Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Archive for the ‘Racism’ Category

Rory Hearne accuses Ciaran Mullooly of ‘hypocrisy’ in scathing attack on the “Independent Ireland” racist party – a wolf in Blueshirt clothes

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This is an Irish Independent Story, June 3 2024.

A few ex Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Dáil Deputies formed Independent Ireland (IIP) recently, led by a man with a famous name, Michael Collins TD (Cork South-West).  The 1922 pro-treaty inheritors of the dead Michael Collins legacy went on to establish the failed fascist Blueshirts in the 1930’s led by Fine Gael’s first president Eoin O’Duffy.

The IIP is running two well known broadcasters (Ciarán  Mullooly and Niall Boylan) in the European elections.

Social Democrat Euro-Parliament candidate Rory Hearne presents a convincing left-wing anti-racist case against the IIP wolf in Blueshirt clothes.


Rory Hearne accuses Ciaran Mullooly of ‘hypocrisy’ in scathing attack on Independent Ireland

Rory Hearne. Social Democrat Candidate. Euro-Parliament. Ireland North-West


“Why won’t Mullooly and others call for tougher action against the real causes of the housing and homelessness crisis – the vulture funds and corporate landlords locking people out of a home, evicting people and raising the rents?”

Mr Hearn said Independent Ireland offers “no solutions” for the problems that have been caused due to a lack of accommodation.

“The election next week will set the course of Ireland and Europe for many years to come. Are we to turn into a divided society?

“Or are we going to come together and address the real causes of the ­crises, work on solutions together, and treat migrants and asylum-seekers with the dignity every human being deserves, and see migrants for how they positively contribute to and ­enrich our country.”

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Scumbags in Dublin who stop immigrants getting shelter – the Dublin government is “punching down” says a group of 30 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s)

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Street Photographer Chris Reid reports :

Barriers replace tents on Mount Street and along the Grand Canal. Barriers now extend along the Grand Canal from Mount Street to South Richmond Street. Good luck to the people in the tents getting through this mess.


Well done Chris. There is no political and moral difference between the actions of the arsonists and racist protesting scum who try to prevent asylum seekers getting shelter in hostels or hotels – and the actions of government ministers and functionaries – like Harris the Taoiseach and Harris the Garda boss. Double-standard “opposition” politicians who dog-whistle to the racists saying “No Open Borders” – E.g. the Sinn Féin Justice spokesperson Donnacha Ó Laoghaire – also share the blame. Genuine anti-racists can and will do much better.

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General election 2024 (Britain): Sunak throws the dice

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General election 2024 (Britain): Sunak throws the dice : “Drowning Street” plus “Things Can Only Get Wetter”

Thursday 23 May 2024, by  KELLAWAY Dave

Dave Kellaway reacts to Rishi Sunak’s surprise call for a July 4 general election

  Contents  


From Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF) link :

https://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article70844

Sometimes the beginning contains the end. ‘Drowning Street’ and ‘Things can only get wetter’ were among the headlines in the newspapers the day after Rishi Sunak’s announcement of the July 4th general election. He hoped for gravitas and drama that could somehow jolt the polls. Instead, he stood there getting completely pissed on. His voice was drowned out by an anti-Brexit protester broadcasting the 1997 Blair anthem, Things will only get better. It is almost as though his team hung him out to dry (or rather to get drenched). Was there really no staffer who knew that the police cannot stop you playing loud music at the bottom of Downing Street? Nobody to even hold an umbrella for the leader? All this expresses his isolation and the dire state of the Tory party as well as a complete lack of political nous.

A few minutes later you had Keir Starmer looking composed and prime ministerial in front of not just one, but two Union Jacks. He gave an intelligible, brisk speech summed up in the word on the rostrum – Change. Labour is not really going to change much but it does not look like it will lose the marketing campaign. Sunak’s excruciating performance was a bit like watching West Ham smashed last week – you knew the game was up when Man City’s Foden scored within two minutes. Nobody doubted the inevitable, City was going to win the league. Images count in elections where most voters get their news from the TV and non-print media.

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Rory Hearne: Tackling Housing Crisis & Far-Right in Ireland | European Elections

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Link : Rory Hearne – We need Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to be decimated

“We Need Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to be Decimated”

Readers can note a welcome statement here in solidarity with Ukraine against the Russian imperialist far-right invaders :

In terms of the broader issues facing Europe, the EU has largely gone for a containment strategy against Russia in the Ukrainian war. It’s difficult to see too any other viable approach, given that the continent is faced with such a dangerous – not to mention nuclear-armed – adversary in Vladimir Putin. It truly is an absolute nightmare.

“It is,” nods Hearne. “Europe has responded in the best way it could. We rightfully absolutely opposed the horrific invasion of Ukraine. There’s no question the Russian invasion is imperialist, and it was horrific watching it. I would support how the EU has responded, and I’m proud of Ireland taking in Ukrainian refugees. What I’d say is we have to continue to support Ukraine. I think we also need to find ways of peace, and ways of not creating a permanent war there.”

See also : Ukraine and Palestine: building real solidarity is hard work

The left in Ireland needs to commit itself to a policy of no governmental coalition with the political right in any circumstances. See here : Vote left transfer pact June 7 2024 – positive PBP proposal

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Swastika cut into poster in sinister Far Right threat to socialist candidate – Irish Local and European Elections campaign, 2024 – Safety Measures Urgently Needed

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Far-Right agitators in Ireland are escalating their attacks.

Ruth Coppinger, a Solidarity- People Before Profit candidate in Castleknock, and a former Dublin West TD, is the latest target.

Ruth’s press statement below explains the context well, and she makes an excellent proposal :

I am going to make contact with other parties / candidates – in particular those in opposition and on the left who are targeted more by the far right  – to suggest that  a central log of incidents and threats should be kept in order to take measures for the safety of all those ordinary activists who come out and campaign, as well as community safety in general.
“The far right can’t be allowed to create an atmosphere designed to frighten and to limit the campaigns of the left

Swastika cut into poster in sinister Far Right threat to socialist candidate 

A “menacing atmosphere” is being generated by the far right according to a former TD and local election candidate who has had a swastika cut into her image on an election poster. Ruth Coppinger,  socialist candidate with People Before Profit-Solidarity in Castleknock ward, Fingal, says  supporters found the poster and that “it shows the danger of the far right in these elections, the threat they are to safety and how they would take away democratic rights.”

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USA President Genocide Joe Biden

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What public figure do you disagree with the most?

Genocide Joe Biden has the blood of thousands of innocent Gazans on his hands.

“Vote Left” Transfer Pact in June 2024 Irish Elections? – A Positive People Before Profit Initiative

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People Before Profit is proposing a “Vote Left” transfer pact to operate in the June 2024 Local and European Elections, 26 Counties

Presenting this positive initiative Paul Murphy TD said

He was fully aware that there would be different perspectives and, but People Before Profit “sees this as just the start of a process to form a left alternative.”

Paul Murphy TD
PBP TD’s Richard Boyd-Barrett, Paul Murphy, and Brid Smith

Link :

PBP Vote Left Transfer Pact Proposal

A useful detailed discussion is taking place on the Cedar Lounge Revolution Blog

(Link : The Cedar Lounge Revolution)

A correspondent, IrishElectionLiterature, opened the discussion on a positive note :

Link :

Vote left, Transfer left, Then What?

In the article below, important points from the discussion are highlighted.

This is a serious matter, especially in a context where it is necessary to confront and defeat the extreme racist right.


Colm Breathnach offers a very good template :

Just a personal thing, but here’s my own general set of rules when it comes to voting where a Proportional Representation system is in operation (obviously First Pat The Post system is much more challenging in terms of decisions):

  1. Start with the furthest left and keep voting until you reach the border of what you consider to be the left (for me, that’s social democratic or social liberal parties). Of course that border can shift – the Irish Greens were once inside my border of “left”, now they are definitely outside.
  2. Exclude candidates who consistently hold reactionary positions regardless of their ostensible politics – favour genocide, homophobic etc etc. So the Daly’s of the world don’t feature or let’s say a centre left candidate who justified Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
  3. Adjust to take account of specific concerns which one might deem important for progress to radical transformation of society. So for example you may alter your ranking to the take into account the candidates position on climate change or Irish unity etc.

Colm continues :

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Ireland’s Open(ish) Border : “selective Garda passport checks on the Border already take place, at times on the basis of quite blatant racial discrimination” – Statement by Human Rights Organisations and Trade Unions

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A number of Irish human rights organizations and Trade Unions have issued a very strong statement following a stampede of racist publicity concerning “Open Borders”.

Here is an example from the Sunday Independent (May 5 2025)

Do you believe there should be checkpoints at the border with Northern Ireland to limit the number of asylum-seekers coming from the U.K.?

The newspaper published this summary of its survey :

Once again, Andrew Flood offers a devastating reply

With the trap carefully baited & Sinn Féin blundering into it here’s the spring being sprung. Farage & Dowson cackling with glee as their weird investment pays off. It’s a trap all the way down of course because …

Andrew Flood

It gets dafter – 82% want to go through an expensive deportation process to somewhere we have a common travel area with & where people deported can just walk back across any of the 400+ border crossing points again you can see where accepting this logic rapidly leads

Andrew Flood
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Weak Arm of the Law in the 26 County bit of Ireland – Police “Hug-a-Thug” Policy imported from the 6 County bit of Ireland

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The boss of An Garda Síochána (police force in the 26 county bit of Ireland), Drew Harris, was recruited from the cops in the 6 county bit of Ireland. The people running the two states in partitioned Ireland have developed very close social, political and personal relationships since the the 1998 triumph of the Good Friday Agreement. I recently circulated details of Harris’s “Hug-a-Thug” policy towards growing far-right violence in the 26 counties to a 6 county political activist, who commented this was “reminiscent of the historic style of policing up here”.

Ruling class forces were extremely happy about the continuation of partition guaranteed by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. They did not foresee that the foundations of partition in Ireland are more rotten than their constitutional plan conceding a Unionist Veto to a majority of the voting population of the six county state. The Brexit referendum result of 2016 lit a slow-burning fuse under the GFA structure; in the meantime we are witnessing the creation of a possible “United Ireland from Hell” which consists of knitting together the most reactionary features of both partitioned states in Ireland.

The following article from the Cedar Lounge Revolution Blog powerfully illustrates the dangers arising from importing 6 county softly-softly policing methods towards the far-right (loyalist paramilitaries), fine-tuned by Garda boss Drew Harris.

John Meehan April 22 2024


Weak Arm of the Law – Cedar Lounge Blog

Link : Weak Arm of the Law – Cedar Lounge Blog

So, Friday comes the news that the previous night:

Gardaí were called to the home of Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman on Thursday night when a gang of up to 12 masked men gathered outside his house and huge placards and banners were stretched across his driveway gate, along his wall and fastened to outside polls.

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Dublin Far-Right Racist Connections – A Sunday Independent story highlighted by Paul Murphy TD

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Far-right racists regularly target Paul Murphy TD (People Before Profit), Dublin South-West. These sinister activists picket the homes of elected politicians; a few days ago they targeted the home of Green Party Minister Roderic O’Gorman, who is gay and is responsible for the housing of immigrants.

Paul Murphy observes :

Good that some media is finally drawing the obvious link between the far-right and the disgusting intimidatory scenes outside Roderic O’Gorman’s house.

This isn’t a lack of civility in politics.

It’s an organised attempt to undermine democratic rights.

https://twitter.com/paulmurphy_TD/status/1781954648292683804?t=c3ttmKhAR-_G9oNaoBVPyA&s=19

Picketing family homes is from the same playbook as burning 🔥 immigrants’ accommodation, city centre riots such as November 23 2023 in Dublin, and propaganda  attacking the rights of specific national groups. 

We offer one example: Ukrainians forced to live in Ireland, fleeing from Russia’s genocidal war.

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