Previous Articles
War
The NATO proxy war against Russia grinds on with the capitalist “news” media full of stories and analysis of the expected Ukrainian offensive. Absent from all imperialist commentary are proposals for ending the war other than by the military, economic and political defeat of Russia. The peace proposals put forward […]
Photo – Haiku
ainneoin na caimiléireachta an ghrian ag taitneamh os cionn Bhleá Cliath in spite of corruption the sun shines over all of Dublin corupție—soarele tot strălucepeste Dublin Photo: Jason Symes Haiku: Gabriel Rosenstock Romanian version: Olimpia Iacob
Why do corporations want you to go back to office so badly?
Covid came and went but working from home is not going away, and yet, corporations are pushing their workers to go back to the office. Why? During Covid and the resulting lockdown, tech companies reaped record profits, especially the likes of Amazon, Netflix, Google and Facebook, or “FANG” for short. […]
Bodenstown
On Friday 2nd June in Droichead Nua Community Library, Dr. Ruán O’Donnell will give a talk on the history of two lesser-known republican groups Saor Uladh and Saor Éire. The authorities believed such groups, dominated by radical and left-wing elements, to be a front for communist, physical-force republicans. Saor Uladh, […]
Multipolarity and US Hegemony
With the defeat of socialism in Eastern Europe, the United States enjoyed a unilateral ability to shape the world in its own image. Countries which had struggled for national liberation in Africa, South America and Asia were forced to submit to the institutions of imperialism which had been created after […]
Katja Oskamp: Marzahn Mon Amour
The shortlist for the annual International Dublin Literary Award for 2023 was published in late March. Among the six books on the list is a book by the East German writer Katja Oskamp, Marzahn, Mon Amour. The title stands out for East Berliners in particular, who immediately recognise Marzahn as […]
Private property is the lock; socialism is the key
It has been revealed by Sinn Féin TD Eoin O’Broin through parliamentary questions that the Department of Housing underspent in excess of €1.5 billion between 2020 and 2022. O’Broin has said that the underspend could have been used to build 40,000 homes. In 2020, €92.7m was underspent; in 2021, €441m […]
James Connolly Festival 2023
The annual, week-long James Connolly Festival returns on 8-14 May 2023. The purpose of the festival has always been the promotion of working class consciousness in arts, culture and politics. By way of achieving its objective, the festival features a number of artists, activists and educators from left and progressive […]
The 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement
The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (GFA), signed a quarter of a century ago in April 1998, was promoted then and is being celebrated now, as a peace agreement to end the 30-year armed conflict between Irish republicans and the British state assisted by its local militia allies within unionism. Prepare to […]
Poetry
To Burn or Not to Burn is a bilingual tanka (5-7-5-7-7 syllables) by Gabriel Rosenstock in response to artwork by Banksy. To Burn or Not to Burn tá sé ag éirí fuarníl mórán fágtha le dóbratach mo thíre?tar éis a bhfuil déanta aiciar mo shonsa ‘is ar son an domhain! […]
A Note on Ukraine
In the March Socialist Voice, a piece on Ukraine proposed the proximate cause of the war is NATO. There are good reasons why Communists in Western European countries should highlight NATO’s role to its own populations insofar as it helps counter one-sided narratives of the conflict. However, some have also […]
On the centenary of The Shadow of a Gunman
Sean O’Casey’s play The Shadow of a Gunman premiered 100 years ago, on April 12, 1923, at the Abbey Theatre. It is set during the War of Independence in a Dublin tenement. Davoren, writer of romantic verse, shares a room with Seumas, a peddler and onetime patriot who has now […]
Policing: Something Rotten
In 1984 a baby was found dead on a beach at Caherciveen. He was murdered: stabbed 28 times. At that time Gardaí arrested a young woman and got a confession from her for the young baby’s death. It was later proven that the Gardaí forced the confession from this innocent […]
The Real Framing of the Windsor Framework
When it comes to money and power, real power, like imperial power, not Micky Mouse or parish-pump “power”, there’s always a deal to be had. Since the partition of Ireland the number of “agreements” that have been engineered and given important sounding names, would fill a thousand large skips with […]
Rathlin Poet: “The War Game”
Living on Rathlin Island, six miles from Ballycastle in North Antrim, Mary Cecil ponders life and chronicles her thoughts in poetic form. “The Rathlin Poet”, as she is known, has penned a great many poems, including anti-war verses: hardly surprising for the daughter of a soldier psychologically scarred during service […]