Archive for the ‘General Election 2011’ Category
Watch Out! – Dodgy Survey Suggests “Most Northern Ireland Catholics want to remain in UK”
Elizabethan Fun - Opinion Poll shows there are 12 million republicans in Great Britain
This Irish News headline caught my eye on the way to work this morning – “Most Catholics Want to Stay in the UK : Poll”.
A table on page 7 suggests a huge swing against a United Ireland among Catholics between the years 1998 and 2010 –
support for “staying part of the UK” rose from 19 to 52 per cent, while “Reunify with the Rest of Ireland” slumped from 49 per cent to 33 per cent.
Readers of this site know that we respect polls based on credible scientific research – how does this poll stand up?
Very badly is the blunt answer. Read the rest of this entry »
Resistance to the Cuts : News from the Irish Times and RTÉ’s Liveline Radio Show
The Irish Times of Wednesday June 15 was very unusual –
it carried two useful news reports about campaigns against Government-inspired cutbacks.
Dublin Bus is cutting services.
While the newspaper story headline is a bland
Dublin Bus plans further route changes
the story offers a different perspective from :
Save Our Bus Services, which says the changes are in fact cuts to services, which will hurt the old, the disabled and schoolchildren most. Read the rest of this entry »
The United Left Alliance in Dublin Central
The United Left Alliance (ULA) has held a series of launch meetings since the February 25 General Election.
This is a report of the Dublin Central Gathering, held on Monday May 30 in the Teachers Club, 36 Parnell Square.
About 34 people attended. 
The meeting was chaired by Eddie Conlon of the ULA A Steering Committee and the speakers were :
Joan Collins TD ULA/People Before Profit (PBP) Dublin South-Central.
Paul Murphy Member of the European Parliament (MEP) ULA/Socialist Party (SP) –
[Paul took over the seat vacated by Joe Higgins, who is now a TD for Dublin West]
Colm Stephens PBP/Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP) Dublin Central.
Joan Collins opened the meeting with fresh news that an actor who shares the socialist TD’s name was recently hit by the property crash – Read the rest of this entry »
Eamon Gilmore – Are You telling the Truth, or Is that what you are telling the American Embassy?
Labour Party Leader Eamon Gilmore, lord-lieutenant to King Kenny in the Dublin Government, is having a difficult time.
Did he have one policy in opposition, and is he following an opposite line in government?
Yes, we will come to that – but first something completely different –
Gene Kerrigan reports on the Labour Party leader’s reaction to the defeat of the first Lisbon treaty referendum in 2008: Read the rest of this entry »
Alternative to Bank Bailouts And Cutbacks – United Left Alliance Public Meeting, May 30, Teachers’ Club, 36 Parnell Square
The Alternative to
Bank Bailouts
And Cutbacks
8.00pm, Monday May 30
Teachers’ Club, 36 Parnell Square, Dublin 1 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 »
Tomás Ó Flatharta 