His participation in the inaugural meeting, along with about a dozen others, is documented in Mec Vannin's original minute book, which is now preserved in the Manx Museum (MNH) Library after being missing for two decades.
[3] In its early years, Mec Vannin positioned itself as a national liberation movement, with some members viewing the Isle of Man as being under excessive British influence, akin to a colonial administration.
The party explored various approaches to nationalism, including: Constitutional reform Direct action Increased focus on Manx language and culture There were also efforts to establish connections with Welsh and Irish republican groups.
[5] Mec Vannin's primary objective is to achieve national independence for the Isle of Man as a sovereign state, based on a republican form of government.
[6] Bernard Moffatt's involvement with Mec Vannin fluctuated over a decade before he fully committed to the nationalist movement in the early 1970s.
In 1976, Moffatt co-founded the Anti-Militarist Alliance (AMA), a coalition of members from the Manx branch of the Celtic League and Mec Vannin.
The organization produced the Celtic League and AMA News, a complete archive of which is preserved in the Manx Museum (MNH) Library.
[7] The AMA's activities became contentious among some factions within Mec Vannin, leading to unsuccessful attempts to expel Moffatt and other members.
This internal conflict resulted in the departure of disaffected elements, who subsequently established a short-lived "Manx National Party".
[8] Moffatt remained with Mec Vannin, holding various executive positions over the years, and was eventually elected Life President.
A copy of a file on munitions dumping around the British Isles was supplied to the Department of the Marine in the 1990s, and the League's archive was also used in a report compiled for the Japanese National Diet.
[11] In addition, League material was supplied to the reopened Irish government enquiry into the 1968 crash of an Aer Lingus Vickers Viscount.
In a foreword to On Whose Terms – The Betrayal of the Manx working class he wrote: "The Isle of Man Government, using the thinly veiled guise of Social Reform, is about to establish new Employment Law.
The birch, of course, has since "died the death" and is consigned to "saloon bar" nostalgia for a perceived more disciplined age.He went on: For the past thirty years or more this Nation has consistently lacked a leadership that took a firm stand on individual liberty.