Further thoughts on Russell

It's notable that Pádraig Óg Ó Ruairc describes Seán Russell's actions in WW2 as a stain in republican history (if I hear correctly). Also, he calls Russell a blind militarist. Russell was in fact just a fenian in the classic sense. Maybe certain aspects of Russell upset the speaker's personal politics, but Russell has nothing to answer for as a republican.

I do agree that he was a collaborator (as distinct from collaborationist, which is a useful distinction speaker makes). However, collaboration is only a thing of shame if you subscribe to Anglo-Saxon moralism in relation to the war, which I don't. A reminder that one of the most famous anti fascists in history was Churchill, a man who was just lovely to Ireland.

Russell is awkward for left republicans because he demonstrates that mainstream republicanism back then was simply not anti-fascist. An anti-fascist would not collaborate at all.