On 12 May the Local Authority Professional Officers’ (LAPO) section of SIPTU adopted a motion calling for a constitutional referendum to enshrine public ownership of water services in the Constitution of Ireland, to counter the threat of the privatisation of water services. LAPO organises approximately 2,000 local authority professional officers […]
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James Connolly Festival, 2022
In 2022 the James Connolly Festival returned to in-person meetings following disruptions forced upon us through covid restrictions over the past two years. Nearly all events attracted a full house, and this year the festival consolidated itself as an important cultural and political event in the Irish political calendar. The […]
POETRY: Crossroads
CrossroadsIreland during the Civil War, 1922–23by Úna Ní Fhaircheallaigh (1874–1957)Translated from the Irish by Gabriel Rosenstock How mysterious, this road ahead, Behind me, a road of desolation. Roads to the left and the right of me— Whither now, Lord of Creation? My feet can hardly carry me, Empty hands, my […]
Georg Weerth | A young revolutionary in nineteenth century England
Weerth, the German proletariat’s first and most important poet, the son of Rhineland parents, was born in Detmold, where his father was church superintendent. In 1843, when I was in Manchester, Weerth came to Bradford as an agent for his German firm, and we spent many a pleasant Sunday together. […]
May Day in Havana: International Solidarity Brigade, 2022
From Havana to Santiago de Cuba, the revolutionary people of Cuba are an inspirational force, struggling against the effects of the US blockade on their beautiful country. Living under the blockade is having a seriously detrimental effect on the day-today lives of Cuban people. The United States has blocked trade […]
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, […]
Assembly elections: Opening new opportunities for struggle
A historic step forward was taken on the road to Irish freedom when the nationalist party Sinn Féin won more seats in the recent Northern Ireland Assembly than the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party. Sinn Féin secured 29 per cent of the popular vote, to become the largest party, with 27 […]
James Connolly Conversations, 2022
This year’s James Connolly Conversations return as face-to-face meetings. At the same time we will provide an opportunity for others to join in the conversation on line. The sessions will take place on four consecutive Saturdays, from 28 May to 18 June, at 11 a.m. The meetings are designed to […]
Liam O’Brien (1945-2022)
On behalf of the Communist Party of Ireland I would like to express our deepest sorrow at the loss of a great comrade and friend, Liam O’Brien, who died on 6 April. To his children, Aaron, Jason, Tanya, Cain, and Corinna, we can only guess the deep sense of loss […]
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 […]
The future of Latin America
Latin America entered the twenty-first century dominated by neoliberal governments. It was the region of the world with the most neoliberal and the most radical governments. Neoliberalism arrived in Latin America through the “Chicago Boys” during the Pinochet dictatorship. As a result, it was the region where the greatest manifestations […]
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 […]
The importance of science
Comrade Carroll (Socialist Voice, April) provides an excellent analysis of the role of theory. However, a few points of addition. The concern with Marxism is perhaps not so much theory but science. A central claim of Marxism is that it is scientific. Characterising science is its method: the systematic study […]
The importance of political theory
Part 2 Last month I wrote an article on the importance of political theory. In that article I explained that it is not enough to read the Communist Manifesto to learn about Marxism properly but that you must examine different points of Marxism. In this article I will examine the […]
Evolution or revolution?
It would appear that, one way or another, humans have always been trying to find a better way to live and survive in the world, particularly from a materialist viewpoint, to meet their needs and develop their capacities—not always with success—by their own volition or as they would want it […]