Over 30 years of anarchist writing from Ireland listed under hundreds of topics
Robert Emmet and the rising of 1803
Date: Fri, 2003-11-21 12:39
The 1803 rebellion came to be associated with one man, Robert Emmet because that suited both the government of that time and later day nationalists in search of a romantic nationalist interpretation of the rebellion. As with the great rebellion of 1798, the process of burying the radical ideas of the rebellion was bound up in creating mystical notions of blood sacrifice and individual heroism.
The bi-centennary of the 1798 rebellion saw the radical ideas that lay at the roots of it being recovered. Instead of a romantic nationalist rising for the four green fields and the faith of our fathers it was put in the context of the wave of European / Atlantic radicalism that demanded equality for all. The United Irishmen were revealed not as narrow nationalists but as part of an international democratic upsurge against monarchy and colonialism that transformed the world we live in.
What causes low wages - Unequal power, unequal pay
Date: Fri, 2003-11-21 12:28
During the year a spate of reports have 'discovered' what a lot of workers already know - that equal pay for equal work just doesn't exist. Although legal victories and a raft of employment equality legislation have made some dents, the fact remains that discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnicity and age (to name just a few) persists and is widespread. It seems obvious to ask: why?
Palestine and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)
Date: Fri, 2003-11-21 12:23
The second intifada began in September 2000 and since then over 2,500* Palestinians have been killed and 41,000 have been wounded. These stark figures alone do not tell the full story of the subjugation and the brutal oppression of the people of Palestine. The Israeli occupation forces have engaged in the systematic destruction of the infrastructure of the Occupied Territories. They regularly carry out punitive raids using explosives and bulldozers that result in residential areas being reduced to a lunar landscape of rubble.
Bin tax & anti-war protesters jailed while rich ignore laws
Date: Fri, 2003-11-21 12:17
The last months in Dublin have seen the jailing of ordinary working class people for protesting against the bin tax. A tax whose introduction was not only opposed by most people but which tens of thousands are refusing to pay. In the spring of this year more then five people were held in jail for periods because they had protested against the US military using Shannon airport to refuel en route to the Iraq war. Opinion polls at the time showed the vast majority of people opposed this war and this refuelling.
Direct Action against the Iraq war in Ireland
Date: Sun, 2003-10-19 15:56
Across the globe millions of people mobilised against the war in Iraq. On February 15th 100,000 people marched through the streets of Dublin in the biggest political protest in Southern Ireland for over 20 years. Around 15,000 demonstrated in Belfast on the same day.
The turnout on these demonstrations showed that the battle for public opinion had been won. Massive numbers of people opposed Bush and Blair's drive to war and the Irish government's role in it. But they seem to have had very little effect on the war. The governments concerned simply ignored them. In every country the anti-war movement was thus faced with the question of what to do next. After February 15th we should have expected to see the various movements internationally working on ways to stop the war despite the fact that their respective governments were ignoring them.
Red & Black Revolution 7, published 2003
Date: Sun, 2003-10-19 14:21
Articles in this issue include a debate on the Black Bloc, a look at the failings of the Irish Anti war Movement and a piece which explores the anarchist contention that socialism cannot come without freedom
The IAWM's dismal leadership" A critique of the politics of Trotskyism
Date: Sun, 2003-10-19 14:04
After months of regularly attending the Irish Anti-War Movement's marches and particularly after months of listening to the speeches of the leading lights of the IAWM my head is buzzing with cant and rhetoric and I have that dejected feeling you get when you know you have just lost a chance that won't be coming around again for a long time.
Issues of Workers Solidarity from 2003 - no74-78
Date: Sun, 2003-09-28 14:44
These are the articles and PDF files from Ireland's anarchist paper, Workers Solidarity, published in 2003
Dublin - Alliance for Choice launched
Date: Tue, 2003-09-23 15:39
The 20th anniversary of the anti-choice referendum of 1983 saw the launch of a new pro-choice campaign, 'The Alliance for Choice' launched in Dublin. Since 1983 over 100,000 Irish women have had to travel to England for abortions.
Belfast High Court refuses to say when abortion is legal
Date: Tue, 2003-09-23 15:36
We are often told that ignorance of the law is no excuse, but what are we to do when nobody will say what the law means. The High Court in Belfast has said NO to a request that it spell out what is legal and what is not. The Family Planning Association had asked it to order the Department of Health to publish guidelines about when abortion is legal in the six counties.