Anarchists Take Over Liberty Hall

national | anarchist movement | news Monday April 27, 2009 12:17 by Workers Solidarity 109

Around 1,000 people attended the 4th annual Dublin Anarchist Bookfair in March for a day of meetings, films, debates and - of course – lots of books. One of the organisers, Colette O’Reilly, felt the “growing interest in anarchist politics is reflected in the larger attendence and bigger book sales than last year”.

The Crowded Hall

The first bookfair in 2006 took place in a south inner city community hall, for the following two years it moved to a bigger venue at the social club of the INTO union. This year saw another move to the even bigger Liberty Hall, headquarters of the SIPTU union. In the centenary year of the union founded by Larkin and Connolly it was perhaps a particularly appropriate location.

Guest speakers included Ashanti Alston, a former member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army member who gave a talk that was both entertaining and inspirational about his experiences and the lessons he draws from them. Authoritarian leadership and a militarist culture were two of the things he said must be avoided in future struggles for liberty.

Other speakers included the historian Martha Acklesberg, Nidal Saadeh, a leftist Palestinian activist from Bethlehem, former CPSU President Denis Keane, Dan Finn from the Irish Socialist Network, and Julien Brophy from the student Free Education for (FEE) campaign. The meetings were recorded, and some were videoed, so you can listen and watch at www.wsm.ie.