the principles of 'collective leadership', 'politics in command' and other concepts Power believed would steer the IRSM away from a military-led strategy. Power's vision was that INLA would become the cutting edge of a new, genuinely all-Ireland, revitalised, revolutionary socialist party and play a secondary supporting role to the IRSM. These ideas were adopted by the INLA just before Power's death and were finally implemented within the movement as a whole under the direction of Gino Gallagher
Gino Gallagher
Gino Gallagher was an Irish republican who was Chief of Staff of the Irish National Liberation Army. He was killed in Belfast on 30 January 1996, while waiting in line for his unemployment benefit....
.
Holland and McDoanld note that "Subordinating military struggle to carefully thought-out political strategy had been Ta Power's dream for a long time. In the 1980s Sinn Fein and the IRA made that a reality with their ballot box cum armalite policy. The provos learnt well from the lessons and mistakes of the IRSP/INLA.".