The following address was delivered by Michael McCorry, President of the Workers’ Party, at the close of our 2025 Ard Fheis on Saturday, 4th October in Wynn’s Hotel, Abbey Street, Dublin.
A chairde,
Comrades,
I want to begin by thanking you all for attending this year’s Ard Fheis. I extend my deepest thanks to every delegate, every member and every supporter who has kept our movement alive through another year of struggle. None of us underestimate the demands placed on our shoulders. The hours given, the sacrifices made, the doors knocked, the papers written, the stalls stood at in the cold and rain – all of these actions, big and small, are what keep the Workers’ Party alive. It is not easy work, and it is not without cost, but it is essential, and it ought to be appreciated.
We should also be mindful, comrades, of those who we have lost since the last time that we gathered for an Ard Fheis two years ago. We remain grateful to these comrades for their contributions to our party, with some serving in the ranks of our movement for decades; in some cases, from their formative years in life right up until their passing. Were it not for our comrades committing themselves to our shared goals and common cause, those of us who have not yet fallen victim to time would not still stand here today, debating and preparing to carry our party and our cause into another year.
We are not only grateful for their service to our politics however. We also remember them for their personalities, their comradeship, and for the deep personal relationships that were forged in struggle and that we have been privileged enough to enjoy. We owe it to them, to each other and to ourselves to ensure that today is not the last time that we can state these facts.
The state of our party is clear: we have endured. We have stood candidates in elections, we have raised our banners at demonstrations, events and commemorations, and we have continued to put forward a vision of justice, equality, and socialist republican politics when others sought compromise, silence, or retreat. However, we must also be honest with ourselves. We face challenges.The work of building a political movement is demanding. Even the most basic things – printing a leaflet, running an office, keeping a website online, covering the cost of a photocopier, hosting an event or commemoration – all of this requires finance and commitment. None of it comes for free. We must face this reality together, and together find solutions. If we want to grow, if we want to sustain ourselves, if we want to be ready to seize the opportunities of the future, then we must build the foundations, including the financial foundations, today.
That is why unity and comradeship must be our watchwords. Divided, we will stumble. United, we can advance. Comradeship is not a slogan, it is a practice. It is listening to one another, supporting one another, putting the needs of the collective above the frustrations of the individual. Our task is not simply to keep the party alive. Our task is to build it. To build locally, in communities where working people are crying out for representation of their class interest. To build networks of solidarity – with trade unions, with housing campaigns, with community groups. To build friendships and trust among ourselves so that when we face obstacles, we may face them and overcome them together.
And comrades, we must always place ourselves in the world as it is – not the world that we might wish it to be. Across Ireland, the cost-of-living crisis has left families struggling. Heating a home, putting food on the table, paying rent or a mortgage – these basic human needs have become a daily battle. Wages remain stagnant while corporate profits rise. The state cuts public services, yet protects the wealth of a select few. We have seen this cycle before, but today it is sharper, harder, and more punishing on working-class people. Capitalism has shown its true face: it will always put profit above people. And it is our duty to expose that truth and to organise that most respectable great mass of society – the working class, against it.
Our goal, comrades, is to build a new and better Ireland; a socialist and united republic. We do not seek to do so out of a sense of narrow-minded nationalism or any sort of romanticism for militancy, but out of our sincere and long-held belief that the Irish working class have more to gain by working together than we ever could divided. It might do to others, but unity to us does not simply mean the joining together of two different legal jurisdictions, it means the actual unity of the Irish working class. It means overcoming not only sectarian divisions, but divisions that may exist between north, south, east and west, because the fundamental interests of our class remain the same in Belfast as they do in Dublin, in Cork as they do in Derry. In rural, suburban and urban communities, our interests are one and our class must be united in order to successfully fight for them. What worker, comrades, would not presently benefit from the mass construction of mixed-income, universally-accessible public housing? From a National Health Service that is free at the point of use? From integrated and secular education for our children? From the nationalisation of key industries, ensuring true economic independence? And why, comrades, on an island as small as ours, would we not seek to extend the benefit of such things to the length and breadth of the country?
Our struggle, of course, is not only national. It is international. The Cuban people continue to endure the criminal blockade imposed by the United States. For decades, Cuba has faced economic strangulation simply because it chose an alternative path to that of its larger neighbour. That blockade is nothing short of collective punishment. And in Palestine, the world witnesses genocide in real time ‐ the deliberate destruction of a people, of a culture, of a nation. Bombs fall, children starve, and yet the international community dances around this bonfire, fanning the flames and pouring more petrol on. Comrades, silence in the face of genocide, and of such grave injustuce in general, is complicity. We stand with Cuba. We stand with Palestine. We stand with all oppressed peoples of the world who fight for dignity, freedom, and self-determination.
And so, this Ard Fheis must not be just another meeting, it must not be remembered as another occasion when we simply went through the motions. It must be a turning point. Let us commit ourselves today to unity – not as a vague idea, but as a living practice in every branch, on every committee, and in every campaign. Let us commit to building – building stronger local branches, building links with those around us who fight the same battles, and building networks that extend beyond our own walls. Let us commit to finance – not as a burden, but as a collective responsibility to ensure that the flame of our shared cause burns brighter and cannot be blown out. Because every leaflet we print, every statement we release, every event we organise, every commemoration we hold is an act of defiance, an act of resistance, and an act of hope.
Comrades, the working class simply needs a workers’ party. This is not an attempt to present our own organisation as more relevant to political life than it actually is, it is simply recognition of the way that the world works. The capitalist class has many, many parties. While they may differ on this issue or that issue, or they may even engage in theatrical displays that ostensibly place them as against one another, they still ultimately remain representative of the same ideology and of the same class. Those of us in this room today agree that there is something fundamentally wrong with how society is structured at present. Workers are the true producers of all wealth, workers are the great majority, and yet workers are expected to bear the brunt of society’s many woes. Therefore, we must organise for change. Only a party with this analysis of the world, the analysis of class politics, can ever hope to improve the lot of the working class, and place it into a position of power.
The world is changing. The forces of reaction and oppression are strong. But, the moment that we recognise it, so too is our class. History shows that the organised, disciplined, and united will of working people is stronger than any empire, stronger than any profiteer, stronger than any tyrant. Together, with discipline, with comradeship, and with belief in one another, we can continue the work of those who came before us, and we can build a future worthy of their sacrifice.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh.