Resignation from Aontú

In October 2025 I resigned my membership of Aontú with the reasons formally constituting that decision being long-standing political differences and my understanding of Republican principles which diverged drastically from the party.

My decision to leave the party had already been forming for some time. During the summer of 2025 I drafted a version of the resignation letter reproduced below, having concluded that my increasingly legitimist and abstentionist understanding of Irish Republicanism was becoming difficult to reconcile with Aontú’s support of the Good Friday Agreement and its acceptance of the British-imposed institutions of Leinster House and Stormont. At that stage I had anticipated stepping away later in the year.

On 17th October 2025 I was informed that I had been suspended from the party following the leaking of messages from a group chat. The conversation in question contained both political discussion and factional organising among members of the party’s youth structures, as well as a number of offensive memes and messages fairly typical of informal group chats made up entirely of young men. After the party leadership was alerted and provided screenshots, the wider conversation was reviewed and disciplinary action followed.

One hour before my resignation letter was sent to the party, I had been informed by email only of my suspension, which was primarily because of accusations of factionalism, and was not made aware by anyone that journalists had already obtained material from the conversation or that the matter would soon become a national media story. I learned of the extent of the media involvement only several days later.

The suspension and the circumstances surrounding the leak brought forward a decision that I had already intended to take around December. The documents below are reproduced as they were written at the time. The resignation letter was sent privately to the party leadership on 17th October 2025 and the public resignation statement was issued on 19th October 2025.

Letter of Resignation, 17th October 2025

After careful reflection, I hereby resign my membership of Aontú with immediate effect.

As any Republican-minded person should be, I had felt uneasy from the beginning of my Aontú membership about being part of a party that accepts the political structures created by British colonialists, accepts the sectarian framework of the Good Friday Agreement, takes seats in Leinster House and would take seats in Stormont. Over the past six months or so that unease has grown steadily more difficult to reconcile with Aontú's party line and I have come to the conclusion that I cannot in good conscience remain a member. In truth, I had first drafted this letter months ago and recent weeks (especially upon seeing members of the party using the terms "Republic of Ireland", "Dáil Éireann" and "Uachtarán na hÉireann" when referring to Free State institutions) have simply confirmed my view that me stepping away is the best action for me to take.

My Republican convictions have developed in even more of a legitimist and abstentionist direction and I believe I can best continue any political work independently or with those who share my Republicanism and are true to those principles.

Le meas,

Peter Irvine

Public Resignation Statement,

19th October 2025

“I have recently resigned my membership of Aontú.

My decision, made after a few months of reflection, was based on matters of principle and irreconcilable differences in strategy. Even well before my time in Aontú, I approached political life and political analysis from a distinctly Republican perspective, rooted in the ideals of national sovereignty, social justice and equality for all the sons and daughters of Ireland. I came to recognise that my own understanding of these principles differs in fundamental respects from that of the party.

I retain great respect for many within Aontú who work tirelessly for their communities and I continue to wish them well in that endeavour. There are many representatives of that party whose election at a council level would genuinely please me. Nevertheless, it is important for me to be true to my own convictions and to continue any political work in a way that reflects them fully.

My commitment to the Irish Republic proclaimed in 1916 - a living and tangible reality, far more than an ideal - is absolute and my task of standing up for all the people of Ireland remains unchanged, especially the unborn. 

I look forward to contributing, outside the constraints that came with Aontú membership, to the ongoing struggle for a just, sovereign and truly free Ireland.”

ENDS

Note: The public statement above was written primarily for my own political networks and followers. In particular, the reference to the Irish Republic proclaimed in 1916 as “a living and tangible reality” reflected a legitimist interpretation of Republican doctrine which holds that the Republic declared in 1916 and ratified by the First Dáil continues to possess legitimacy through the de-facto (All-Ireland) Second Dáil, irrespective of later constitutional arrangements. The phrase was intended to signal the ideological difference between my own position and that of Aontú, though its meaning was not always fully understood outside those familiar with Irish Republican tradition.