Monthly Archives: March 2016
Imperialism study group
Not me, but I like the dude’s t-shirt
I’m currently involved with some other people in getting an Imperialism study group underway. We will probably set up an e-group for this.
To read about it, go here.
Dublin éirígí 1916 commemoration
On May 12, 1916 the already severely wounded James Connolly was tied to a chair and shot to death by British firing squad. On May 14, 2016 éirígí invite you to join the ‘March For Connolly’ and the Socialist Republic for which he died.
Assembling at the statue of the father of Irish Republicanism, Wolfe Tone, on Stephen’s Green at 2pm, we will then march through the street of Dublin to the James Connolly statue at Liberty Hall. And from there we will follow in the footsteps of the headquarters garrison to a rally at the General Post Office. All welcome. Bígí linn.
Unveiling of ‘Walls of Remembrance’, Dublin, Sunday, April 3
As the controversy over the Glasnevin Trust’s ‘1916 Remembrance Wall’ grows, éirígí have announced plans to unveil their own ‘1916 Rising Walls of Remembrance’ outside the GPO in Dublin at 2pm on Saturday April 3rd. Unlike the Glasnevin Wall the temporary GPO walls will not contain the names of any member of the British military or ‘police’ forces that were killed during the Rising.
Speaking in relation to the initiative Cathaoirleach éirígí Brian Leeson said, “The proposed Glasnevin wall is nothing short of a national disgrace and a blatant attempt to further an insidious revisionist agenda. One hundred years after the 1916 Rising and 95 years after a successful counter-revolution the shoneen West-Brit mentality is alive and well in certain sections of Irish society. Read the rest of this entry
Don’t mention the north!!! Actually, mention it as much as you can!
This year being the centenary of the 1916 Rising there is a certain amount of discussion of what the 26-county state looks like. Many commentators have pointed out that it falls far short of the vision of the 1916 leaders in terms of equality.
What isn’t discussed much, however, is that it also falls far short in terms of population and territory. Indeed, one thing that seems off the discussion table is ‘the north’.
It’s safe enough to talk about socio-economic inequality in the south, but the carving out of part of Ireland and its continuing occupation by the British state, including British troops, is to be avoided in ‘polite’ society. We are simply supposed to forget that Ireland is all 32 counties, all of all four provinces and that you can’t build socialism in a neo-colony.
Let’s bring the north into the discussion. And not as an add-on, but as a central talking point. As Connolly noted when partition was being mooted before WW1, such an outcome would be the worst possible option as it would put the most reactionary forces in power on both sides of the border and create a ‘carnival of reaction’. Connolly also suggested that labour in the north should resist partition, by arms if necessary.
Today, the connection between partition and the abysmal nature of the political and economic realities in the six- and twenty-six county states has been Read the rest of this entry
éirígí fully supports women’s right to choose on abortion
One of the few policy positions of the party – in fact, the only one that springs to mind – I have disagreed with has been the initial position on abortion. I have argued here, and elsewhere, that only a right-to-choose position is consistent with socialist-republican principles. In fact, it’s the only position consistent with republicanism – a secular, modernising, emancipatory trend in Irish politics. The party has now adopted a full right-to-choose position. I hope that nobody leaves over this, just as those of us who disagreed with the old/original position didn’t let that get in the way of seeing éirígí as the best thing in Irish politics since the founding of the IRSP back in 1974. (And, incidentally, the IRSP very quickly after its establishment adopted a right-to-choose position.)
Following is the party statement issued a few hours ago:
éirígí adopts full pro-choice position and calls for the introduction of legislation to allow for the unimpeded access to legal, free and safe terminations of unwanted pregnancies in both the Six and Twenty-Six Counties.
The Party membership, voting within local Ciorcal (branches), over the last number of weeks have overwhelmingly adopted a motion which was first presented to the 2015 Ard Fheis in November last. The wording of the adopted motion reads,
“éirígí rejects sexism in all of its forms and reasserts its commitment to full equality for all, regardless of gender. éirígí recognises the inherent right of all people to control their own bodies, including their reproductive organs and reproductive processes. éirígí therefore supports the right to unimpeded access to legal, free and safe terminations of unwanted pregnancies.
“Pending the creation of an all-Ireland state, we call for the rapid introduction of legislation to allow for unimpeded access to legal, free and safe terminations in both the Twenty-Six and Six County states.”
In adopting a pro-choice position on the provision of termination services éirígí repeats its call for the intensification of sexual education programmes both within and without the formal education systems across Ireland and for the introduction of identical free contraception programmes in both the Six and Twenty-Six Counties.
The new éirígí policy on abortion replaces the one adopted in November 2012 which had allowed for terminations in a range of situations but fell short of a full pro-choice position.
Free Tony Taylor!
Cathaoirleach éirígí Brian Leeson has called for the immediate release of Derry man Tony Taylor, who was re-imprisoned on the orders of the British Direct Ruler Theresa Villiers on Thursday (March 10).
Speaking from Dublin he said, “Tony Taylor is just the latest in a very long list of Irish republicans to find themselves interned without trial by the British state. It is simply unacceptable for a politician to have the power to summarily revoke an ex-prisoners license. That they can do so without publicly producing any evidence and that the accused is given no opportunity to challenge such ‘evidence’ exposes the true nature of the irreformable British ‘justice’ system in Ireland.
“Almost twenty years after the Good Friday Treaty why has a British politician, who has never received a single vote in Ireland, still got the power to arbitrarily Read the rest of this entry
26-county general election
I’ve written about this over on Redline. See: Labour receives massive drubbing in southern Irish general election
the irish revolution 
