This year’s James Connolly Festival runs from Tuesday 6th to Sunday 11th May 2025 with almost all events taking place at Connolly House and The New Theatre.
It will include a week-long James Connolly Art Exhibition. Seven artists have been invited to prepare prints and paintings that will be available to view and purchase throughout the week.
Similarly, Grand Canal Demolition Derby is a Playstation-style video game set in Dublin where players learn of the Irish economy’s over-reliance upon US capital. The game’s “missions” include thrashing Teslas and maiming the mainframes of American tech companies. It serves as a metaphor for the shift from US tech dominance to a socialist economy and will be available to play all week.
The festival kicks off on Tuesday 6th May with a panel discussion on “Neutrality, Partition and the Fight Against Imperialism in Ireland”. We welcome Niamh Ní Bhriain (Transnational Institute) Colm Laighneach (Communist Party of Ireland) and Roisin McAleer (Social Rights Ireland).
On Wednesday 7th May we’ll hear a lecture on “Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century”. It will be given by Carlos Martinez. Author of The East Is Still Red and People’s Republic of China at 75: The Flag Stays Red (available for purchase in Connolly Books), Carlos is the co-editor of Friends of Socialist China.
Thursday sees a conversation with Dr Kirsten Ghodsee, author of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism, Red Valkyries and Everyday Utopia. Dr Ghodsee is Professor and Chair of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
On Friday, a film screening of Israelism will take place in the New Theatre. The film examines how a new generation of American Jews, raised to “unconditionally love” Israel, are confronting the reality of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, leading to a reevaluation of their relationship with both Israel and their Jewish identity.
The opening event of what will be an action packed Saturday 10th May sees Dr Conor McCabe host the James Connolly Walking Tour. The 2.5km stroll will take in some of the lesser-known or “hidden” places associated with Connolly’s life: meeting at the James Connolly statue next to Liberty Hall at 11am Saturday.
Back at Connolly House, we will open our courtyard for the first time. We’ll be joined by some of Dublin’s brightest poets: Anna D, Mikey Cullen and Clíodhna Bhreathnach. It kicks off at 1pm Saturday (entrance via Connolly Books)
The annual James Connolly Memorial Lecture returns to the New Theatre at 4pm on Saturday. “No Green without the Red: on Sovereignty, Environment, and Class” will be delivered by Dr Harun Siljak.
In another first for the festival, we will host a night time gig in Connolly Books from 9.30pm on Saturday with Fools Sorrow, Rarewitch and Yoke Folk.
On Sunday 11th May the festival will close with the James Connolly Commemoration in Arbour Hill from 3pm, followed by a drinks reception at The Cobblestone, Smithfield from 4pm.
The festival launch event will take place in Connolly Books on Saturday 3rd May from 6pm – 9pm.
Full information and tickets available now via the festival website: www.jamesconnollyfestival.com
