We are now just over nine months into the
Israeli onslaught against the people of Gaza.
Demands have come and gone. For
example, whatever happened to the demand for the Israeli Ambassador to be
expelled? Though recalled as a
diplomatic rebuke by Israel her status as an ambassador is still recognised by
the Irish government and she is free to return to Ireland at any time. (read more)
It is reported that at some point in the near future a representative of the Palestine Authority will be officially received in Leinster House as part of the recognition of the Palestinian State by the Irish Government (and presumably by the Irish State).This will be an important occasion and all who support the Palestinian people should get ready to give this representative of the Palestine Authority an appropriate welcome. (read more)
Roderic O’Gorman won the leadership
race to become head honcho in the Green Party.
He had as much to say during his campaign for the leadership as he has
had for the last number of years as Minister for Children. All style, no substance and choosing to die
on the wrong hill time and again.
As a minister he has
shown remarkable, indeed outstanding levels of incompetency, even by the
standards of the current government. (read more)
In early July, the Department of Agriculture,
Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Minister Andrew Muir announced twenty
actions his department would take to improve water quality, address the
challenges in Lough Neagh and tackle blue green algae (BGA).
Those hoping that the catastrophe in Lough
Neagh was finally being tackled were out of luck. Muir was just dishonestly
using his position to bolster his vote in the polls. There is no sign of collective action by the
local administration. (read more)
The outcome of the UK general election in the north of Ireland (see table at foot of article) confirmed a number of the trends that have emerged in elections since 2022. These are: the consolidation of Sinn Féin as the largest single party; the fragmentation of Unionism and the decline of the DUP; and the continuing high level of support for others (mainly represented by Alliance). (read more)
The Labour majority of over 170 seats with only 34% of the
vote is the lowest-ever winning share.
With around one third of the vote it gained two thirds of the seats. The
turnout of around 60% was a drop from 67% in 2019 and the second lowest since
1918, meaning around 80 per cent of those eligible to vote didn’t vote for
Starmer, whose personal rating is a net minus of 6. Even in his own constituency his vote fell
dramatically, by 15.6%. (read more)
The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April 2023 was met with jubilation and celebration in Belfast. Past and present taoisigh (Irish government leaders), British prime ministers, US presidents and a raft of academics were brought together by the local universities and media in an extended celebration.Yet all is not well. If the decay of the agreement is of concern, the universal failure of academia, of the press, the trade unions and political parties to acknowledge such decay is astounding. John McAnulty provides that missing critique and suggests how Ireland will move beyond this historic inflection to fulfill the revolutionary implications of its initial struggle for freedom.
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10 April 2023
25 Years On: in the debris of the Good Friday Agreement
The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement is being
marked by assemblies of the great and the good. Joe Biden rushes through the
North, avoiding attention to the barren political landscape. On RTE television
the ghost of Bertie Ahern dominates, while the high point will be the upcoming visit
of Bill and Hilary Clinton and Tony Blair to a celebration at Queens
University.
No-one will remark on the unsavoury character of
these saints of peace. Even less will anyone notice that the fine mansion that
they built is now in ruins. (read more)
Defend a woman’s right to tell
the truth - 20/10/21
People before Profit student
society calls for ‘no-platforming’ of feminists and LGB rights activists -
25/03/21
Puberty Blockers: An
unregulated live experiment on children - 17/04/21
Vulnerable children being seen
at Gender Clinics - 06/03/21
On the Reactionary Roots of
Queer Theory - 28/02/21
A new front in human
liberation, or a medical scandal in the making? - 09/01/21
Amnesty International Ireland opposes the right to free speech -
06/11/20
Gender Identity Ideology, the Trans Rights
Movement, and
homophobia - 27/09/20
Socialism, Feminism and transgender politics -
07/09/20
All COVERAGE
Socialist Democracy Statement on Coronavirus pandemic - 28/03/20
The promise and reality of vaccination -28/03/21
Herd immunity - myth and reality - 30/11/20
Coronavirus pandemic - a deepening health and economic crisis - 28/07/20
Protest, class conflict and Covid 19 - 06/05/20
Unionism’s silent shift on the pandemic
- 16/05/20
Ideology and Science - 05/05/20
Big Pharma in Ireland - 24/04/20
Europe and the pandemic - 09/04/20
All COVERAGE
Rayner O’Connor Lysaght Presente!
Tributes from
International
Viewpoint
Irish
Labour History Society
Socialist
Voice
Sráid
Marx
Emancipation,
Liberation & Self-determination
Workers
Liberty
Irish
Republican Marxist History Project
The
Pensive Quill
Irish
Left Archive
Obituray from the Irish Independent
A selection of writings by Rayner can be found online at:
Socialist Democracy
Arguments for a Workers' Republic
The Encyclopedia of Trotskyism
Red Mole Rising
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