In December 1976, the sleepy city of Korsakov, on the southern-most tip of Sakhalin island, witnessed a picture that few if any Soviet cities outside Moscow or Leningrad would see in the days of Brezhnev. It was the sight of a real, open anti-government demonstration, albeit small. A group of Koreans – actually, members of few extended families – gathered in front of the local party committee. Their demand was simple: They wanted to be allowed to return to their homeland, South Korea, from which they – or rather elder members of the families – had come in the 1930s and 1940s.

The 1976 “Korsakov incident” and its tragic aftermath, which we will discuss in a moment, were consequences of the Sakhalin Koreans’ repatriation movement. But these events cameFianna Fáil is hoping to follow some of Fine Gael’s successful strategies as it bids to restore the party’s fortunes. Second in a two-part series

ON MAY 16th this year, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin travelled to the Tipperary village of Ragg to deliver a speech to local party supporters. The date was significant. The day marked the 85th anniversary of the founding of the party in 1926.

Back then it was a slightly more exotic affair. In a packed La Scala theatre in Dublin, party founder Eamon de Valera made the speech in front of luminaries such as Countess Markiewicz, Sean T O’Kelly, Sean Lemass, Frank Aiken and Seán McEntee.

The Ragg speech was low-key but may come to be seen as one of those pivotal moments in the party’s