Sarah Campbell

New Nationalism? The S.D.L.P. and the creation of a socialist and labour party in Northern Ireland, 1969–75

‘Since our foundation, the S.D.L.P. has been proudly nationalist and is 100 per cent for a United Ireland.’ This description, from the website of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (S.D.L.P.), advances a claim which might be thought not to sit easy with the partys founding ideals which claimed it as a ‘radical socialist party’ and insisted that, while a united Ireland was one of the partys main aims, it would prioritise the socio-economic above the constitutional question. This article will argue that while the S.D.L.P. was widely recognised as a major advance in nationalist politics in Northern Ireland when it was formed in August 1970, it had lost its avant-garde approach to the constitutional question and become a more organised form of the old Nationalist Party by 1975. Although initially the S.D.L.P. combined socialist rhetoric with a discourse that linked social justice with the reunification of the island – its ideal was a ‘completely new constitution for the whole of Ireland, a constitution which will provide the framework for the emergence of a just, egalitarian and secular society’ – there existed an uneasy tension between nationalist and socialist aims within the party, with the former taking precedence by the time of the powersharing Executive of 1974.

From protest to pragmatism: the unionist government and North–South relations from 1959-72

from that of 1973. The book will be of most use to those already familiar with the political events of the period and it adds further nuance to earlier published works on the period. Even for those familiar with the course of events, however, a greater degree of contextualisation might have been appropriate. As well as this, a few brief biographical details on some of the lesser-known figures may have helped the reader identify the many dramatis personae more quickly. These points apart, there is much to be learned from Hennessey’s latest analysis of official documents from the 1970s.