I gceantar Bhaile na Lochlannach, ar bhruach thuaidh na Life, tá cnoc íseal a raibh coill bheag air tráth agus plásóg nó plásán ina lár. Thug na Sasanaigh “the Arbour” ar an bplásóg agus ansin Arbour Hill ar an gcnoc. Timpeall na bliana 1840 bhunaigh arm Shasana reilig ar an […]
Month: June 2019
An unhelpful contribution
Seamus Mallon’s recently published book A Shared Home Place is not merely an unhelpful contribution in a difficult situation but is positively dangerous. Thanks to his profile as a former leading member of the SDLP and former deputy first minister, he is gaining publicity for an ill-conceived and poorly thought-out […]
The face of monopoly capitalism
Amazon is Europe’s largest internet retailer, with a turnover twice that of its twenty largest competitors. In 2017 its chief executive earned $2.16 million per hour, while Amazon workers receive the statutory minimum wage, which in the EU varies between €1.42 and €11.27 per hour. In 2018 the company generated […]
Raise the roof!
Last month we saw the largest housing demonstration in Dublin so far, under the banner of Raise the Roof, as more than 20,000 citizens took to the streets. This campaign, launched by the ICTU, is going from strength to strength as the trade union movement takes the lead, uniting with […]
American peace movement defends the Venezuelan embassy
Last November a very impressive peace conference was held in Dublin: the First International Conference against US and NATO Bases. The main impetus for this conference came from the peace movement in the United States. Many of the participants showed their seriousness and determination in organising the Embassy Protection Collective […]
Lessons from the Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution did not begin as a socialist revolution; in fact the original Cuban communist party, the PSP (People’s Socialist Party), denounced the attack on the Moncado Barracks in 1953 as a “putsch,” and, while engaging with the rebels during the guerilla campaign, it did not fully align with […]
The robbery of Irish resources continues
On 28 May the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment granted consent for an exploratory oil and gas well off the Kerry coast under the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development Act (1960). The department received an application last November from CNOOC Petroleum Europe (a subsidiary of the Chinese […]
Renaissance man
Leonardo da Vinci, the oldest of the Italian High Renaissance artists, died five hundred years ago, on 2 May 1519. Leonardo was born on 15 April 1452 near the village of Vinci, from which he takes his name. His mother, Caterina, the daughter of a poor farmer, worked as a […]
Moving statues
Earlier this year there were attacks on Karl Marx’s grave in Highgate Cemetery in London. Around Europe since the fall of the Soviet Union there have been attempts to destroy or remove any statues or other monuments commemorating those who fought fascism during the Second World War, or previously in […]
Clothing and super-exploitation
At the end of May 2019 a study published by the Stern Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University drew attention to the demeaning conditions in the global clothing industry. The report shows how monopoly capitalism (imperialism) exploits countries, both large and small, that try to develop […]
LETTERS – Stop the Bray War Show!
Dear editor, The “Stop the Bray War Show” campaign is very concerned about the Bray Air Display, due to take place on 27 and 28 July 2019. The campaign has no objection to an air show that does not include military aircraft. However, the Bray Air Display, as it is […]