Monthly Archives: May 2018
Some thoughts on Fianna Fail after the referendum
One of the interesting post-referendum developments is the ructions in Fianna Fail. For folks not familiar with Irish politics, Fianna Fail was the dominant party in southern irish politics from 1932-2011 and was actually in power a majority of that time. Although when it was founded in the mid-1920s it was attacked by the Catholic hierarchy as ‘communistic’, its dominant figure for almost 50 years was the socially reactionary Catholic nationalist Eamon de Valera, who served many years as prime minister and many years subsequently as president. In power in the 1930s, de Valera quickly made peace with the Catholic hierarchy and opposed Catholic moral teaching through the state.
In the 1980s, FF was closely aligned with the Catholic right in support of the 8th amendment and in preventing divorce being legislated for.
In the referendum a majority of FF members of parliament and the senate opposed repeal of the 8th amendment, however the party leader, Micheal Martin, supported a Yes vote. Some Fianna Fail parliamentarians announced their intentions to try to frustrate Read the rest of this entry
Fantastic victory for women’s rights and people power
Firstly, apologies for not having got up commentary on the referendum. However I did do an interview with Cat Inglis of Eirigi on the subject here: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2018/05/22/irelands-abortion-referendum-interview-with-eirigi-activist-cat-inglis/
Sorry I didn’t put this link up earlier.
Also, there are a number of articles from past years on this blog where I made clear my support for abortion as a woman’s right to choose.
Exit polls are currently indicating a landslide, a bigger Yes vote than even in the referendum on the right of same-sex couples to marry.
The Yes campaign has struck a massive connection with the bulk of the population who really want rid of the old conservative chains that held people down and prevented them from living their lives and making their own personal decisions instead of being dictated to by church and state. The campaign has struck a real chord with people in city, town and country and across different age groups. Particularly impressive has been the mobilisation of young people, young people saying they want a better and freer society.
The latest RTE exit poll I am aware off indicates the Yes vote could be as high as 77% in Dublin and 69% across the twenty-six counties.
A landslide for a new, freer, better society. Brilliant.
Sive and Christy Moore take the stage at Dublin Connolly Festival
Left to right: Gearóid Ó Machail, Sive, Eoin Mc,Donnell, Christy Moore ,Mick Healy and James Durney
by Mick Healy
The James Connolly Festival 2018 at the New Theatre in Temple Bar (Dublin) gave over Saturday night, May 12, to FIBI to commemorate the Irish who fought with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War and, in particular, Kildare socialist-republican Frank Conroy.
Kildare historian James Durney gave a short talk on the life of Conroy who died in Spain in December 1936.
Sive, the headline entertainment of the evening, performed an amazing acoustic set from her album, The Roaring Girl.
Then a man who needed no introduction, Kildare’s own Christy Moore, gave a surprise performance. He was a guest at the concert, but much to our delight took to the stage and performed four songs including “Viva La Quince Brigada” and “Lily”, about his home town of Newbridge.
The night before the event Christy, who had just finished a UK tour, rang to say he would like to pay his own tribute to Frank Conroy.
Sive at the Connolly Festival:
Christy Moore at Connolly Festival:
Connolly talk, Dunedin, Saturday, June 2
James Connolly (1868-1916) was a leading figure in socialist politics in Scotland, Ireland and the United States and a radical trade union leader in the USA and Ireland. In Dublin, he was one of the key leaders of the new Irish Transport and General Workers Union, through the massive Great Dublin Lockout of August 1913-February 1914. Later in 1914, Connolly became the leader of the workers’ militia, the Irish Citizen Army, that had been estaboished as a workers’ defence force in the lockout. Under the leadership of Connolly, Michael Mallin and Constance de Markievicz, the ICA was transformed into a revolutionary army.
He also wrote stirring songs of working class struggle.
In April 1916 the ICA and the republican Irish Volunteers launched an insurrection against British rule and declared an independent Irish Republic. After a week of fighting the rebels, under heavy British bombardment that was demolishing the centre of Dublin, were forced to surrender. Connolly and other leaders of the rebellion were tried by British court-martial and sentenced to death by firing squad. Connolly, who had gangrene as a result of a wound, couldn’t stand and was tied to a chair for his execution.
The Otago Socialist Society is hosting a talk on Connolly, not only to commemorate this great revolutionary working class leader but also to look at the continuing relevance of his ideas.
The speaker is a former activist in Sinn Fein in Dublin and a current member of Clann Eirigi. He will cover Connolly’s life; his perspectives on the working class and Irish national liberation; and his writings on revolutionary trade unionism.
Speaker: Dr Philip Ferguson
2pm, Saturday, June 2
Seminar Room, Third Floor,
Dunedin Central Public Library (Moray Place)
Charlie O’Neill, socialist-republican, 1937-2016
by Mick Healy
Thomas (Charlie) O’Neill was born in Drimnagh in Dublin on 20th December 1937 and was a dyer by trade. His family had fought with the United Irishman and the Fenians. He was a Socialist Republican with a sharp wit who loved classical music, the Irish Times, a glass of wine and, especially, his family.
As a young man, Charlie joined the Irish Republican Army where, with a large number of Dublin volunteers, he became involved with the breakaway Joe Christle group. In 1956 they joined forces with Liam Kelly’s organisation Saor Uladh in Co. Tyrone. Christle and Kelly were annoyed at the lack of action by the IRA, although the IRA leadership were actually putting together plans for Operation Harvest aka “the border campaign”.
Saor Uladh went on the offensive and attacked the RUC barracks in Roslea, Co. Fermanagh in 1955, custom post telephone exchanges, bridges, B-Special drill halls as well as demolishing lough gates at Newry. When the IRA began its own campaign in 1956, Saor Uladh was subsumed back into it.
Charlie (on left) with folk musician Luke Kelly (on right) and others
With the failure of Operation Harvest, Charlie moved to Cork. He worked in a shoe factory there during the early 1960s and eventually bought a cottage in Crosshaven. He became good friends with many of the University College Cork socialists as well as Jim Lane and Gerry Higgins from Irish Revolutionary Forces. Charlie, Gerry and Jim attended an anti-Vietnam War protest, organised by the Cork Vietnamese Freedom Association, during the berthing of USS Courtyney in Cork harbour in 1967.
At this time Charlie also became good friends with the legendary Tom Barry who had commanded the IRA’s Third West Cork Flying Column during the Irish War of Independence, fought on the anti-Treaty side in the civil war and briefly became IRA chief-of-staff in 1937.
(Left to Right) Lucille Redmond with Republicans Charlie O’Neill, Simon O’Donnell and Bryan McNally.
Upon his return to Dublin, Charlie was associated with the radical National Civil Liberties League. The NCLL agitated around industrial disputes and tenant and traveller rights. Later he became involved in the Saor Éire Action Group, a militant Marxist-republican group which included prominent former members of the IRA like Frank Keane and Liam Sutcliffe and Trotskyist activists associated with the Fourth International.
On October 3, 1968, shots were fired in a Read the rest of this entry
Latest ‘History Ireland’ reveals another early 1970s British agent
The latest issue of History Ireland (Vol 26, no 3, May/June 2018) available yesterday (May 1) has some very interesting articles.
One of the most interesting is by Niall Meehan and Margaret Urwin who reveal a new British agent, Alexander Forsey, in relation to three bombings in Dublin in late 1972 and early 1973.
Forsey was handled by John Wyman MI6, who was also the handler of Read the rest of this entry
Richard Behal on escaping Limerick Jail in 1966
Belated congratulations to Richard Behal on his 80th birthday back in March. An outstanding, principled, left-wing republican.
Below is a recent interview with cde Behal by Michael Healy, part of an ongoing series that Mick has been doing with republican activists, especially older republicans. This is an invaluable series, especially since this generation is now passing on.
And don’t forget to check out Mick’s Irish Republican and Marxist History Project, here.
the irish revolution 