Archive for the ‘Fine Gael’ Category
Helena Sheehan Leaves the Labour Party
Here is a very welcome statement from Helena Sheehan (copied from her facebook page).
I do not however agree with supporting Michael D Higgins in the Presidential Race – in other blogs I have argued that the radical left should try to convert the presidential election into a proxy referendum on ECB / IMF Reverse Robin Hood “stealing from the poor, giving to the rich” menu.
http://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/meanwhile-back-at-the-presidential-election-campaign/
More recently Robert Ballagh has promoted a similar strategy, but has made it clear he will not himself be a candidate :
Time to leave the Labour Party
It is time to draw a line under my 30 year membership of the Labour Party. It is past time actually, as I have not been active at branch or constituency level for the past 15 years. There were many reasons for this, including the demands of my academic job. I did remain active politically, but not in a way that was so focused on the Labour Party or even electoral politics. I recognise the importance of electoral politics, but it has never been the area in which I felt I had a particular contribution to make. During the years of Labour Left, of which I was a founding member, we tried to create a deeper political intellectual culture in the Labour Party. Once this ended, I didn’t see so much of a role for myself. Nevertheless, I remained. Read the rest of this entry »
Nobody is denying US torpedoed plan to save the Irish State €20bn — Only Gene Kerrigan is asking
We are paying Gene Kerrigan the compliment of reproducing his entire article in today’s Sunday Independent (June 19 2011).
We covered this ground during the recent general election campaign.
https://tomasoflatharta.com/2011/02/05/make-a-bonfire-of-irish-banking-vanities/
No apologies for the action replay.
We also recommend the following articles from Vanity Fair and the British Guardian – very relevant to Gene’s article.
Let us hope the United Left Alliance TD’s run with this ball
http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103
We’re shamed by conspiracy of silence
Nobody is denying US torpedoed plan to save the State €20bn — but no one’s asking either, writes Gene Kerrigan Read the rest of this entry »
United Left Alliance “A Work in Progress” – Steps Towards a New Party
The Irish election returned five TDs for the United Left Alliance, with 2.8 per cent of the first preference votes. But this victory for the Left is only part of a bigger picture of political change, writes Brendan Young, in an article commissioned by Scottish Left Review. Republished here with kind permission of the author and SLR.
This article is also published on the Irish Left Review Site :
United Left Alliance A Work In Progress – Steps Towards a New Party
Joe Higgins TD - Socialist Party and the United Left Alliance
Described as a sea change by commentators, the biggest shock of Ireland’s recent general election was the collapse of the vote of Fianna Fáil (FF), the State’s largest party; from 41.5 per cent in 2007 to just 17.4 per cent this time. FF has governed in Ireland for 61 out of the 79 years since it was formed in 1932 and has won 14 out of the 19 general elections. Yet it now has only one TD (member of parliament) in Dublin – down from 13. Its first preference vote in Dublin was only 12.5 per cent, whereas the United Left Alliance, on its first outing, got 7.1 per cent. What stands out is the loss of support for FF among working class voters – confirming what has already been happening in local elections. Read the rest of this entry »
Garret FitzGerald – “a Politician Often Judged on his Intentions Rather than his Actions”
The former Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Garret FitzGerald has died aged 85 years of age – a very sad event for people who were close to him. Many credible testimonies are recorded showing he was a kind and courteous man in his personal relations. His public political career stretched from 1965, when he was elected to the Seanad (Senate) on the Fine Gael ticket up to a couple of weeks ago – he wrote a regular Saturday column in the Irish Times which was often interesting.
Many media professionals liked FitzGerald (no harm in that), but very few were willing to face him down on key issues of public policy (dangerously harmful).
Most of today’s broadcasters fall into that trap, with one small telling exception : Vincent Browne, presenter of TV3’s late night week day current affairs programme :
Tonight With Vincent Browne – TV3 Read the rest of this entry »
“Dispatches from the Dark Side – On Torture and the Death of Justice” – Gareth Peirce Talk at the Law Society of Ireland
Gareth Peirce is a dedicated lawyer who, for the last 30 years, has defended “suspect communities” against state attacks. In the 1970’s successive British governments targeted Irish people living in Britain and many individuals were framed, tortured, and forced to spend several years in jail for IRA bombings they did not commit.
Peirce came to public attention for tirelessly defending individuals in cases such as the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four, Judith Ward and Danny McNamee. She delivered the Law Society of Ireland 2011 Human Rights Lecture on May 10 in Dublin.
http://www.humanrights.ie/index.php/tag/law-society/
John Meehan reports.
On March 14 1991 the free man Paddy Hill grabbed a microphone outside the London Old Bailey Court where the Birmingham Six were finally released, and told the world that the Judges inside the building behind him “did not even understand” the word Justice.
Gareth Pierce marked the 20th anniversary of the release with a Guardian article pointing out lessons from that era had been ignored, and today the British state is trying to create another “suspect community” : Muslims.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2011/mar/12/gareth-peirce-birmingham-six
The Law Society Meeting Room was packed – Scattered among the large crowd were many activists from the Miscarriage of Justice Campaign in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. One was Michael Farrell, who texted me and many other people about the meeting.
Some are no longer with us – notably Thom McGinty (the Diceman) who starred as “British Justice” in a huge Dublin “Parade of Innocence” protest march against the Birmingham Six frame-up in 1989 :
http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/1375/troubled-images-posters-1-10 Read the rest of this entry »
Tomás Ó Flatharta 