Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Posts Tagged ‘rip-ie’

Remembering Cathleen O’Neill, who beat down a path for other women – Dublin Inquirer

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We are delighted to publish a third tribute to Cathleen O’Neill on this blog – this time written by Shalim Malekmian for the Dublin Inquirer, May 14 2025. Thanks to Therese Caherty, who drew it to our attention

“A force bigger than life itself,” said a eulogy by O’Neill’s friend Carmel Jennings. “Working-class warrior,” said Rita Fagan, another friend of O’Neill’s.

Shamim Malekmian

Link :
Remembering Cathleen O’Neill, who beat down a path for other women

A large pram is parked beside the door at 58 Amiens Street. 

In a room on the left of the entrance, a baby boy wobbles on the ground, about to crawl. 

Downstairs, toddlers play and chat with workers at the crèche in Saol Project, an education and support hub primarily for women grappling with drug addiction – but also those experiencing poverty and homelessness. 

In the kitchen, patties sizzle in a pan. Most of the kids who come to Saol are children of its service users. 

That’s what Cathleen O’Neill, its co-founder, wanted, said Paula Kearney, a training programme team leader at Saol, recently, sitting in the building’s backyard near a barbeque grill.

O’Neill wanted Saol to look after their kids so that women had time and space to recover and thrive, she said.

Two decades ago, O’Neill would bustle up and down the stairs at the old building, shows Born Bolshy, a 2002 documentary about her life by the late director Louis Lentin, saved in RTÉ’s archives.

“If you can! Alright, Mary. Thanks a million, bye, bye, bye, bye,” says O’Neill, before hanging up the phone at a tiny office in Saol.

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Written by tomasoflatharta

May 14, 2025 at 11:18 am

Posted in 26 County State (Ireland), Abortion, Arts and Culture, Ballyfermot, Dublin, Biography, Born Bolshy, Cathleen O'Neill, Cathleen O'Neill, Feminism, Ireland, Joan Byrne, Kathleen Lynch, UCD, Kilbarrack, Dublin, March 8 International Women's Day, Mobilising to Oppose Violence Against Women, Univeersity College Dublin (UCD), Violence Against Women, Women

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Sam Nolan, an Irish trade union fighter

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The RTÉ Archives Site asked a question :

This week we are looking for help with a photograph taken at  PAYE tax protest march on O’Connell Street, Dublin, on 22 January 1980. Anyone know the man addressing the crowd? How about those on the platform with him?

Any ideas?

The photographer was Des Gaffney.

Contact us at archives@rte.ie or on Twitter @RTEArchives

View more photographs from RTÉ Archives

I did my best, sending this message to Des Derwin

Dear Des,

I came across a link below of a good photo of Sam Nolan speaking at a PAYE demonstration in 1980 –

It is on the RTÉ Archive and the administrators are asking for somebody to identify the speaker.

I think that honour should fall to Sam or Helena.

Perhaps, the message did not get through!

Sam Nolan’s funeral takes place on Saturday April 20 at 1.30pm in Glasnevin Cemetery.

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Sam Nolan speaking and a Dublin Council of Trade Unions (DCTU) Meeting at the General Post Office (GPO), 22 January 1980

The RTÉ Archives Site asked a question :

This week we are looking for help with a photograph taken at  PAYE tax protest march on O’Connell Street, Dublin, on 22 January 1980. Anyone know the man addressing the crowd? How about those on the platform with him?

Any ideas?

The photographer was Des Gaffney.

Contact us at archives@rte.ie or on Twitter @RTEArchives

View more photographs from RTÉ Archives

I did my best, sending this message to Des Derwin

Dear Des,

I came across a link below of a good photo of Sam Nolan speaking at a PAYE demonstration in 1980 –

It is on the RTÉ Archive and the administrators are asking for somebody to identify the speaker.

I think that honour should fall to Sam or Helena.

Perhaps, the message did not get through!

Sam Nolan’s funeral takes place on Saturday April 20 at 1.30pm in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by tomasoflatharta

Apr 19, 2024 at 4:41 pm

Posted in 26 County State (Ireland), Communist Party of Ireland (CPI), Dublin Council of Trade Unions, Helena Sheehan, Ireland, Left Wing Organisations, Sam Nolan, Soviet Union (USSR), Trade Unions

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