Trade union density in the 26 Counties stands at a stark 22%, with collective bargaining coverage at around 34%. This is a catastrophic decline from the peak of approximately 60% density in the 1980s. Yet, this bleak picture obscures a crucial reality: there is a massive representation gap between actual […]
Ireland
Two Economies, One Crisis: The Fiction of Irish Economic Success
Recent headline figures for the 26-County economy are a study in illusion. GDP growth is expected to reach 10.7% in 2025, a surge driven largely by multinational corporations front-loading exports ahead of potential tariff deadlines. As the European Commission noted in its 17 November forecast, this growth is “exceptional and […]
Athghabháil na hÉireann: The Cultural Reconquest of Ireland
“Tá dualgas ar gach saoránach Gaeilge a labhairt.” [“Every citizen has a duty to speak Irish.”] These words of Máirtín Ó Cadhain, spoken in an earlier era of struggle, are finding new resonance in today’s Ireland. Across the nation, and particularly among the younger generations, a quiet but determined reconquest […]
Book Review: From the Bog to the Cloud: A Bestseller We Need
From the Bog to the Cloud is the bestselling book Ireland needs—a rigorous analysis of the nation’s place in the world and a strategic guide for how to change it through principled, anti-imperialist struggle. Authors Patrick Bresnihan and Patrick Brodie dissect an Ireland locked snugly between the competing yet collaborative […]
Speech: Manchester Martyrs Commemoration, 2025
Comrades and friends, On behalf of the Robert Emmet 1916 Society, it is an honour to stand in Manchester to commemorate three bold Fenians—William Allen, Michael Larkin, and Michael O’Brien—whose courage continues to fuel our unfinished struggle. We are not spectators of history, but participants in a living revolution. Empire […]
Ireland’s Surplus, NATO’s Narrative, and the Politics of Manufactured Obligation
Ireland’s projected budget surpluses for 2025 and 2026—€10.2 billion and €5.1 billion—havesparked renewed calls from the political and media establishment for deeper militaryintegration with Europe. The Financial Times, in a recent piece labelling Ireland “the weaklink in EU defence,” claims that because Ireland hosts Big Tech, Big Pharma and Big […]
From the Archives: The Fascist Convention in Ireland
The followinbg is by by Aodh MacManus, International Press Correspondence, Vol. 14, No. 11, 23 February 1934 “The size and spirit of the United Ireland party’s first annual convention are an encouraging portent.” Thus the most candid of British imperialism’s organs in Ireland, the Irish Times (9 February 1934), comments […]
Peace, Neutrality, and the Struggle for Social Justice
What is peace? What is neutrality? And what do they look like in practice? At first glance, Ireland is often described as a neutral country. We are told we are at peace. But when we dig deeper, a very different picture emerges. Ireland’s neutrality has been compromised for decades. Shannon […]
Presidential Election a Victory for Left and Progressive Forces
The outcome of the presidential election with the victory of the independent left candidateCatherine Connolly is to be strongly welcomed. Connolly captured the mood of the peoplewith her message of a new, a different “Republic”. She presented a positive vision of adifferent Ireland, an Ireland of equality, of justice and […]
UCD’s Dirty War Against UCD Encampment: Silence is Violence
The ‘Break the Chains of Academic Zionism’ encampment at University College Dublin is heading into its third week. What began on 7th September 2025, with one lone Social Rights Ireland activist refusing to stay silent about UCD’s collaboration with the Zionist entity, has grown into a determined camp of resistance. […]
The Presidential Race and Irish Neutrality
The three-way presidential race between Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, and Heather Humphreys has helped bring the Triple Lock into the conversation. However, the media and the government candidates are at pains to ensure the issue is not conflated with abandoning Irish neutrality. Humphreys and Gavin have faced no challenge in […]
The Communist Party as the Vanguard – Lenin’s Lessons for Today
Over the first seven articles in this series, we demonstrated how public ownership, democratic planning, and socialist economics offer a compelling alternative to the chaos, inequality, and destruction of capitalism. But economic theory—no matter how coherent—remains inert without the political power to implement it. Equally, political power without a class-based economic programme devolves […]
Legacy Issues: Brits Continue to Drag Their Feet
Last month, the Irish and British governments launched their joint Legacy Framework proposals. The stated aim is to provide families of Troubles-related dead with, “… a fair, proportionate, and transparent system to seek answers.” This initiative is being described by both states as a means of undoing a flawed and […]
Crime, Drugs, and Class: Breaking Ireland’s Cycle of Despair
Ireland’s working-class communities have lived with the shadow of the drug trade for decades. From the heroin epidemic of the 1980s to today’s cocaine economy, drugs have carved deep scars through families, schools, and neighbourhoods. Entire generations were written off, while governments looked away. Today, the problem remains as sharp as ever. […]
Arthur Guinness Turns 300
Fun fact: Guinness, the quintessential Irish drink exported worldwide, originated in the working-class pubs of early 18th-century London. Known as porter, this dark beer was invented as an affordable, nutritious, and consistent alternative to the custom-mixed blends patrons often bought. Its name came from its immense popularity with London’s dockworkers […]
They Destroyed Our Estates for Their Rich Capitalist Mates
I remember Fatima Mansions flats had a live-in caretaker when I was there as a kid. They removed the caretakers as part of a general attack on social housing. At the start of the 1980s, they were building 8,000 homes a year; by the end, it was just 800. They […]
