Partisan • Patriotic • Internationalist
The Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil/Green Party government has been characterised by an increasing shift towards NATO, an intensification of moves that occurred under previous governments, introducing new levels of entanglement with PESCO and other “common defence” initiatives. This is happening in tandem with the increased militarisation of the EU the ever-greater sabre-rattling of […]
After the discovery of natural gas in Kinsale by Marathon Oil in 1971, the Resources Protection Campaign was founded by several groups, including the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI). Under public pressure for Irish natural resources to be used for the benefit of the Irish people, the Irish National Petroleum […]
Aiséirí / Resurrection is an anti-war poem, in Irish and English, in response to a painting of the same title by Hermann Stenner who was only 23 when he was killed during the First World War. Translated by Gabriel Rosenstock Resurrection Will they rise from the dead the casualties of […]
“Crumbling to the point of crisis”: so reads the headline from the Irish News of 16th April 2024, referring to the dire state of our GP medical services and the NHS in general. What should have been added to the headline were the words “by design”. Those of us who […]
On Tuesday 24th September, the latest novel by Sally Rooney, Intermezzo, hit the shelves in bookshops nationwide. The launch day saw queues in front of bookshops before they opened, and Rooney was in the media spotlight for her reiterated, unequivocal support for Palestine in a recent public appearance. Now used […]
If the political entity known as Northern Ireland were a hospital patient, above its bed would hang a notice reading “do not resuscitate”. So dire is that area’s performance across a range of issues, from the political to the economic, that only those blinded by outdated prejudice can argue for […]
On 7th October 2024, we will see a year pass since Israel ramped up its genocide on the Palestinian people. As of the 26th of September, the death toll in Gaza has reached 42,252, according to Al Jazeera. While the Irish people have shown their support through the thousands taking […]
US economist and diplomat John Kenneth Galbraith coined the phrase and concept of a “contented majority”. This “majority” he sees as being those in the western world who benefit from the current state of affairs, even if unevenly, and dominate politically producing a “culture of contentment”, showing disdain for those […]
It is the afternoon of Tuesday the 17th September 2024 and I am at my desk, taking a break from work and scrolling on my X.com feed. I stop on a video from Beirut, Lebanon, which appears to be security camera footage from a fruit and vegetable market. It is […]
The first part of this article appeared in the September issue of Socialist Voice1. After his handover to the Germans on 15th July 1940, Frank Ryan was sent to Berlin, where he met Chief of Staff of the IRA, Sean Russell. Ryan and Russell were sent by U-boat to Ireland […]
Seán O’Casey was the first English-speaking dramatist of international significance to emerge from the proletariat. One of the recurring themes in his work is that of revolution. While in his early Dublin plays he controversially considered the Irish working class not yet ready for revolutionary change, his later works explore […]
After a seven-month wait for a Programme of (Mis)Government, the Executive produced vague promises on health and housing, with no specific targets. While easy to criticize the administrative class for incompetence, they are constrained by limited autonomy over fiscal matters, while facing challenges that demand significant investment. A key issue, […]
As the debate around Irish reunification gathers pace in Socialist Voice and elsewhere, we must not leave unity as an open goal to the British and Irish governments. We must build a left case for unity: the people’s unity of Ireland with the priority being the needs, wants and desires […]
This year saw a minor rise in electoral support in Ireland for the far right and poorly disguised criminal elements at the last local elections. These forces inserted themselves into community opposition and concerns about the establishing of various centres being set up by the state to house both those […]
On September 18th the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution by large majority on the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of Israel’s Gaza offensive and the ongoing occupation. The UNGA affirmed the ICJ ruling in July which triggered the legal obligation […]
Morality is meant to dictate that personal interests are not in conflict with social interests. Ethics form the framework within which people should act in a society. How does Marxism view moral principles? Marx and Engels placed every moral principle in a historical context, not as an eternal principle […]
The context within which any electoral or social struggles takes place is critical to an understanding of how the working class understands how or where change can be secured. The ongoing struggle between Irish democratic forces and forces wedded to imperialism is the basic context in which the elections must […]
The 7th of June Local and EU elections showed the continuing strength and stability of bourgeois ideology in Irish society. Despite facing several related crises such as housing & homelessness, a deteriorating health service, increasing levels of poverty, right-wing attacks on migrants, as well as opposition to the government’s policy […]
The EU and Local Government elections take place against the ongoing crisis of capitalism and the increasing preparations by NATO to unleash a direct war against Russia and the People’s Republic of China. As part of these war preparations, the Irish establishment – both political and media – are attempting […]
As European institutions begin another five-year term in Brussels, it’s worth highlighting the extent to which the EU is complicit in genocide. Political support Following the 7 October attacks, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen posted an image of the EC headquarters in Brussels lit up in the […]
Historical revisionism is a great tool for the bourgeoisie. It shows no nuance when demonising those who fought for the workers, and it can be used to either ignore or heavily downplay the fact a person was a socialist or communist. Frank Ryan is a victim of this, as although […]
Once again, the Venezuelan opposition has refused to accept the electoral victory of Chavismo. Since the first victory of Hugo Chavez in 1999, the Venezuelan extreme right have used fascistic methods to try and break the Bolivarian Revolution. These include attempted coups, terrorist attacks against public health and education centres, […]
Recent articles in Socialist Voice by Comrades O’Neill, McGoldrick, and Murphy explore whether the left should support Sinn Féin in the upcoming election. While both sets of authors present persuasive arguments, the debate may be misplaced. It’s unlikely that Sinn Féin is particularly concerned with the socialist left or its […]
The CPI warned that the Irish government’s decision to recognise the State of Palestine would remain no more than a gesture unless it was backed up by action. Unfortunately, not only did the government not give substance to its declaration, but it has since been revealed that it has allowed […]
Produced by Azzy O’Connor, Fiadh Tubridy and Declan Mallon, The Rent Strike (2024) documentary was shown in the Irish Film Institute in August. Screening across Ireland are being scheduled at the moment, with a growing public interest across all generations. The Rent Strike uses archive footage, newspaper articles, personal archives […]
John Mayall died on the 22, July 2024, aged 90 years, at his home in Los Angeles. He was not concerned with fame or celebrity status, and was content performing clubs and smaller venues. He continued to perform until his last live performance in March 2022, at The Coach House, […]
The French Revolution sparked great hopes for the rise of the bourgeoisie, the abolition of feudal structures, and the establishment of a capitalist society. Napoleon centralised power in his person, established an authoritarian regime, and crowned himself emperor in 1804. His wars in Europe served both territorial expansion and the […]
The rumour mill is suggesting that a General Election in the Republic is perhaps closer than previously indicated by the Taoiseach. Tensions between the coalition partners over issues such as taxation of zoned farmland may cause the government to fall, forcing the incumbents to go to the country. Fuelling this […]
Hotel Lux: An Intimate History of Communism’s Forgotten, by Maurice J Casey – review Richard Mullen The blurb on the back cover of Hotel Lux reads: “A series of romances wrapped in a detective story, disguised as a narrative history of international communism, Hotel Lux uncovers a world of forgotten […]
Rising from €120M in 2021 to €700M in 2023, investments in mining in Serbia are on trajectory to surpass all other areas of foreign direct investment dominating the Serbian economy. While Rio Tinto, the British-Australian multinational mining company, is not the only corporation in the game for resources in Serbia, […]
On September 28th 1864, a public meeting was summoned by George Odger, president of the London Council of Trade Unions, and Randal Cremer, secretary of the Mason’s Union. The meeting took place at St. Martin’s Hall, now Queen’s Theatre, which had a capacity for 4,000 people. In a letter to […]
When Ireland formally recognised the state of Palestine in May, Taoiseach Simon Harris urged countries to “use every lever at their disposal” to bring about a ceasefire. When the official figure of Palestinian deaths topped 40,000 in mid-August the lever he invoked was an “urgent review” of the EU-Israel Association […]
On 19th August 1945 the Viet Minh, led by the Indochinese Communist Party, which would later become the Communist Party of Vietnam, took over the capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi. Within two weeks, Viet Minh forces liberated most of the villages and rural towns across north and central Vietnam. Describing […]
James Baldwin was born one hundred years ago in Harlem, New York, 2 August 1924. Baldwin’s stepfather David, a Pentecostal preacher, was a factory worker, earning too little to provide for his family of nine children. His mother Berdis, a migrant from the South, worked in domestic service. The young […]
The airways and newspapers have been full of discussion around the “housing crisis”, its nature and possible causes and effects. What was clear from the recent local election results is that the majority of those who voted did so for parties who support the status quo, who support the economic […]
