Seamus Costello

Seamus Costello Séamus Mac Coisdealbha
Born	1939 Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland
Died	October 5, 1977 Dublin, Ireland
Cause of death	Assassination
Nationality	Irish
Political orientation	Marxism-Leninism
Political party	Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin (1955-1970) Official Sinn Féin (1970-1976) Irish Republican Socialist Party (from 1974)

Seamus Costello
Allegiance	Irish Republic
Service/branch	Anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army (1955-1969) Official Irish Republican Army (1969-1974) Irish National Liberation Army (from 1974)
Rank	Chief of Staff of the Irish National Liberation Army (1974-1976)
Battles/wars	Campaign of Resistance to British occupation the Troubles

Seamus Costello was an Irish Republican and Marxist-Leninist revolutionary figure from the late 1950s to his assassination in 1977. He was involved with Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army before becoming involved with the Official faction of both organizations after the IRA split in 1969. After the Official IRA ceasefire in 1972 he founded the Irish Republican Socialist Party and its military wing the Irish National Liberation Army.

Early Life

Seamus Costello was born in Old Connaught Avenue, Bray, County Wicklow 1939 to John and Elizabeth Costello. His father was a cattle-dealer and farmer. He was the oldest of nine siblings.

In 1953, after the arrest of Irish Communist revolutionary leader Cathal Goulding Costello first became interested in politics. At the age of 15 he bought a copy of The United Irishman newspaper, and soon after attempted to join Sinn Féin. He was not allowed to join due to his age and was told to return the next year. The next year he joined Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army.

Early Political Activism

Costello quickly rose in the ranks of the Republican movement. He commanded an IRA unit at the age of 17 in South Derry, with major actions including the destruction of infrastructure and the burning of Magherafelt Courthouse during the IRA border campaign of 1956-1962. For these exploits at his young age he earned the title 'boy general'.

He was injured in an accidental explosion at a safehouse, injuring his back and losing half of a finger. He was transported to Dublin to be treated.

In 1957 he was arrested in county Wicklow and sentenced to six months in Mountjoy Prison. After those six months he was immediately sent to Curragh Camp for two years. There, he became involved with an escape committee, helping to free IRA members including Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Dáithí Ó Conaill among others. He read a great deal in prison, in particular about the Vietnamese revolutionary struggle taking place at that time. He would later refer to his time in prison as his "university days". He was released in 1959.

In 1962 he began working as a car salesman. When he was threatened with firing over his political views he threatened to stay outside of the firm's office every day until he was rehired. He successfully kept his job.

He began organizing in county Wicklow, forming links between the Republican movement and trade unionists. He formed a tenants association in Bray and the Credit Union movement. In 1964 he also went to the Chinese embassy in Paris, France too seek support from the Socialist government in China. This attempt at gaining support was unsuccessful. He married Maeliosa Costello in 1964.

He delivered a speech at the annual Wolfe Tone Commemoration at the grave of Theobold Wolfe Tone in Bodenstown. In the speech he affirmed the necessity armed revolution, saying:

"This is our definition of freedom. It was Tone’s definition, Lalor’s definition, Mitchel’s definition, and the stated aim of Pearse and Connolly. We can expect the same reaction to the implementation of these aims from the forces of exploitation, whether native or foreign sponsored, as the originators received in ‘98, ‘48, ‘67, and 1916. Therefore, to imagine that we can establish a republic solely by constitutional means is utter folly. The lesson of history shows that in the final analysis the robber baron must be disestablished by the same methods that he used to enrich himself and retain his ill-gotten gains, namely, force of arms. To this end we must organise, train, and maintain a disciplined armed force which will always be available to strike at the opportune moment."

In 1967 he ran for a position on the Bray Urban Council and the Wicklow County Council, while also heading the Sinn Féin election campaign in Wicklow. He and fellow Republican Joe Doyle winning seats on the Bray Urban Council and he won the Wicklow County Council seat. In their seats Costello and Doyle advocated for a variety of causes and demanded that the people be allowed to attend Council meetings. His views led to multiple attempts at removing him from the council. He also began to advocate for Sinn Féin dropping its traditional policy of abstentionism.

He helped to form the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, an Irish Catholic civil rights organization in Northern Ireland. The Troubles escalated due to this in 1969 after the violent reaction by Unionists to the movement.

Official Movement and IRSP

The same year the Republican movement split between the overtly Marxist-Leninist Official Irish Republican Army and Official Sinn Féin, which participated in elections, and the Abstentionist Provisional Irish Republican Army and Provisional Sinn Féin. He joined the Official movement but attempted to build bridges between the Provisionals and the Officials.

The Official movement began to cease it's political action in the South and eventually declared a ceasefire in the North on May 29, 1972. Costello opposed this move, but remained in the Official movement for 2 years until he was charged with irregularities by Official Sinn Fein. Although he was found innocent there, he was subsequently tried by the Official IRA, expelled from the party, and barred from running for local elections under the party.

He formed the Irish Republican Socialist Party and its military wing the Irish National Liberation Army on December 8, 1974 with other disillusioned former members of the Official movement.

The Official IRA immediately launched a campaign attempting to destroy the INLA and IRSP, murdering 3 IRSP members and forcing Costello into hiding. Eventually Republican Trade Unionist Michael Mullen helped to mediate a solution between the IRSP and Official Movement.

The IRSP experienced a setback after prominent member Bernadette Devlin McAliskey resigned from the party due to its increase militancy, with more than half of the Árd Chomhairle (executive committee) leaving with her.

In April 1976 he Republic of Ireland in the south conspired to attempt to destroy the IRSP, arresting forty members including Costello, torturing nine, and framing six with a train robbery which the Provisional IRA later claimed credit for. Costello pushed for the IRSP to sue the government in May and called for an independent inquiry into the repression.

In July 1976 Costello was replaced as Chief of Staff of the INLA by Eddy McNicholl.

In 1977 Costello was involved in talks to unite the Anti-Imperialist movement in Ireland, however this effort was unsuccessful.

Assassination

On October 5, 1977 he was assassinated, most likely by Official IRA member Jim Flynn, though nobody was ever charged for the killing. The assassin shot him twice with a sawn-off shotgun as Costello sat in his car in Dublin. The Official IRA denied involvement and condemned the murder. Flynn was later killed by the INLA in 1982.

His funeral was attended by Republican leaders including Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, then president of Provisional Sinn Féin, Michael O'Riordan, the founder of the Communist Party of Ireland and a former fighter in the Connolly Column during the Spanish Civil War, Nora Connolly O'Brien and Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, among many others.

Costello's death led to a decline in the IRSP and INLA, with internal division growing and much of the public support for the organization shrinking.

Further Reading

Revolutionary Works: Seamus Costello in the Prolewiki Library