“Be Patient and Never Give up the Struggle” An interview with Tommy McKearney
International Viewpoint has published a stimulating interview with Tommy McKearney,
http://www.tommymckearney.com/Site/Blog/Blog.html
Tommy McKearney - A Patient Revolutionary Socialist
We hope soon to carry a review of Tommy’s recently published book
Goodbye Armalite, Hello Ballot Box?
Tommy welcomes the United Left Alliance Project :
Q: In late 2010 the United Left Alliance came together to contest the February 2011 general elections in Ireland, winning five seats. What is you assessment of the ULA?
TM: The ULA is a positive and progressive development. The fact that organizations of the left have come together at any time is good and that these groups are doing so at this time of capitalist crisis is heartening and encouraging. The ULA has also given some needed visibility to the left through its articulate and high-profile spokespersons such as Richard Boyd Barrett and Joe Higgins.
Asked about Ed Moloney’s “Voices From the Grave” and the British state attack on the Boston College Belfast Project, Tommy says : Read the rest of this entry »
Anglo Bond Carnival: Dublin Council of Trade Unions urges unions and union members to support
The Dublin Council of Trade Unions has circulated the following letter to its delegates and affiliated trade unions:
19th January, 2012.
To each DCTU delegate, General Secretary or Senior Official
Dear Colleague,
A portion of the unsecured debt amounting to €1.25 billion will be handed over to ANGLO IRISH/IBRC bank on Wednesday 25th January 2012. How much budget pain could this sum solve?
This event should not pass withuout a protest.
A group called Occupy Anglo/IBRC, a loose offshoot of Occupy Dame Street are organising such a protest.
IT WILL BEGIN ON MONDAY 23rd JANUARY FROM 7 am to 5pm AT ANGLO IRISH BANK, ST. STEPHEN’S GREEN AND WILL CONTINUE ON 24th AND 25th JANUARY.
This will be a peaceful protest outside the bank and will include talks, teach-ins and music.
We urge all members to participate at some point during these three days.
Yours sincerely,
Sam Nolan
Correspondence Secretary
Letter ends
[Facebook page of Carnival organiser: http://www.facebook.com/events/280892235299369/]
Anglo Bond Payment; Carnival of Resistance, 23- 25 January
[Supported by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions.]
From the organisers’ facebook page:
( http://www.facebook.com/events/280892235299369/ )
You are cordially invited to the ‘Carnival of Resistance’ which runs from January 23rd to 25th. This event will take place at the former Anglo Irish Bank HQ on Stephens Green, and is designed to highlight the payment of E1.25 billion to the unsecured bondholders, of said bank.
The event has been organized by a collection of groups and individuals opposed to the payment, by Irish tax-payers, of debts owed by private banking corporations.
It is being supported by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions, who have called for a united front of all those opposed to the payment of these bonds.
The bondholders took a risk in investing in Anglo and their investment backfired, this is a private matter between the bank and its investors. It has nothing to do with the Irish people as such. We see no reason why we should cover these losses.
Over the course of the 3 days there will be live music with performances by (among others) The Barley Mob, members of Kila and the Fibbs.
Occupy University will be hosting a series of lectures over the course of the 3 days at 1.30 and 5.30. Among those speaking are John Bissett, Conor McCabe and Michael Taft.
* This is a family-friendly protest and we encourage members of the public to bring their children and enjoy the Carnival atmosphere.
With:
Spectacle Defiance Drummers-
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001791734951
Happy City Samba-
http://www.facebook.com/groups/61341416728/
Street Fest
streetfest.ie
MUSIC AND SPEAKERS
Line up:
MONDAY
———–
10-11am
Jesse Rodriguez
11-12pm
The Velvetones –
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Velvetones/241855982512119?sk=wall
12-1pm
Speaker
John Bissett
1-2pm.
DJ Mark Q
2-3pm
The Mistaken Dreams-
http://www.facebook.com/themistakendreams?ref=ts&sk=wall
3-4pm
Kila’s Eoin Dillon-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/K%C3%ADla/105670592800357?ref=ts&sk=info
4-5pm
Twin Headed Wolf-
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Twin-Headed-Wolf/112786932136037
5-6pm
Speaker
6-7pm
Elk –
http://www.facebook.com/elkmusic
7-8pm
Platonic Sex Act-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Platonic-Sex-Act/178252615549850
8pm
Teepee sessions with
Peter Pureheart-
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=510968150&sk=wall
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TUESDAY
________
10-11am
Jambo and Jonny Boy-
http://www.facebook.com/AthCliathRecords
11-12pm
Chase
12-1pm
Speaker
Mick O’ Reilly
1-2pm
The Animators-
http://www.facebook.com/TheAnimatorsIreland?ref=ts&sk=app_151503908244383
2- 3pm
DJ Guilty Boy
3-4pm
The McVeigh Sisters –
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ardua/113011932115279?sk=wall
4-5pm
Rufus Coates & the Blackened Trees-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rufus-Coates-the-Blackened-Trees/243289912381557
5-5:30pm
Jupiter & The Infinite –
https://www.facebook.com/onthedole1?sk=wall
5:30-6pm
Speaker
Conor McCabe
6-7pm
King Modo-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/KING-MODO/225595432109?ref=ts&sk=app_178091127385
7-8pm
Rise of the Hippies-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rise-of-the-Hippies/287971137910241?ref=ts&sk=wall
8-9pm
The Fibbs –
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Fibbs/118665698154831?sk=wall
9pm
Teepee sessions with
Peter Pureheart –
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=510968150&sk=wall
G Star
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WEDNESDAY
___________
10-11am
P-Starz-
https://www.facebook.com/pages/P-Starz/201319099992?sk=wall
11-12pm
Explosions on the Runway
12-1pm
Speaker
Michael Taft
1-2pm
Barry Krishna –
https://www.facebook.com/barrykrishnamusic?sk=info
2-3pm
Trap Door-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Trap-Door/28087421417?ref=ts&sk=app_2405167945
3-4pm
Garry O’Brien –
https://www.facebook.com/garryobrientunes?sk=wall
4-5pm
Eritrea-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/E-r-i-t-r-e-a/124235187661263
5-6pm
Speaker
Siohhan O’Donohue
6-7pm
General assembly
7- 8pm
The BaRLey Mob –
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-BaRLey-MOB/117200281625659?ref=ts
8-9pm
New Secret Weapon-
https://www.facebook.com/thensw
9pm
Teepee sessions with
Twin Headed Wolf-
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Twin-Headed-Wolf/112786932136037
Raven,
Helen Keller Experience
The Ghost of Captain Boycott and the Ladies’ Land League Stalks the Kenny-Gilmore Household Tax
The Dublin North TD Clare Daly (Socialist Party, United Left Alliance) has written a thoughtful article on the Household Tax
http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/column-why-the-household-charge-is-a-gateway-tax/
which we have reproduced in full below.
In a previous article on this site
some recommended reading gives us a flavour of Irish Resistance in Mayo during the Nineteenth Century.
A question was asked
Is “Enda Kenny, the Mayo Deputy, the New Captain Boycott?”
Women organised independently through the Ladies’ Land League, which was more radical than than its male equivalent – Anna Parnell was among its leaders :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Catherine_Parnell
Offices were given to the ladies but little help. The women held public meetings and encouraged country women to be active in withholding rent, in boycotting and in resisting evictions. They raised funds for the League and for the support of prisoners and their families. They distributed Land League wooden huts to shelter evicted tenant families and by the beginning of 1882 they had 500 branches, thousands of women members and considerable publicity.
Read the rest of this entry »
Vincent Browne Vs the Troika: Transcript and Broadcast; Street Protest at Department of Education
Two Worlds Collide
http://www.broadsheet.ie/2012/01/19/vincent-browne-vs-troika-the-transcript/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px43eINU2OM&feature=youtu.be&t=5m3s
It’s a knockout!
The body language is eloquent.
On Vincent’s TV3 late night news show (Thursday January 19) the policy of paying billions to unsecured bondholders is linked to the the DEIS mass demonstration outside the Department of Education earlier in the day.
Two Worlds Collide, Cosy EU Commission Office, Angry Marlborough Street Protest, Same Day
United Left Alliance Conference – Scheduled for February 4 2012 – Postponed For One Month Only
We have received reliable information that, following a People Before Profit request, the United Left Alliance Conference has been
put back for one month to allow for more preparation time.
At the time of writing we do not know if the conference will have an agenda and structure identical to this :
https://tomasoflatharta.com/2012/01/12/united-left-alliance-conference-4th-february/
Or if the steering committee has something different in mind.
Clearly this is still good advice :
Branches are encouraged to meet prior to the conference to discuss the issues facing the ULA. Branches should encourage as many members as possible to attend.
All enquiries should be sent to
We look forward to a successful ULA Conference on Saturday March 3 Next.
– The Editors.
ULA post-Budget rally; Wynns Hotel, Dublin, 13th December
In the wait for a conference ULA supporters might be interested in this footage (you can be there!) of the ULA post-Budget rally at Wynns Hotel, Dublin, on 13th December. The well attended event was notable in that various components of the ULA were impelled to put forward their various (and differing) perspectives for the ULA.
Thanks to Paula Geraghty – again – for the great videos, and to Julian at ‘We are Rag Bags’ for originally posting the clips. the link to them is below. They are vids of the three opening platform speeches and do not contain the discussion from the floor or the speakers’ summing ups at the end (of special interest in themselves). I have notes of these sections of the meeting and intend to write them up for Tomás in the near future. If we can’t have the real thing we’ll have the virtual! 🙂
DD
—
—
—
http://weareragbags.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/decemberrallyclips/
United Left Alliance Conference – Scheduled for February 4 2012 – Postponed
The United Left Alliance Conference will not take place on February 4 next, as previously advised – an e-mail says :
Dear all,
due to lack of time it was proposed and agreed that the United Left Alliance Conference for 2012 will be postponed until a later date. Therefore, the steering committee will be meeting next week to discuss the rearrangements which will be circulated to members as soon as possible.
Also, we would like to bring your attention to the fact that TDs Clare Daly and Richard Boyd Barrett from the United Left Alliance will meet representatives from the EU/IMF/ECB Troika later today, Tuesday 17th January, and their statements will be circulated tomorrow.
Finally, we urge everybody to be part of the mass campaign against the household tax and help promote the work in the area. Meetings are being organised all over the country and the feedback we are getting is very encouraging. Please note that the hotline number for the campaign is 1890989800.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us for any information or help for campaigns in your area.
We do not know if the conference will have an agenda and structure identical to this :
https://tomasoflatharta.com/2012/01/12/united-left-alliance-conference-4th-february/
Or if the steering committee has something different in mind.
Clearly this is still good advice :
Branches are encouraged to meet prior to the conference to discuss the issues facing the ULA. Branches should encourage as many members as possible to attend.
All enquiries should be sent to
Tomás Ó Flatharta 