Nonaligned ULA members (a few) meet in Dublin
A small meeting for nonaligned ULA members was held in Dublin on Saturday. The short notice and confined notification obviously affected the attendance.
This turned out to be the Dublin leg of a series of meetings, others being in Cork and Galway.
A fair and friendly discussion took place.
It was agreed to pencil in 18th February for a national nonaligned meeting. An email will go out to nonaligned members through the ULA mailing list (hopefully).
Time to legislate for life-saving abortion – 20th Anniversary of the Infamous X Case, February 1992
Time to legislate for life-saving abortion
Irish State Tries to Intern a 14 Year Old Raped Suicidal Girl Seeking An Abortion
Where to now for the ULA?: Eddie Conlon & Brendan Young
Where to now for the ULA?
Eddie Conlon, Brendan Young.
Repostedfrom the Cedar Lounge:
http://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/talking-about-your-ula/#comment-113748
We offer the following as a contribution to the developing debate about the future of the ULA. As a conferences has now been called for April 21 we would hope that a wide ranging debate would take place about the future of the ULA. Members and branches should also submit ideas to the sub-committee that has been established to look at the ULA’s structures.
The establishment of the ULA was a big step forward for the left particularly for those of us who have promoted the idea of left unity as the basis for the establishment of a new mass workers party. The ULA must be nurtured and developed and allowed to grow at a pace that maintains the unity that has been established while at the same time creating a forward momentum based on united work, real and respectful internal debate and discussion and an acknowledgement that it will take time for the ULA to move beyond being an alliance to some kind of unitary formation that will from the nucleus of a new party. Read the rest of this entry »
ULA News: Household and Water Tax; Mortgage and debt; April Conference
ULA news update
[ULA email 1st february 2012]:
1) Household Tax
During the last three weeks the Campaign Against the Household and Water Taxes has been organising meetings all over the country. The feedback from the meetings and the campaign’s low cost phone line have been positive and encouraging. Many members of the ULA are already involved in this campaign in one way or another.
It is very important that every member gets involved now as the campaign is entering an intense phase of activity as it tries to consolidate mass non registration and non payment at the same time as building active campaigns everywhere. In doing this members will be positively profiling the ULA on a vital issue. Read the rest of this entry »
Enda Kenny Grins For The Gintry – But Can He Stop A Referendum on the new EU Fiscal Treaty?
Enda Kenny was one of the courtly mummers in the presence of her britannic majesty in 2011 – good practice for 2012!
See Also :
Old Kenny Apologises For Ireland to the Gintry
http://www.irishleftreview.org/2012/01/27/kenny-apologises-ireland-gintry/
UPDATE :
Enda told Nicolas he would stop an Irish Referendum on the new European Union fiscal treaty – has the Taoiseach broken another promise?
The ruling class discreetly applauds the Fine Gael leader’s broken promises to the little people – such as when he went back on a pre-election pledge to stop the closure of Roscommon Hospital.
http://www.endakenny.com/?p=213
But Enda won’t get any ear-grabs for letting down the big people – a much more serious mistake!
Article 27 and the Independent TDs
A group of Independent TDs who want Europe’s new fiscal treaty put to a referendum will seek to use a little known constitutional provision to petition the President to do so, it has emerged.
Under Article 27 of the Constitution, a Bill can be referred to a referendum if requested by at least one third of the Dáil, and a majority of the Seanad.
Donegal South West TD Thomas Pringle said he was “hopeful of achieving that requirement.”
http://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/article-27-and-the-independent-tds/
ULA Conference: April 21st
Tomás is reliably informed that the ULA conference postponed from early February for ‘a month’ will take place in April (Saturday 21st). Apparently the Campaign Against Household And Water Charges will be full steam ahead in March (St Patrick’s day being judgement day on the level of registration, begorragh). Eggs in baskets? Eggs hidden deep in the nest?
“Bernadette: Notes on a Political Journey” – An exploration of Mass Action Politics
Mass action in Ireland in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s comes across vividly in Lelia Doolan’s Documentary “Bernadette – Notes on a Political Journey” which is screened on the Irish Language Channel TG 4 on Monday January 30
http://www.tg4.ie/tv-listings/tv-listings.html?date=2012-01-30
Here are some reviews :
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/theticket/2011/1118/1224307739334.html
http://www.irishexaminer.com/features/dealing-with-devlin-179994.html
http://spooool.com/2011/11/bernadette-notes-on-a-political-journey/
If you have not already seen this documentary – don’t miss the TG4 Broadcast.
If you have seen it – watch it again!
Bernadette Devlin, A Fearless Socialist
John Meehan January 28 2012
“BLOODY SUNDAY…..unleashed a wave of nationalism that engulfed the Republic; biggest general strike in Europe since the second World War ” – Éamonn McCann Irish Times Article
Éamonn McCann discusses the impact of Bloody Sunday South of the Irish Border – a general strike developed rapidly and a huge Dublin Demonstration from Parnell Square to Merrion Square finished with the burning of the British Embassy.
I was on that march, and stood in the middle of the crowd outside the British Embassy as preparations unfolded rapidly for the burning of the building. I discovered later that a near-neighbour, Séamus Costello, was widely believed to be the person who gave the final order to torch the building.
Update :
Listen to a riveting RTÉ Radio 1 History Show – broadcast on Sunday January 29 2012, where Eamonn McCann discusses Bloody Sunday with panellists Brian Hanley (author of The Lost Revolution) and Queens’ University Historian Margaret O’Callaghan – the presenter is Myles Dungan.
http://www.rte.ie/podcasts/2012/pc/pod-v-thehistoryshow290112-pid0-3023400.mp3
Tomás Ó Flatharta 