Who is Jimmy Doran, the CPI National Chairperson?
This is a question we first asked in March 2022 – When it all goes wrong
At that time we asked, among other questions:
- Is the Jimmy Doran associated with the Trade Union Left Forum and also the Convenor of the trade union committee of the Party the same Jimmy Doran who is Chairperson of the Southern Area Committee of the Communist Party of Ireland?
- whose committee accepted an irregular and unauthorised complaint against that member?
- whose committee sat in judgement of that member when he knew that that person had not even seen the complaint against him? And whose committee did not furnish him with a copy of the complaint?
- whose committee did not offer any right of reply or defence?
- who a few days later, following a protest from the member insisting that the charges be substantiated or withdrawn, replied that the member was in “no position to insist on any such follow up….”?
After the questions were put directly to Eugene McCartan, (then) General Secretary, to the National Executive Committee (NEC) and to Jimmy Doran, the author received the following reply: “The decisions taken where taken collectively. All member of the committee take full responsibility for all decisions. This is the final correspondence with you in regards this matter. The matter is closed. Eugene McCartan.”
MCartan and the NEC thereby confirmed in totality the accuracy of all the accusations made against Doran.
This man is now the National Chairperson. The abuses he led and willingly participated in have never been corrected or overturned. And that was just a taster.
He clearly accepted all the subsequent abuses against that particular member and against all the other members who were expelled/excluded at that time by the use of irregular procedures. He clearly still supports all those abuses considering that the party continues to uphold all those decisions and recently ignored a proposal for the issues to be reviewed by the new NEC.
Staying in the same month in 2022, Doran wrote in Socialist Voice: “No employer has anything to fear from workers having rights if they are treating workers fairly. A fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay is all workers expect.” A Workers’ Rights Act Now! (go to last paragraph).
Looks more like no employer has anything to fear from Jimmy Doran, Socialist Voice and the CPI.
“Gentlemen, Chicolini here may talk like an idiot, and look like an idiot, but don’t let that fool you: he really is an idiot.” Marx Brothers, Duck Soup
This is the sort of idiotic stuff he writes and that Eugene McCartan publishes. Of course, he is right that that is all workers today expect but that is not what he is saying. Inexcusably, there is no expression of any possibility or aspiration to have workers raise their expectations a little or that Doran and the CPI might provide some guidance to start or sustain such a journey.
This man is now the National Chairperson. He did finish the paragraph with “Of course the reverse side of this is “An injury to one is the concern of all.” If you exploit us we will withdraw our labour and shut you down.” This is typical of his propensity to issue unenforceable threats and his use of mindless sloganeering which we have regularly commented on in various Socialist Voice reviews. See, for example A roundabout with no exits
Explain yourself
Once again, we ask Doran to explain exactly what he meant when he wrote that a member was in “no position to insist on any such follow up….” after a member complained that a secret complaint against him had been heard secretly by a party committee of which he (Doran) was the Chairperson at the time.
What ‘position’ would the member have needed to be in to qualify for such consideration?
It is important that this question is answered because the answer will explain what types of fairness, equality, justice, respect for human dignity, observance of rules and principles, etc will be available not just to members of the CPI within the party, but to workers generally if such an administration – the current leadership of the CPI – should come to power in Ireland.
The use and continuing endorsement of administrative and ‘inventive’ tools to bypass prescribed and established democratic constraints within the CPI by Doran and the entire CPI leadership is an affront to socialist principles and can never be accepted.
While some will try to dismiss our claims as being historic in nature, the fact remains that for as long as the irregular and ‘inventive’ abuses and practices and their consequences remain active, they are current, not historic.
Elevated position
On the issue of ‘positions’ it seems that Comrade Doran operates on a broad front. Now that he holds the highest rank in the party hierarchy he can look down on his subordinates from a newly elevated position. His position on workers’ rights is just a little at odds with standard Marxist/Leninist theory and no doubt he will be able to tackle those he disagrees with – or if any be so brave as to disagree with him – in his customary mild-mannered way but with just a little more authority.
He has a penchant for other sorts of positions also. He holds the dubious distinction of being a worker director on the Board of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) and he holds down quite a few other positions apart from his new role as CPI National Chairperson. Holds down might be a perfect description for a man who within Connect Trade Union alone is:
- a member of the National Executive Committee
- Branch Organizer for Connect Trade Union No. 9 Branch.
- Chairperson of the National Transport Consultative Committee
- a long-standing shop steward within Dublin Bus
- is his union representative on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) Health & Safety Committee, as well as a pensions representative.
That last one is quite interesting. This is the same committee that drew up the bullying and harassment guidelines for the ICTU – the guidelines Doran and the CPI resolutely refused to use in dealing with alleged bullying issues within the CPI in the absence of any such guidelines within the party itself. Indeed, worse than not using any guidelines in conducting a case of alleged bullying, Doran now heads a party that refused to even hear a case of alleged bullying against the party itself.
Commissar of Blather
Considering his “No employer has anything to fear…..” lark and his reliance on mindless sloganeering to reinforce whatever argument he is working on, we expect the party will regard him with a well-deserved honorary position: Commissar of Blather.
This man is National Chairperson of the Communist Party of Ireland. It’s not funny.
We expect Jimmy Doran to exercise his right of reply.