A time that called for giants – Jenny FarrellDownload The great Italian painter and architect Raphael died 500 years ago, in April 1520. He lived at the time of the High Renaissance, one of the most progressive periods in history; as Engels put it, “it was the greatest progressive revolution […]
Previous Articles
Ireland without her people
“Ireland without her people is nothing to me,” James Connolly wrote in 1900. This phrase has been repeatedly quoted, in isolation, especially by those who wish to promote a workerist and non-national (or anti-national) view of James Connolly. Anyone who reads the sentence intelligently can see that Connolly condemned those […]
Working people’s stories in contemporary Ireland
Call for submissions Culture Matters is taking an initiative in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis to compile a second anthology of working-class writing. We hope it will be one way for working people to creatively express their anxieties, experiences and thoughts about various aspects of their lives in these […]
One Ireland, One Solution, One All-Ireland Constitution
The CPI expressed its solidarity with all those affected and who will be affected by this growing health crisis, and to the health staff and emergency services in the front line. The health services across the country from Belfast to Cork are wholly inadequate, having experienced over a decade of harsh austerity cuts, bed closures, lack of investment, staff shortages and the prioritisation of private corporate medicine over a decent well-funded public health system.
CYM celebrates its 50th anniversary
In 2015 delegates from two Irish cities made their way to East Essex Street in Dublin to conduct the Connolly Youth Movement’s annual congress. In 2018, delegates from three cities convened on Cork for the same purpose. In 2020, delegates, for the first time from branches established in six different cities, will congregate in Belfast
Consternation among the elite
That the agents of imperialism and the ruling elite everywhere weaponise information is nothing new. Two thousand years ago Augustus Caesar had supporters paint salacious and damaging stories about his enemies on the walls of Rome.
A platform to build on
The results of the General election has brought to the surface some of the issues and concerns of working people
within this state. The problems of housing, rent, health, pension age and the capacity of working people to make
ends meet moved up the political agenda.
Opinion – Why communists support trans rights
Why does supporting trans liberation attack rather than defend gender roles and stereotypes? As Marxists we must provide a materialist understanding of trans people to understand how to fight against our patriarchal society. Trans liberation as class struggle First, we should examine what the conditions of trans people are today. […]
The origins of the climate crisis
The origins of the climate crisis – Joe FlemingDownload Out of the green fields of southern England, in the same century in which Shakespeare penned his pastoral comedies and the Tudors initiated a new phase of Ireland’s conquest, a novel form of economics arose. A terrible force, only nascent, long […]
The Earth System and the capitalist system are incompatible
In nature, many complex processes must occur to guarantee the sustainability of life. The earth itself is a system of interaction between the physical, chemical and biological processes that take place within it. Within the Earth System, which consists of the land, seas, atmosphere, and poles, we find many natural […]
How can we defeat fascism?
The Communist International defined fascism as “the open terroristic dictatorship of the most reactionary, most chauvinistic and most imperialist elements of finance capital.”
Fascism arose from capitalism’s need to solve the crises it itself created
Signs of the next economic crisis
Over the past two months we’ve been reminded constantly about the supposed health of our economy. Unfortunately, things are not as healthy as cherry-picked statistics might suggest—as anybody looking for a hospital bed or a home can clearly see. We’re highly vulnerable as a small, open economy to the vagaries […]
The crisis of late imperialism
Understanding imperialism is vital to our understanding of the world today, enabling us to chart a path forward to tackle the environmental crisis and to move humanity towards a system of equality and common ownership—socialism. Unfortunately, many on the left either reject the existence of imperialism in favour of a […]
Vampire capitalism
It’s hard not to believe the end is nigh when the buying and selling of blood turns out to be one of America’s booming industries. The life-saving act of blood donation in Ireland operates on a voluntary basis, besides the odd celebratory pin, and people are expected to give out […]
Universal public housing the only way forward
Eoin Ó Broin, Home: Why Public Housing Is the Answer (Dublin: Merrion Press, 2020). Much like its author, Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on housing, Home is a very nice and pleasant book. However, given the context of an ever-increasing homelessness crisis, it falls short of providing a truly transformative solution to […]
A huge loss Henry Dent (1956–2019)
Comrades have been saddened by the death of Henry Dent, a former secretary of Dublin District CPI. For many years Henry was a frequent and characteristic participant on Dublin marches and demonstrations for every progressive cause. He also staffed Connolly Books in a voluntary capacity from time to time. Henry, […]