Late in January some three hundred activists from all over Ireland gathered in Liberty Hall, Dublin, to celebrate the centenary of the first Dáil Éireann. The event, organised by the Peadar O’Donnell Socialist Republican Forum, attracted a wide range of forces, including trade union and community activists and women’s and […]
Campaigns
Raise the Roof Housing conference held in Dublin
On 30 January the Irish Congress of Trade Unions held a housing conference under the banner of “Raise the Roof.” The two main demands to come out of the conference were the need for public housing and for the right to housing to be enshrined in the Constitution of Ireland. […]
Socialism or barbarism
There has been a lot of spin about the recent eviction in Co. Roscommon. The fact of the matter is that the Central Bank stated in April 2018 that more than 29,000 mortgages are in arrears for at least two years. It estimates that more than half of these will […]
International conference against military bases
Peace activists from around the world gathered in Dublin from 16 to 18 November for the First International Conference Against US and NATO Military Bases, organised by the Global Campaign Against US and NATO Military Bases. The meeting was supported by the US Peace Council and the World Peace Council […]
Organising to halt our descent into misery
Theresa May once told a Tory party conference that people viewed Conservatives as “the nasty party.” She claimed this was an unfortunate misunderstanding, to be rectified by improving the party’s public-relations campaign. While few readers of Socialist Voice would fall for that type of self-serving nonsense, too many others accept […]
United Bodenstown Commemoration, 2018
The second United Bodenstown Commemoration to honour Theobald Wolfe Tone and the United Irish movement, organised by the Peadar O’Donnell Socialist Republican Forum, took place on 19 August. Activists came from all over the country—from Dublin, Belfast, Newry, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Cavan, Monaghan, Armagh, Wicklow, and Waterford. A delegation from Scotland […]
A summer of change
This summer has indeed been very different from summers of the past—and it wasn’t just the long period of hot weather. There has been a sustained period of civil disobedience by ordinary citizens, who have been marginalised by high rents and low pay as a result of the neo-liberal policies […]
A different Ireland is in the making
What for long appeared unimaginable has seemingly now become inevitable. The Northern state, created with a built-in unionist majority and uncompromising regime, once seemed as permanent a fixture as its grandiose parliament building at Stormont. Not any longer, though. Britain’s Tory prime minister has voiced her doubts about its future […]
Housing Cost-rental model or cost-rental twaddle?
“Cost-rental model” is the flavour of the month as a way of solving the housing emergency and making the provision of shelter more affordable and sustainable. The cost-rental model is a system whereby the total cost of a housing development (land, design, construction, property management and maintenance) is divided by […]
Repealed! Another democratic step forward for women and our country
The Irish people have passed judgement on the thirty-five years’ experience of the implementation of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution. The electorate voted by a substantial majority to abolish the controversial amendment that gave equal legal status to the lives of a foetus and of the mother. Our people […]
For equality and democracy — Vote Repeal
On the 25th of May the Irish people will face a major democratic challenge: to vote for the repeal of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution and remove, once and for all, the constitutional restrictions placed on women seeking to avail of essential medical treatment. Safe and legal access to […]
Polluting the skies over Bray
The British military’s recruiting squadron The Bray War Show has gleefully announced that the British air force Red Arrows will strut their stuff over the skies of Bray, and probably Dublin, this July. The organisers of this war show forgot to mention that only last month, on 19 March, a […]
Repeal the 8th! The role of trade unions
Jointly hosted by the Trade Union Campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment (TUCR8A) and the Coalition to Repeal the Eighth, this public meeting dealt with article 40.3.3 as a work-place, class, equality and human rights issue. Like most trade union meetings, Repeal the 8th: The Role of Trade Unions started […]
Time for change!
Many people in Ireland yearn for a change of government, to one that would govern in the people’s interests and not renege on electoral promises once they enter Dáil Éireann. A noble dream it may be, but how real is it? Let’s briefly look at the Right2Water campaign. The CPI […]
The right to a decent, secure home
The Campaign for Public Housing is not looking for concessions or for tweaks to the existing housing policy. The state’s housing policy has been designed to fill the pockets of landlords, developers and financiers with rents, subsidies, and tax breaks, as it was designed to do. That strategy is clearly […]
A new campaign for public housing
The Campaign for Public Housing was launched in Dublin at the end of October. The CPI is one of a number of socialist organisations, tenants’ associations, community activists and other groups that make up the broad alliance within the campaign. The campaign was launched in Dublin, but it is planned […]