The undemocratic attack on Irish neutrality by the Government has reached a fever pitch. As a neutral country we should be using the EU Presidency to promote peace and dialogue to end conflicts and to encourage the EU to pull back from increasing militarisation. In effect, quite the opposite is […]
Ireland
“Build the Gaeltacht where you stand”: Culture, Language, and the Battle for a Progressive Ireland
This summer, Belfast saw the worst of its colonial legacy, and the best of its working-class resistance. In June, racist pogroms tore through the city while the state stood by. By August, Féile an Phobail offered a different vision: solidarity over division; internationalism over ethnonationalism. At the heart of that […]
An Ardteist agus Múnlú an Dalta – Maireann an ‘Murder Machine’ i gCónaí
Meabhrú, athrá agus crácamas – na trí haspal de chúrsa na hArdteiste. Tá sé soiléir go bhfuil an córasoideachais in Éirinn seanfhaiseanta – nach bhfuil sé in am é a athrú? Ar fud na tíre feictear easpa múinteoirí agus acmhainní oideachasúla, chomh maith le scoláirí traochta tar éis seacht n-uaire […]
Culture and Partition
A lot has been written and said over the past month about Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Belfast, culture, and partition. While being able to somewhat accurately report on the effects of the Fleadh, the majority of the commentariat struggles with an analysis of historical developments that have brought us […]
Workers in the Northern Economy
UK consumer price inflation, the relevant measure for the North’s economy, was at 2.6% in June, down from 2.8% in May. Food inflation was just 1.7%, below the rates experienced during the 2022–2024 inflationary spike. The inflation rate has fallen, but the general price level remains roughly 30% above where […]
Belfast Republican Jimmy Roe 30th Anniversary
“In my opinion, the greatest act of treachery ever perpetrated by the Free State Government was when De Valera brought over to Ireland the British hangman Albert Pierrepoint, who just a few years previously had hanged three other Irishmen – Barnes, McCormack and Tom Williams – to hang another soldier […]
Ireland: the Poster Boy for NATO
The Irish political and military establishments, state bureaucracy, mass media and numerous “think tanks” continue in their carefully crafted strategy to end the neutrality of this state and turn our country into an unsinkable platform for NATO. They want this state to be the new poster boy for NATO. The […]
The Irish People Are Right, Well Left Actually!
The Irish people are broadly ‘left-wing’ when we look at support for typically social-democratic or socialist positions on things like collective bargaining, housing, healthcare, neutrality and transport. Yet combinations of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael continue to be elected and form Governments who actively deliver against these popular positions time […]
Public Sector Pay Talks: A Formula for Pay?
In May of this year, the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers, TD, published details of an enhanced expenditure control and escalation process to curb what was described as out-of-control spending. It was stated by the Minister that spending was already over the 6% […]
Manufacturing Your Consent
There is a long history of powerful, dominant states practising what we might describe as defining or controlling the narrative. This is done by steering public opinion so that one specific interpretation becomes dominant within society. The objective is to ensure that those in power retain their position by building […]
Do not ignore the root causes of the cost of living crisis!
The cost-of-living crisis has not disappeared and is set to get worse over the coming year. Prices are far above their 2021 level and the next pressure is likely to come again through essentials: energy, food, clothing, transport, heating and housing. These basics are already up multiples of wage increases […]
Important worker mobilisation in public sector
The previous public sector pay deal, Public Service Agreement, delivered 10.25% pay increases over effectively 3 years in 7 phased payments plus a local bargaining payment of 1% to be agreed by the sectors within the public service. This final element, meant to provide for local bargaining to resolve specific […]
The Anti-Migrant Argument: Deporting the Workers We Depend On
Across Ireland, north and south, immigration has become one of the defining political issues of recent years. From the racist violence witnessed in Belfast to protests outside accommodation centres and anti-immigration demonstrations across the country, a familiar political argument is repeatedly advanced. Migrants are blamed for housing shortages, overstretched public […]
Aer Lingus Job Losses Expose the Cost of Economic Dependence
The Communist Party of Ireland expresses its solidarity with the workers and families affected by the announcement that up to 500 jobs are to be cut at Aer Lingus. The Communist Party supports trade unions in opposing compulsory redundancies but urges unions to demand nationalisation. These proposed redundancies are not […]
Government’s Summer Economic Statement
The Government’s Summer Economic Statement sets Budget parameters for 2027: an €8.5 billion package, involving €7 billion above the 2026 expenditure ceiling and €1.5 billion of tax measures. The €1.5bn announced for tax measures likely signals changes to income-tax bands, thereby preventing what is known as ‘fiscal drag’ – when […]
Sporting Solidarity: The Campaigns to Break Ireland’s Links with Israeli Genocide
Two grassroots protest campaigns are currently challenging the deep complicity of Irish sporting institutions in normalising the Israeli state’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. The Allianz Amach or Drop Allianz campaign, rooted in Cumann Luthchleas Gael (GAA), and the Stop The Game campaign, targeting the Football Association of Ireland, represent vital and courageous […]
