Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

2011 General Election – the United Left Alliance Prepares

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The United Left Alliance held a supporters’ meeting on Monday January 10 at 7pm in Wynn’s Hotel, Abbey Street.

Tomás Ó Flathartha reports.

Arriving on time – for a change – this reporter came across a few grumblers wondering why there was such an early start – these events in Dublin usually start about 8pm.

As usual most punters arrived late, but the room filled up quickly – maybe 110 – 130 people attended, though many left before the official end shortly after 9pm – by that time there were around 60-65 in the room.

It seemed many people had read Brendan Young’s Paper

Building the ULA:

reflections on the past and proposals for the future

(published on this blog and the Irish Left Review) and support for the practical proposals was widespread.

https://tomasoflatharta.com/2011/01/07/building-the-ula-reflections-on-the-past-and-proposals-for-the-future/

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Written by tomasoflatharta

Jan 11, 2011 at 2:17 am

European court ruling on abortion

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Written by tomasoflatharta

Jan 10, 2011 at 8:18 am

Posted in Abortion, Feminism, Ireland

The Irish crisis: a complete failure for neo-liberalism

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Eric Toussaint,   president of CADTM Belgium (Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt, http://www.cadtm.org ) has written a useful analysis of the  financial crisis in Ireland :

http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?page=print_article&id_article=1968

Written by tomasoflatharta

Jan 9, 2011 at 3:05 pm

Building the United Left Alliance: reflections on the past and proposals for the future

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Building the ULA:

reflections on the past and proposals for the future.

Brendan Young. People Before Profit and the Campaign for an Independent Left.

It is just over a month since the United Left Alliance was launched and the paucity of organised resistance to the deepening economic crisis has made the alternative offered by the ULA all the more urgent. So the formation of the ULA is very welcome. Also welcome is the public commitment to the ULA by People Before Profit, the Socialist Party, the Socialist Workers’ Party and the Tipperary Unemployed and Workers’ Action Group. Such co-operation amongst the Irish left is a very big step forward and every effort should be made to ensure that it is a success, up to and after the coming election.

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ULA! “No one would have believed….”

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Dec 13, 2010 at 10:47 pm

Donegal South-West By-Election – isolated example or pointer to the future?

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I agree with Paddy Healy’s analysis

http://paddyhealy.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/analysis-of-donegal-sw-by-election/#respond

– it now appears that Donegal may not be an isolated regional example, following publication of the most recent Red C Poll placing Fianna Fáil in fourth place behind Fine Gael, Labour, and Sinn Féin.

This suggests many supporters / voters of the Labour Party and Sinn Féin may be open to the argument of rivals who are further left – the United Left Alliance – that coalition with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael should be ruled out in principle.

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Dec 4, 2010 at 11:56 am

Pearse Doherty TD Sinn Féin – A Lifer?

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Full marks to the Socialist Party irritant Mark P for winkling out important information –

===========
This came to our notice via a Cedar Lounge Revolution discussion :

“Pearse Doherty was unusually up front in expounding SF’s pro-life position on abortion:

Sinn Féin – Senator Pearse Doherty has given a written personal commitment to oppose any legislation that would make abortion available in Ireland and supports a law to protect the human embryo from deliberate destruction”

http://prolifecampaign.ie/?page_id=520

Note also the statement by independent left Thomas Pringle. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by tomasoflatharta

Dec 1, 2010 at 7:20 pm

“Right-Wing Think Tank Praised Ireland’s ‘Economic Freedom’ … and Then Its Economy Crashed”

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“Right-Wing
Think Tank Praised Ireland’s ‘Economic Freedom’ … and Then Its Economy
Crashed”

http://www.alternet.org/economy/148993/right-wing_think_tank_praised_ireland%27s_%27economic_freedom%27_…_and_then_its_economy_crashed/

Written by tomasoflatharta

Nov 29, 2010 at 5:13 pm

Brilliant Steve Bell Cartoon on the International Monetary Fund / European Central Bank War Against irish Workers http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cartoon/2010/nov/23/ireland-bailout-ireland

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Written by tomasoflatharta

Nov 29, 2010 at 4:42 pm