Once again, thanks to the editor of the Cedar Lounge Blog for drawing the attention of readers to very good Éamonn Sweeney left-wing analysis to the current Dublin government, which administers the 26 county bit of Ireland.
On this blog we describe the Mícheál Martin / Simon Harris government as FFFGBG – that is : a coalition of Fianna Fáil (FF), Fine Gael (FG), and Beggar-Gombeens (BG’s). The BG’s were assembled by the North Tipperary ex-FG minister Michael Lowry, who was thoroughly investigated by the Mahon Tribunal following credible allegations of financial corruption in the 1990’s. Fine Gael’s ethical standards are extremely low, but the party was obliged to expel Mr Lowry.
Micheál Martin meeting Trump Saint Patricks Day White House 2026
The BG’s got many perks for propping up the FFFG Martin-Harris duo – the biggest was the position of Dáil Ceann Comhairle (speaker) handed to the Wexford racist, and former FG member, Verona Murphy.
Some of the BG’s might be tempted to join their racist-fascist soul-brothers who lead the fuel blockade movement.
A coherent left-wing alternative is very badly needed.
An effective heavy vehicle blockade campaign brought the 26 county bit of Ireland to a halt in the second week of April 2026.
Parties and individuals based on the left have offered significantly different opinions about these protests.
There is no doubt that far-right organisations are involved. This poses a big problem for all forces on the left – parties, trade unions, social movements that are pro-feminist and anti-racist, and so on.
It is essential to start with concrete analysis. Left-wing actors such as People Before Profit (PBP) say they support the blockaders :
“ There is “no question” that there are far-right people trying to intervene and be present in the protest…So some of these people (the far-right) are present and are trying to shape the protest, but one: the vast majority of people who are participating in the protest have nothing to do with the far right, whatsoever. “And two: I really have a strong sense that ordinary working-class people in Dublin, people who live in Dublin South-West that I represent, have a lot of support for these protests,” Murphy said.
The article below, and several other reliable sources, demonstrate that Paul Murphy’s analysis is based on wishful thinking rather than concrete analysis.
The far-right are not “trying to intervene and be present in the protest”. Far-right actors initiated this campaign.
This has serious implications for all forces on the Irish left.
Summing up: socialists have to recognise the hardships caused by high fuel prices (on top of all the other high prices). Blaming the right-wing government is fine. But – an extremely big But :
The Left must pledge : no co-operation with fuel-protester fascists and racists.
James Geoghegan is a spokesperson for the Fuel Protesters’ Campaign
The policy of the PBP and others on the left is “support the fuel protests”.
The only way you can implement this policy is practical collaboration with the far-right on the streets and elsewhere. That means putting the lives and welfare of your own members and supporters in danger.
The left can do much better – a useful starting point for for a more progressive policy is here, written by the SIPTU researcher, Michael Taft :
Yesterday Conor Gallagher in The Irish Times, working with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, revealed shocking details about the supply chain linked to the Aughinish Alumina plant in Limerick.
His report outlined how significant quantities of alumina from this facility are being exported to Russia, where they are being used to make aluminium, which is then sold to a trading company supplying over 100 Russian weapons manufacturers. It is deeply alarming to see that shipments of Irish alumina to Russia have increased significantly since Putin’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It is horrific to see this. It is unconscionable that a plant operating in Ireland could be contributing to materials used in the destruction of so many communities and so much civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and can be used to kill children in Ukraine. This is appalling to see and I do welcome the Taoiseach’s commitment to review this report, but the question is clear: what urgent action will the Taoiseach take to ensure that no Irish-based industry or business is complicit in supporting Russia’s war machine?
Ivana Bacik is right to insist that the Irish government must take “urgent action” on this issue – words and good intentions are not good enough.
In the letters page of the Irish Times (Friday May 27) Conor O’Neill – Head of Policy, Christian Aid Ireland; Chair, Irish Coalition for Business & Human Rights points out :
Aughinish exposes a general trend in State attitude to Ukraine, Palestine, human rights …
President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Ireland on December 2 and 3 2025.
Irish Left With Ukraine stated :
We join with President Catherine Connolly in welcoming President Zelenskyy to Ireland today – Irish Left With Ukraine
This approach is shared by the leader of the Irish Labour party, Ivana Bacik :
” It will be an honour to stand with my Labour colleagues later today and welcome President Zelensky, and his wife Olena, to our national parliament.
In the face of ongoing aggression by Russia, the Ukrainian people continue to display immense bravery and resilience. We are now nearly four years into this war, a war that has shattered lives, displaced families and fundamentally changed the political landscape in Europe.The Ukrainian cause and the Ukrainian people cannot be abandoned. Labour will continue to voice our support for a free, sovereign and democratic Ukraine, taking its rightful place in the European Union. Like with Palestine, the history books will remember those who stood on the right side of history in this conflict, those who supported the Ukrainian people.”
Welcoming a leader of an oppressed invaded nation does not mean agreement with that leader’s policies. This is a no-brainer.
In a Facebook discussion, the Swiss eco-socialist activist Chris Zeller points out that the British “Your Party” makes no statement about climate change which threatens humanity – I wonder has the Catherine Connolly presidential campaign in Ireland made a climate change declaration?
Chris’s statement, which I endorse ” I have the impression that “Your Party” is no exception. In several European countries, we see that the traditional left and the trade unions are more or less consciously putting the ecological challenge on the back burner. I would go so far as to argue that the fossil fuel backlash we are seeing in all key sectors of capital has eaten deep into the traditional left and the trade unions.
We are currently less far along than we were possibly in 2019. However, the Earth system is changing abruptly. The effects will pose a concrete threat to the physical survival of a significant portion of humanity in just a few decades. Yet the imperialist countries – including trade unions and the left – assume that the suffering will spread far away from our societies in Europe and North America.
This, of course, raises important strategic questions. My working hypothesis is that we urgently need to build a transnational revolutionary eco-socialist vanguard. We need collectives and organisations that vigorously oppose the fossil fuel backlash and the power of fossil fuel capital in general.”
Paul Murphy TD Advocates an Ecosocialist Revolution
Possibly Catherine Connolly makes a good start here :
Statement, Ivana Bacik TD, Dublin Bay South. Labour Party Leader
“‘Since 2014, it is known that Russia has abducted nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children. Protests against this barbaric war crime are occurring all over the world, and Russia’s criminal actions have been condemned in the European Parliament and across EU Member States. I commend all activists who are taking part in protests against Russia’s abduction and deportation of Ukrainan children. I have raised this issue in Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament) and have demanded that the Irish government takes appropriate action to express the strongest possible condemnation of Russian war crimes.’”
Statement, John Boyle, General Secretary, Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO)
“ The INTO endorses the campaign to end the forceful transfer & deportation of Ukrainian children & return them all, ending the enforced Russification process & militarisation”
Statement. Cian O’Callaghan TD Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats (Spokesperson Foreign Affairs)
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine is unprecedented, unprovoked and perverse. Putin’s despotic behaviour and war crimes have irrevocably changed the geopolitical landscape and made us realise that we can no longer take peace in Europe for granted. One of the most sinister aspects of this invasion has been the thousands of Ukrainian children who have been taken from their homes and brought to Russia. I fully support the protest taking place on International Children’s Day calling for their safe return to their families and their homes.”
Statement, John Lyons, Independent Left, Dublin City Councillor In the three years of death, destruction, hardship and misery endured by the people of Ukraine as a result of the Russian Federation’s illegal invasion of their country, one particularly reprehensible and disturbing aspect of Putin’s war of aggression and annexation is the forcible transfer of at least 20,000 children and young people from Ukraine into Russia or Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine.
The Yale School of Medicine has summarised the scale of the crime against humanity involved: “Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine includes a systematic campaign of forcibly moving children from Ukraine into Russia, fracturing their connection to Ukrainian language and heritage through ‘re-education’, and even disconnecting children from their Ukrainian identities through adoption. Children documented by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) range in age from four months to 17 years, and many have families looking for them in Ukraine.”
As an elected representative of Dublin City Council I endorse the overwhelmingly supported May 8 resolution of the European Parliament, demanding the return from the Russian Federation of Abducted Ukrainian children and give my full support to the June 1 International Day of Action in support of this urgent cause.
June 1st is International Children’s Day, a day when people across the world raise awareness of the importance of children’s well-being and the need to protect them from all forms of violence and discrimination. Sadly, millions of children in Gaza, South Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere are having their lives taken, their futures destroyed.
For the children of Ukraine abducted by Russian forces, we must demand their immediate safe return to their families, to their homes and homeland.
Supporters Include : The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) The Labour Party The Social Democrats Party Dublin North City Branch (INTO)
Ivana Bacik TD Dublin Bay South (Leader, Labour party) Duncan Smith TD Dublin Fingal East (Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Labour party) Marie Sherlock TD Dublin Central (Health Spokesperson Labour party) Cian O’Callaghan TD Dublin Bay North (Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, the Social Democrats)
John Lyons Dublin City Councillor (Independent Left) Lesley Byrne Dublin City Councillor (Social Democrats)
Tanya Vyhovsky State Senator, Vermont, USA
European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine (ENSU) Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU)
Individual Personal Supporters Include :
Nóirín Greene (Senior Irish Trade Unionist) Des Derwin, Vice Chair, SIPTU Dublin District Council Tadhg Mac Pháidín, Teachers’ Club (Cumann na Múinteoirí) and INTO Gregor Kerr Dublin North City INTO Joanne Doyle, District 14 CEC Rep INTO Máire English, District 4 CEC Rep INTO Máire Lineen, District 15 CEC Rep INTO Peter O’Toole, District 7 CEC Rep INTO Seán Mullin, Chair INTO Lisburn Branch Sinéad Dowling, Craobh Dhún Laoghaire INTO Feargal Brougham, Dublin North East INTO Joe Duffy, Blanchardstown Branch INTO Caroline Farrell, Dublin Tolka INTO Noelle Moran, ASTI Global Solidarity Committee Kevin Doyle, Irish Writers Union Conor Kostick, Executive member Irish Writers Union James Kearney, Dún Laoghaire Labour Party Spark Deeley, illustrator Paddy Cole, Chairperson, Labour Party Trade Union Group Tracie Tobin District 13 CEC Rep INTO Kate Relihan, Blanchardstown Branch, INTO
Justice for Ukraine – Bring the Stolen Children Home June 1, 12.30pm, The Spire, O’Connell Street Dublin 1
Part of a Day of Action on June 1 2025, International Day for Children
Assemble Sunday June 1, 12.30pm The Spire, O’Connell Street
Statement, Ivana Bacik TD, Labour Party Leader
“‘Since 2014, it is known that Russia has abducted nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children. Protests against this barbaric war crime are occurring all over the world, and Russia’s criminal actions have been condemned in the European Parliament and across EU Member States. I commend all activists who are taking part in protests against Russia’s abduction and deportation of Ukrainan children. I have raised this issue in Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament) and have demanded that the Irish government takes appropriate action to express the strongest possible condemnation of Russian war crimes.’”
Statement, John Boyle, General Secretary, Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO)
“ The INTO endorses the campaign to end the forceful transfer & deportation of Ukrainian children & return them all, ending the enforced Russification process & militarisation”
Supporters Include :
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) The Labour Party
The Social Democrats Party
Ivana Bacik TD Dublin Bay South (Leader, Labour party)
Duncan Smith TD Dublin Fingal East (Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Labour party)
Marie Sherlock TD Dublin Central (Health Spokesperson Labour party)
John Lyons Dublin City Councillor (Independent Left) Lesley Byrne Dublin City Councillor (Social Democrats)
Tanya Vyhovsky State Senator, Vermont, USA
European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine (ENSU) Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU)
Individual Personal Supporters Include :
Nóirín Greene (Senior Irish Trade Unionist) Des Derwin, Vice Chair, SIPTU Dublin District Council Tadhg Mac Pháidín, Teachers’ Club (Cumann na Múinteoirí) and INTO Gregor Kerr Dublin North City INTO Joanne Doyle, District 14 CEC Rep INTO Máire English, District 4 CEC Rep INTO Máire Lineen, District 15 CEC Rep INTO Peter O’Toole, District 7 CEC Rep INTO Seán Mullin, Chair INTO Lisburn Branch Sinéad Dowling, Craobh Dhún Laoghaire INTO Feargal Brougham, Dublin North East INTO Joe Duffy, Blanchardstown Branch INTO Caroline Farrell, Dublin Tolka INTO Noelle Moran, ASTI Global Solidarity Committee Kevin Doyle, Irish Writers Union Conor Kostick, Executive member Irish Writers Union James Kearney, Dún Laoghaire Labour Party Spark Deeley, illustrator Paddy Cole, Chairperson, Labour Party Trade Union Group
Justice for Ukraine – Bring the Stolen Children Home June 1, 12.30pm, The Spire, O’Connell Street Dublin 1
Part of a Day of Action on June 1 2025, International Day for Children
Assemble Sunday June 1, 12.30pm The Spire, O’Connell Street
Statement, Ivana Bacik TD, Labour Party Leader
“‘Since 2014, it is known that Russia has abducted nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children. Protests against this barbaric war crime are occurring all over the world, and Russia’s criminal actions have been condemned in the European Parliament and across EU Member States. I commend all activists who are taking part in protests against Russia’s abduction and deportation of Ukrainan children. I have raised this issue in Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament) and have demanded that the Irish government takes appropriate action to express the strongest possible condemnation of Russian war crimes.’”
Statement, John Boyle, General Secretary, Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO)
“ The INTO endorses the campaign to end the forceful transfer & deportation of Ukrainian children & return them all, ending the enforced Russification process & militarisation”
Supporters Include :
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) The Labour Party
Ivana Bacik TD (Leader, Labour Party)
John Lyons Dublin City Councillor (Independent Left) Lesley Byrne Dublin City Councillor (Social Democrats) Nóirín Greene (Senior Irish Trade Unionist) Des Derwin, Vice Chair, SIPTU Dublin District Council Tadhg Mac Pháidín, Teachers’ Club (Cumann na Múinteoirí) Gregor Kerr (INTO) European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine (ENSU) Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU)
Deepest condolences to all Cathleen’s family, friends, feminists, socialists, community activists and neighbours. She was a true warrior for all sorts of progressive causes. a very inclusive person, good singer, and unafraid to speak very plainly and politely when it was necessary. She was great company. There are great memories. She helped make Kilbarrack Dublin and Ireland a better place, especially for women. John Meehan
I first met Cathleen in the mid 1980’s via her great friends Joe Kelly and Therese Caherty.
Here are a few memories
23 People launched The Alliance for a No Vote (ANV), October 6 2001 in Dublin. Ivana Bacik, a Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Law Professor, introduced the discussion. ANV spokespersons included Sinéad Ní Chúalacháin, Catherine Naji and Cathleen O’Neill.
Founding organisations :
Irish Family Planning Association; Irish Council for Civil Liberties Women’s Sub-Committee; Lawyers for Choice; Cork Women’s Right to Choose Group; Dublin Abortion Rights Group; Women’s Education Research & Resource Centre, UCD; Pro Choice Campaign; Socialist Party; Workers’ Solidarity Movement.
Bertie Ahern’s government tried to sneak in an anti-choice amendment to the Irish constitution overturning a 1992 Supreme Court decision which made abortion in Ireland legal in certain circumstances – the X Case Judgement. The pro-choice side won.
This report on the site of the Irish State Broadcaster RTÉ (Radio Telefís Éireann) is brutally clear : Verona Murphy’s mega-perk job chairing parliamentary meetings in the Dublin Dáil is on the line. The Wexford Beggar-Gombeen (BG) supported a 9 strong group of her like-minded colleagues who vote for the Fianna Fáil – Fine Gael (FFFG) Coalition Government to also enjoy speaking time rights belonging to opposition deputies. You could not make it up : the BG’s (some of them government ministers like Michael Healy-Rae) want to be government and opposition TD’s (Teachtaí Dála) [Dáil Deputies] simultaneously.
After a day of confusion, contradiction and just a hint of chaos, one moment made it crystal clear where the Dáil speaking rights row is likely to go next – and, just as importantly, who is now firmly in the political firing line.
As an until recently rare joint Opposition press conference began to wind down, Opposition leaders were asked for a show of hands on whether they still have confidence in Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy.
No hands went up. All stayed down.
A stoney silence speaking volumes.
The rarely unified opposition is mainly from the left. Although they do not have the numbers to defeat the FFFGBG coalition, they can make life impossible for Ceann Comhairle (speaker) Verona Murphy.
Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald was backed by Labour Party Leader Ivana Bacik
Deputy McDonald’s view was quickly repeated by other Opposition leaders, including Labour’s Ivana Bacik.
“I was particularly dismayed and disappointed to see the Ceann Comhairle push through the order of business in the face of clear opposition from members of the Opposition,” she said.
“We’re still processing what happened today because it is unprecedented, it was extraordinary to see how the business was conducted by the Ceann Comhairle and the Government today.
“It certainly will not end here for us,” Deputy Bacik added.
Richard Boyd-Barrett (People Before Profit) chimed in :
“I said it to the Ceann Comhairle today, that [what happened in the Dáil] was orchestrated, what happened today looked in every single way orchestrated,” said.
Mr Boyd Barrett added: “It happened too quickly, it was too organised, how they put through a vote that clearly was not agreed, how they suspended questions of promised legislation, how even when the two tellers who were supposed to have signed off on the vote didn’t and then immediately Mattie McGrath and Carol Nolan run down pre-prepared to sign off on the vote.
“There was winks and nods going on, the whole thing looked orchestrated, it’s sad that the Government have dragged the Ceann Comhairle into this debacle and it raises very serious issues of confidence in the Ceann Comhairle that we’re going to have to consider very seriously.”
McGrath (ex FF) and Nolan (ex SF) are Trump-like Beggar-Gombeen far-right Beggar-Gombeen TD’s who want to pretend they are part of a Dáil opposition!
Verona Murphy listens. Beggar-Gombeen King Michael Lowry SpeaksPeople Before Profit General Election Poster November 2025
The dogs on the street know FFFG have walked themselves into a black hole 🕳 – what happens next 🤔?
Will Verona Murphy Jump Before She is Pushed?
The government has a Dáil majority, but that is like the tip of a very dangerous iceberg.
No confidence
Given the repeated use of phrases like “very serious”, “questions to answer” and “very significant damage” to the Ceann Comhairle’s reputation, among the Opposition at least, the obvious next step would be for a no confidence motion in Ms Murphy.
Such a move would be unprecedented in modern political times, with the last time it came close to happening being during the John O’Donoghue expenses saga in October 2009.
While the exact end-result of the Veronagate scandal is unclear, only a fool would predict this will end well for the dodgy FFFGBG coalition.
Tomás Ó Flatharta 