TG4 and PushPull Media have announced the production of a new documentary, Reds na hÉireann, which explores the little-known world of Irish Communism until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Despite Ireland's historical reliance on America for guidance and its powerful right-leaning clergy, a world of leftist politics and activism emerged in Ireland during this time. Hundreds of Irish Communists travelled to the Soviet Union and its satellite states in search of a worker's utopia. How close did they all come to turning Ireland from Green to Red? Not very, as you’ll soon find out.
Through interviews with veteran Irish Communists, Reds na hÉireann will bring the audience deep inside this previously undiscovered world of struggle and comradeship back to a time when it felt like the world was up for grabs. The spirit and vigour of the many interview subjects is on show as their respective journeys are traced from the Convent, Trade Unions and Militant Republicanism to Communism.
Viewers will hear first-hand accounts of the agitating and organising for the revolution that never came. Viewers will also be interested in a packed hall full of the West Belfast Branch members of the Communist Party Meeting in 1981, a truly non-sectarian space in the middle of a sectarian conflict.
Stitching the film together is a trove of never-seen-since archive footage and music from the era, incorporating the style and ephemera of the time, while the irreverent and light tone of the soundtrack serves to present the themes present in the interviews in an accessible and entertaining fashion.
Reds na hÉireann is not only a story of those who were there at the time, but also a story about them now, today. What keeps a person going after 40 years of political activism, when they are arguably further away than ever from their promised leftist utopia? This untold history will be a must-see for anyone interested in the dynamic and colourful world of Irish politics and activism.
Reds na hÉireann will be broadcast on TG4, and available on TG4 player from the 24th of May, 2023 at 9.30pm