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 …
Simon Pirani offers extremely useful insights which are relevant to every European country, including Ireland.
Insight 1
On the political side, socialists in Nordic countries are streets ahead of us in the UK, perhaps because they are geographically closer to Russia. Bjarke Friborg of the Red-Green Alliance in Denmark underlined in a recent interview the “very real” threat posed by Putin’s regime, “not necessarily in terms of ‘tanks rolling into Paris’, but certainly as a threat to democracy, sovereignty and the principle that borders can not be changed by brute force”. He continued: We oppose Russian imperialism just as we have opposed American and NATO imperialism: not by supporting one bloc against another, but by defending the right of peoples to self-determination and supporting democratic and progressive forces in Russia and its client state, Belarus.
Globally, the Russian government has gained from this war because the price of oil has increased, and the Trump administration has lifted sanctions on Russia’s sale of oil. Russia has also gained because the anti-missile systems that Ukraine and Europe were buying from the U.S. to help defend Ukraine against Russia’s brutal imperialist invasion of that country are now going to the Middle East. Russia is also helping the Iranian government by sharing secret information about U.S. targets. The Chinese government has also gained from this war, because the U.S. government will pay less attention to the Pacific Region and might even allow China to proceed with its plans to take over Taiwan.
Frieda Afary, ESSF, March 15 2026
IV. What Can International Progressives Do Now? First: Do anything you can to stop this war. Educate, speak out, protest, put pressure on your government representatives and independent intellectuals. In the case of the United States, public opinion is currently 60% against this war. Most people don’t want to send their children to fight in the Middle East. Half the adult population is opposed to the Trump administration’s attacks on and detention/deportation of innocent immigrants. There is also a great deal of anger about the ways in which mostly wealthy men including Trump, other politicians and even academics have collaborated with and benefited from the late Jeffrey Epstein’s network for trafficking of women and girls for rape and sexual abuse. All of these questions need to be addressed in articulating an anti-war message. Second: Reach out to progressives in the Middle East or Middle Eastern progressives abroad. Do not limit yourself to talking only about one struggle or one country in the Middle East. Third: Oppose campism, take a clear stand against all global and regional capitalist-imperialist powers and defend the rights and humanity of the peoples that these powers are oppressing. Fourth: Address key issues that are holding back our struggles: racial and ethnic discrimination, patriarchy, capitalist exploitation, and capitalist alienation.
This excellent article appeared in the Friday March 20 2026 issue of the Irish Times :
Concerning the differences between the Ukrainian and Russian States, Catriona Crowe hits the nail on the head :
Casualties are breaking down at a ratio of 2-2.5 to 1, with Russia suffering the largest proportion, according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. While the international press can report from Ukraine, although with some difficulty and considerable danger from the front lines, the Kremlin has detained at least 27 journalists since 2022, and 355 international journalists have been branded “foreign agents”.
Irish Times March 20 2026
Catriona Crowe: The brave few risking everything to unmask Putin’s Russia
The Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody against Putin is a record of something totally unseen in the world outside Russia
Ukraine is now in the fifth year of its war with Russia, an unprovoked invasion of a sovereign state based on Vladimir Putin’s desire to reconstitute the Russian Empire. It is estimated that casualties for both sides (killed, wounded and missing) will amount to two million sometime this year.
ICE is an enemy of Palestine, Ukraine and opponents of the barbaric Trump-Friendly régime of Vladimir Putin
The aircraft, a Gulfstream V operated by ICE charter Journey Aviation, left the ICE hub of Mesa, AZ, at 2:28 a.m. local time Wednesday, and landed at Shannon Airport eight and a half hours later. The plane continued on to Cairo International Airport, which ICE has previously used to transfer Russian dissidents and asylum-seekers to Egyptian authorities, who then force them onto planes to Moscow.
Three and a half days after the ICE flight through Shannon Airport. Multiple phone calls and emails to the Gardai, and we’ve heard nothing from them on what action they took to investigate. I’ve been told by one officer that there is nothing on the PULSE record except my initial report.
Three and a half days after the ICE flight through Shannon Airport. Multiple phone calls and emails to the Gardai, and we've heard nothing from them on what action they took to investigate. I've been told by one officer that there is nothing on the PULSE record except my initial report.
I take this opportunity to recommend this excellent article from Kavita Krishnan which she published in early December. (see below).
Noam Chomsky could afford terrible statements about the systematic mass murders and genocidal wars in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Syria. Even during the Russian mass terror against the Ukrainian people, he raised more understanding of the aggressor than the attacked population.
His support for Epstein reveals the same pattern. The Indian feminist Marxist Kavita Krishnan puts his behaviour into the broader context.
This email from Chomsky to Epstein proves that he wasn’t just giving his friend the benefit of doubt, not knowing the full nature and extent of his crimes. He was actively colluding with Epstein, strategising about how to deal with the revelations about those crimes in the press.
It’s not that Chomsky was incapable of empathy – he was, but he had empathy only for the unfortunate predator, victimised by a journalist who was nuisance enough to put faces and voices to a gaggle of female accusers generating a ‘hysteria’ of solidarity.
What Chomsky calls ‘horrible’ treatment of Epstein by the press, was the November 2018 piece in the Miami Herald, ‘Perversion of Justice’ – Julie Brown’s stellar investigative journalism exposing the secret deal struck a decade ago that betrayed scores of children trafficked and abused by him, who had found the courage to help police build a cast iron case.
This email must go on his tombstone, it must feature in every obituary when he passes, it is not just a stain on his political legacy, it IS integral to his legacy. His collusion with Epstein is a result of the same abstract geopolitical doctrine that passed for his politics, one that allowed him to deny the humanity of victims of horrific mass crimes against humanity – in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Syria, Ukraine, China.
(Edited the post for accuracy, people pointed out he was calling his accusers hysterical, not the girls. He does use hysteria again, to refer to the public response to accusations of abuse of women.)
On 1 March 2025, the family uploaded “Puppets on a Kremlin String,” about the betrayal of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, to the tune of Coldplay’s song “Viva La Vida“. The Marshes write, “Our version takes the sense of history, the pain, the trauma, and the notion of world rule, and applies it to the most disgusting media spectacle to date – with already several to choose from – of the new US administration. Like many around the world, as well as disheartened friends in the US, we watched the undignified ambush of Zelensky’s trip to the White House with dismay and pity. It was a very unbecoming sight – just at a human level – even without all the higher stakes, deals, implications, and nightmares unfolding as another win is handed to Putin, and more pressure placed on Ukraine. Like many we are hoping for a miraculous path forward that can somehow turn Trump’s intensity into an outcome that can transform into a lasting peace – but given how misdirected the fury and energy and narrative is at the moment, it’s quite hard to see it turning out other than a quickfire US withdrawal of support. If that happens, we’re in a cowardly new world.”
Most left-wing forces in Ireland favour a foreign policy called Neutrality
This is inaccurate language.
Most Irish people understand Neutrality to mean opposition to military alliances such as NATO, opposition to Irish participation in imperialist adventures abroad, and opposition to general imperialist rearmament.
This policy is 100 per cent correct.
But this policy is not “Neutrality”.
Neutrality – A Clear Definition
The state of being neutral or of being unengaged in a dispute or contest between others; the taking of no part on either side; in international law, the attitude and condition of a nation or state which does not take part directly or indirectly in a war between other states, but maintains relations of amity with all the contending parties.
is the quality or state of being neutral, particularly in the context of not participating in a conflict or war between other parties. It involves maintaining an impartial stance and not favoring any side in a dispute.
A chicken comes home to roost in connection with approving a loan to Ukraine (See below).
The left must not be “neutral” when imperialist powers attack smaller nations
“Ukraine, Palestine, Occupation is a Crime”.
We should, for example be
For Palestine and Ukraine – Against USA and Russian Imperialism.
For Greenland against USA, Russian and Danish imperialism
For Iran against USA Imperialism
For Venezuela Against USA imperialism..
In all these cases using the words Irish neutrality is nonsense – and there are plenty of similar cases.
That means the left in Ireland should say it favours a policy of “Non-Alignment” – as opposed to a policy of “Neutrality”.
It is better to use honest language.In fact, it is my understanding that exactly this observation was made by a tiny band of leftists in Ireland during World War 2. It meant, in those far-off days, saying Yes to Irish Neutrality, and Yes to Anti-fascism (concretely : in favour of political asylum in Ireland for victims of the German Nazis).
We reproduce two important posts issued by UNDI – Ukrainian Diaspora of Ireland.
John Meehan February 1 2026
Protest in Dublin: Solidarity with the People of Iran Against the Ayatollah Regime
Friends, Ukrainians and Irish people!
Our Iranian friends are organizing a peaceful solidarity protest with the people of Iran, who are now bravely fighting against the inhuman regime of the ayatollahs. We call on everyone to join and show that freedom will not be left without support.
For weeks, the regime has been shutting down the internet to hide the mass killings of peaceful protesters. Hospitals are being terrorized, and people are being shot simply for shouting: “Woman, Life, Freedom!” Over the past weeks, thousands have been killed — one of the largest crimes against a country’s own population happening in the world today.
This is our shared struggle. The ayatollahs supply Putin with thousands of Shahed drones and military technologies used in the war against Ukraine, while Russian security services help them remain in power. Every act of solidarity sends a clear message: dictators will not go unpunished, and peoples will not be left alone in fear.
Why it is important to be there:
To support people who risk their lives for freedom.
To show that Ukrainians stand with those fighting against repression and terror.
To strengthen international pressure on a regime that commits violence against its own citizens.
To demonstrate unity against tyranny: the freedom of Iran is part of the global struggle for rights and dignity — a struggle Ukraine understands deeply.
Location: O’Connell Street Upper, Dublin
Date: 1 February 2026
Time: 12:00 – 13:00
Come with flags, posters, your voice and your heart. Every person present is a force of support for those fighting for life and dignity.
Glory to Ukraine!
Freedom for Iran!
Protest in Dublin, GPO: Solidarity with the People of Iran Against the Ayatollah Regime February 1 2026Protest in Dublin, GPO: Solidarity with the People of Iran Against the Ayatollah Regime, February 1 2026
Sinn Féin’s Dangerous Double Standards on Ukraine
The Ukrainian community in Ireland is watching closely how political parties respond to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Activist Garrett Mullan highlighted the issue in his post: https://www.facebook.com/share/1B5EoYFpoL/. Sinn Féin published pro-Russian statements for years, and only after the full-scale invasion in 2022 did they remove thousands of old articles from their website: https://www.independent.ie/…/sinn-fein…/41443385.html.
At the time, this was clearly embarrassing for the party, but even worse would have been if the public had seen Sinn Féin’s real positions. Mary Lou McDonald tried to align the party with the consensus supporting Ukraine and appeared at a few rallies outside the Russian embassy, but most party representatives stayed on the sidelines.
Now Pearse Doherty shows what Sinn Féin really represents today. According to his statement in the Dáil: https://www.thejournal.ie/eu-loan-to-ukraine-pearse…/, he wants to cut funding to Ukraine — even as 600,000 households in Kyiv remain without electricity in -20°C temperatures. He complains that EU funds are used for military purposes — but what else should they be used for when a neighboring country is bombing homes, schools, hospitals, and critical infrastructure?
These are double standards, and they put Europe’s stability at risk. Supporting Ukraine is not charity — it is an investment in Europe’s security.
We thank Garret Mullan for speaking out clearly and courageously. Political parties must take a firm and consistent stance in support of Ukraine. Actions matter: financial aid, political advocacy, and countering Russian propaganda all strengthen Ukraine and defend Europe.
Silence or half-measures only help the aggressor. It’s up to all of us to stand on the side of freedom and justice. Ukraine’s fight is Europe’s fight, and every voice and action counts.
Dáil Éireann Supports Funding for Ukraine, January 27 2026
Pearse Doherty TD (Sinn Féin) is mistakenly implying that the funding is mostly for arms. The €210 billion allocation prioritizes industry integration (industry, of course, will include military production), financial stability and loan repayments.
Category
Amount
Purpose
Industry integration
€115 billion
Expand Ukraine’s manufacturing capacity and integrate into Europe’s, with “Buy European & Ukrainian” rules limiting non-EU/EEA/Ukraine components to 35%.
Macro-financial assistance
€50 billion
Direct budget support to cover financing gaps and maintain state functions.
G7 ERA loan repayment
€45 billion
Repay prior G7 loans using immobilized Russian asset revenues.
A Ukrainian veteran living in Ireland posted in reply to Sinn Fein’s new Ukraine position. Being anti-imperialist means opposing all imperialism, not just British, American and Israeli imperialism.
…………..
I am a veteran of the Ukrainian army. I was wounded on the front line, I lost my leg, my health and the life I once had. My hometown is 15 kilometers from the war zone, people are dying every day, houses are collapsing. Russia has turned our future into ruins. So when I hear Sinn Féin talking about cutting support for Ukraine, I don’t hear “neutrality” or “peace” – I hear betrayal and a direct gift to Putin. Undermining aid to Ukraine means continuing the war, more missiles on civilians, more children killed, more soldiers losing limbs, as happened to me. Supporting Ukraine is supporting the life and security of Europe, and anyone who plays with that is on the wrong side of history.
Excerpt from a reliable media source “Both the Labour Party and the Social Democrats asked for assurances that Ireland’s element of the loan would be aligned with our policy of military neutrality.
Junior Minister Marian Harkin said: ‘The Government will ensure the funding provided by Ireland is aligned with our well-established policy of military neutrality as has been the case to date.’
Sinn Féin voted against the motion, as did Independent Ireland TDs and People Before Profit and Aontú. The vote was carried by 92 to 38, with the Social Democrats and Labour Party voting with the Government.
According to the European Commission’s website, Ireland contributed €3.69billion to the overall EU budget in 2023, which stood at around $248billion for all 27 member states that year. This amounts to 1.48% of the EU budget. This would mean that should Ireland have to cover its portion of the loan to Ukraine, it would pay around €1.3billion.” – Irish Daily Mail
Michael Taft, a researcher employed by the SIPTU trade union makes a very good proposal.
The President of the USA is backing reactionary genocidal actors in many parts of the globe – Ukraine, Palestine – and threatening the people of Iran, Venezuela, and Greenland – the list is growing.
Commentary on Irish Political Economy by Michael Taft, researcher for SIPTU
Abandon Paddy’s Day
January 12, 2026
Progressive parties and civil society groups should jointly campaign to force the Government to drop the annual St. Patrick Day’s visit to the White House. There is almost nothing to gain from such a visit and it can only perpetuate what Eoin Burke-Kennedy describes as the ‘Fawning, sycophantic, obsequious [and] “strategic self-emasculation’ approach to the US Administration pursued by Europe and Ireland.
“I don’t need international law . . . [the only limit to my power] is my morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.’
In the last year the US bombed Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Venezuela, Syria and Nigeria. It has threatened to invade or annex Panama, Canada, Mexico, Columbia, Cuba and Greenland. It armed the Israeli government’s genocidal attacks on Gaza.
It has withdrawn from 66 international organisations (a full list is here), including vital climate change bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
‘The document points to the “patriotic European parties”—a reference to the hard right as represented by France’s National Rally, the United Kingdom’s Reform party, and the Alternative for Germany—as America’s real allies in Europe. Its stated goal of “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations” amounts to a policy of constitutional regime change . . . it is the language of tyranny.’
‘America is, understandably, sentimentally attached to . . . Britain and Ireland. The character of these countries is also strategically important . . . we want to work with aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness.’
And it just so happens that Steven Bannon, an important Trump ally and MAGA organiser, is already in Ireland:
‘I’m spending a ton of time behind the scenes on the Irish situation to help form an Irish national party , , , [Ireland is] going to have an Irish Maga, and we’re going to have an Irish Trump. That’s all going to come together. That country is right on the edge thanks to mass migration.’
Trashing international law, bombing countries and threatening others, pursuing ‘constitutional regime change’ throughout Europe and Ireland: does this deserve a bowl of shamrock?
Humiliation Redux
It’s not as if the Irish Government is ignorant of what could be in store for them on St. Patrick’s Day. Remember the humiliation it received last year. The Taoiseach received an invitation to the White House late in the day (only 12 days’ notice) and it wasn’t even for St. Patrick’s Day. Of course, the President might have been too busy to meet with the Taoiseach. But Trump and Elon Musk had time to meet Conor McGregor on the day, despite the fact that McGregor had been found guilty of rape by a High Court civil jury.
So why would Trump meet McGregor on St Patrick’s Day rather than the elected representative of the Irish people? According to The Times:
‘The Trump family have deepened their business connections with Conor McGregor with the promise of a $23 million investment in one of the form MMA fighter’s business ventures . . . MMA Inc., an American listed martial arts training company . . . Last September Donald Trump Jr. was announced as a “strategic advisor” to the company.’
The Irish Government will have to come up with something special to compete for the US President’s attention.
What’s the Point?
It is difficult to understand what can be achieved with a visit to the White House on St. Patrick’s Day – that’s if the Irish Government even gets an invitation. There is little political influence Ireland can exert given that Trump has scant regard for international opinion (especially European opinion), never mind international law. If anything, a shamrock-as-usual approach is likely to feed Trump’s belief he can act with little blowback. And it is highly unlikely the Taoiseach would sit down in the Oval Office with the US President and, in front of the cameras, lecture him about a rules-based world order.
There is the foreign investment angle; namely, that Ireland needs to maintain inward US investment and, therefore, refusing to meet the US President could stem the flow of US investment. This doesn’t stand up. Over the St. Patrick’s day holiday, Irish Ministers and representatives can continue to meet with American CEOs, as they have done in the past, based on the work of Irish civil servants in US consulates around the country.
Indeed, Ireland might even get some quiet kudos from American CEOs. Trump has made it his business to humiliate CEOs who are reduced to bringing gifts of gold to the White House. The IDA reports that US companies are so cowed by the Trump administration that they don’t release information on investments and job creation here for fear of retribution from Washington. Ireland provides something that Trump derides – consistency and stability. A bowl of shamrock will not impact this dynamic.
“Where we see challenging behaviour, we have to call it out, and unfortunately there’s been a lot of that from the US . . . So we will always use our voice, however small it might seem”.
What’s the best way to call out ‘challenging behaviour’? Refusing to visit the White House over the St. Patrick’s Day period. This would be a clear statement that Ireland opposes Trump’s arbitrary, chaotic foreign policy; a clear statement of support for a rules-based international order; a rejection of Trump’s ethno-nationalist portrayal of Europe (‘civilisational erasure’); and a determination to stop American nativist ideologues interfering in Irish and European democracy.
The parties that made up the ‘Connolly coalition’ should come together, with civil society organisations, to campaign against a St. Patrick’s Day visit to the White House – putting forward the arguments, mobilising public opinion and showing the power of progressive cooperation on a key foreign affairs event.
However, it is unlikely the Irish Government will concede. So the opposition parties should plan out an alternative St. Patrick’s Day visit with the participation of opposition party leaders and representatives along with civil society activists. This could include solidarity visits to cities that are under siege: Minneapolis, Chicago and Portland. The party representatives could meet with social constituencies that are struggling under Trump’s rule – in particular, the US trade union movement.
Indeed, there could be an alternative ceremony complete with a bowl of shamrocks Why not hold it in New York City and give the bowl to the newly elected Mayor, Zohran Mamdami? The symbolism would be profound, popular and progressive.
And, without interfering in US electoral politics, if the opposition to a White House visit provokes those sections of Irish America who previously supported Trump to re-think their political support – then we will have done the world a service.
That is how you make even a small voice speak loudly.
Location: O’Connell Street Upper, Dublin
Date: 1 February 2026
Time: 12:00 – 13:00
Tomás Ó Flatharta 