The British and Irish media have been singing the praises of Field-Marshal (retired) Henry Wilson, assassinated outside his home in London on 22 June 1922 by two members of the IRA, seemingly on the orders of the IRB (i.e. Michael Collins). Wilson was a former chief of staff of British […]
History
The Free Staters’ Red nightmare
Students of the coup d’état of 1922 will be interested in the following letter, which appeared in the Freeman’s Journal of 5 August 1922 under the headline “Irregulars’ Eager Allies | Policy of the Communist Party of Ireland.” The following excerpts from The Workers’ Republic of 28th July—the “official organ […]
The CPI and the Republic
The Communist Party of Ireland was not long formed when it had to grapple with the creation of the Irish Free State by British imperialism. The party was the first to recognise the class nature of the Treaty, and believed that the republicans could win, but only if they adopted […]
Housing: Crisis caused by design
This is not the first time the citizens of Ireland have been faced with a housing emergency. Back in the 1930s and 40s it was solved by building public housing—and it can be done again. From the 1930s until the 1950s, 55 per cent of all housing was built by […]
On another man’s wound
In a Facebook post on 13 May condemning the Israeli military’s attack on the funeral of the murdered Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the Connolly Youth Movement made the following claim: “As Irish Republicans we know what it is like to be harassed and attacked while mourning our dead.” During […]
LGBTQ: A united struggle
On 27 June 1974 ten brave souls marched from the Department of Justice in St Stephen’s Green to the British embassy in Merrion Road to highlight the criminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland. This was Dublin’s first pride march. The laws they marched against were the Offences Against the Person Act […]
Imperialism is incompatible with humanism
The New York Times has published a “revelation” about the involvement of French and US imperialism in Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Imperialism in form can change from time to time, but in essence it is the extraction of surplus value. During the colonial period the force […]
The first woman in space
On 16 June 1963, only two years after Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, Valentina Tereshkova made world history and became the first woman in space. This was during the height of the Cold War and during the space race, in which the Soviet Union achieved tremendous feats, […]
Long live the May Day martyrs!
August Spies, one of the Haymarket Martyrs who fought for an-eight-hour working day, said, “You can stamp out the spark, but the ground on which you stand is on fire.” May Day is the festival of the working class—the only day the whole world celebrates beyond boundaries of religion, caste, […]
Notes on the ideology of the Cuban Revolution
Part 2 ■ Part 1 was published in the April issue; read it here Cuba’s nature as a “privileged satellite” within the US imperialist expansion created an aspiration in its bourgeoisie and sectors of its middle class, linked to the symbolic dominance and prevalence, in many, of the so-called American […]
Marlene Dietrich: An outspoken enemy of her Nazi homeland
Marlene Dietrich, who died thirty years ago on 6 May 1992, must be remembered not only for her importance as a role model for emancipation but also for her outspoken and active stand against her Nazi homeland. Born in Berlin on 27 December 1901, she became one of the most […]
Socialist revolution and women’s rights
Alexandra Kollontai, born 150 years ago on 31 March 1872, was an outstanding figure in the Russian communist movement. Kollontai’s active political work began with workers’ evening classes, through which she became part of the Political Red Cross, an organisation supporting political prisoners. She participated in leafleting and fund-raising campaigns […]
Notes on the ideology of the Cuban Revolution
Part 1 I believe that what can give coherence to cultural, political, and ideological work is a definition of the ideology of the Cuban Revolution. Our ideology is based on the guiding principles of Cuba’s national liberation and social emancipation processes; on the development of our own thought characterised, as […]
A life-or-death struggle
The illusion of food democracy There are many things in life that we can do without—but food is not one of them. Along with food we need water, shelter, clothes and warmth to have any chance of survival as a species. And yet we often take food for granted, and […]
Standing up to Poppy Day
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 witnessed the signing of the armistice, bringing an end to the First World War, which later resulted in unconditional surrender by Germany. The day is now celebrated as Poppy Day in Britain, Canada and Australia and as […]
The true face of fascism
Juvenile and other immature males seem to have a morbid fascination with fascism, or rather with the trappings of fascism: uniforms, flags, marching, and of course shouting and threatening. But they are only trappings. There’s more to fascism than that. In various European countries where “normal” capitalism is collapsing, fascism—the […]
