Tadhg Barry & Revolutionary Cork (1907-1921)- talk by Donal O’Drisceoil on Tuesday 19th October @ 8pm at Solidarity Books in Cork City October 17, 2010
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Irish Politics, The Left.add a comment
This is part of a series of Winter Talks coming up at Solidarity Books in Cork City. Solidarity Books, a radical bookshop and meeting space in Cork, stocks many books and journals relating to Irish labour history as well as many other contemporary and classic left; radical books, pamphlets and papers. Open a year in December, Solidarity Books has regular film screenings and other social and political events that regularly take place in the bookshop throughout the year. The Winter Talks will be happening over the next 7 weeks.
As noted in the email to the CLR:
In particular there are 3 talks which should be of particular interest to you and your readers: firstly a talk by UCC lecturer and editor of Saothar Labour Journal, Donal O Dirsceoil, who will be talking about Tadhg Barry and Revolutionary Cork; Brian Hanley will be talking about The Lost Revolution and the history of the OIRA and Workers Party; and Trinity college lecturer Conor Kostick will be talking about Labour Militancy in Ireland based on his fascinating book “Revolution in Ireland: Popular Militancy 1917-1923″ which documented the huge upsurge of working class militancy in the period.
All talks are on a Tuesday night and start at 8pm at Solidarity Books which is located at 43, Douglas Street (directly across the road from Fionnbarra’s pub) in Cork City.
First up:
Tadhg Barry & Revolutionary Cork (1907-1921)
– by Donal O’Drisceoil on Tuesday 19th October @ 8pm
Dr Donal Ó Drisceoil lectures in History at UCC. He is the author or co-author of a number of books. He is the editor of Saothar: Journal of Irish Labour History. He was historical advisor on the award-winning film, The Wind that Shakes the Barley which was the winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival in 2006. He is currently completing a history of media and literary censorship in 20th-century Ireland. The subject for his talk at Solidarity Books will be Tadhg Barry, a Cork socialist trade-unionist and republican who fused his vision for the betterment of the labouring classes with the nationalist cause. The talk guarantees to be both extensive and interesting while retaining that wider appeal which locally rooted history always brings.
Donal O Drisceoil is currently writing a political biography Of Tadhg Barry.
Here’s a google maps location of where the shop is located.
And this is the link for the Solidarity Books facebook page for good measure.
More info on each lecture in advance.
Sunday Independent Stupid Statement of the Week October 17, 2010
Posted by Garibaldy in media.40 comments
Before we get on to the stupidity, worth noting this story about an IMF report arguing that fiscal “correction” is virtually certain to be damaging, and that raising taxes tends to be more effective than cutting public spending. In addition, one for the football fans. Eamon Sweeney is calling for Trapattoni to get serious or go.
Ruth Dudley Edwards has the solution to our problems. Stop caring about fairness and rights. That’s selfish.
Times are hard and those who brought Western countries to their knees don’t have the money to rescue them. It’s definitely unfair that blameless people have to pay up for problems created by the irresponsible. But we’re much richer than our forebears, we partied during the good times and it’s time we accepted that the money has run out, so we should stop whining and gracefully make sacrifices in the common interest.
For some reason, the phrase “bite the pillow and think of England” just came into my head. As did the phrase “if we thought like her, we’d still be living under feudalism”. And by the way, how come we don’t see her arguing during the good times, as well as the bad, that the better off should have to make sacrifices gracefully through things like high taxation? I wonder.
The Sindo campaign for an all-party consensus on screwing the working class forging economic recovery continues apace. Fianna Fáin Senator Marc Mac Sharry is upset that his call for a consensus made two weeks ago in the Senate has yet to produce results. He is clearly frustrated that the other parties are wondering why they should give the government an easy ride. His solution is quite simple. Not a consensus on strategic investment for job creation; nor a plan for dealing with tax evasion; nor prosecutions and the seizure of assets from those who have lied to and defrauded the government; simply a consenus on cuts
I do not want to be in a Punch and Judy show. I want to hear proposals of where cuts can be made and dispense with the pantomime that has gone on for two weeks. We know the benefits of consensus.
Let us seize the day and start putting forward tangible proposals that will make the necessary savings, but more importantly will lay the foundations for the job creation and growth that will drive national recovery.
Why wait for the cuts to lay the foundations for job creation and growth? Why not act to create them now? I won’t hold my breath for an answer.
One of the joys of the Sindo is the random people who turn up writing columns. Today we have Frederick Forsyth, novelist, and, it would seem, visionary geo-political thinker.
Personally I prefer the Anglo-sphere. The six nations of Britain, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have immense wealth, numbers and power. We share history, literature, culture, democracy, jurisprudence and language.
The Irish would never be irrelevant inside a union of English-speakers. Seventeen million Irish-descended US voters see to that. The Irish have far more in common with Canadians than with Bulgarians. We all share the freedoms before the law and the world, bequeathed by the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and the American version a hundred years later.
Perhaps someone should tell him how 1689 worked out in Ireland. And that his plan is plain barking mad.
To end with a personal hobby horse rather than a stupid statement as such. I find myself in the strange position of being in part agreement with Eoghan Harris. He’s back to the theme of World War I, and the Irishmen who went to fight in it. He makes the argument that these people knew what they were doing, and to suggest otherwise is to retrospectively seek to change their politics to suit our agenda, and explain it away.
It’s time we gave our grandfathers back their free will, accepted their actions, and stopped seeking retrospective pardons on their behalf from Sinn Fein — or any other gang of green-shirted Gauleiters.
I agree that it is time we recognised the reality of Irish nationalist decisions to fight in World War I. Irish nationalism, as represented by Redmond, was an imperialist entity. We should recognise this, and view it accordingly. So I agree with the Senator that we should give them back their free will – all the more reason not to pardon them.
A big welcome… October 16, 2010
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Irish Politics.7 comments
…for some reason seeing this photo…
captioned: Taoiseach Brian Cowen shares a laugh with local children as he rides a tram after officially opening the Luas Green Line extension from Cherrywood this morning. Photo: Eric Luke/IT.
… the following words from Len Deighton’s ‘Yesterday’s Spy’ came to my mind…
Champion looked back to where I was standing. The snow was beating about my ears. Champion raised his gloved hand in a regal salute. But when only three of your fingers are able to wave, such a gesture can look awfully like a very rude Anglo-Saxon sign.
Interview with Bobby Storey… October 16, 2010
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Irish Politics, Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin.33 comments
Yes, Bobby, not Andy… …Useful interview in the Daily Mail by Jason O’Toole with Bobby Storey, Belfast Chairman of Sinn Féin and long time Republican.
During his incarceration, it is widely perceived, but never publicly confirmed, that he played an influential role in the peace process; is that true? ‘Certainly, I have played a pivotal role in the peace process in general, as opposed specifically the Good Friday Agreement.’ It was also claimed that he was at the center of meetings in South Armagh to encourage the hardline IRA there to stand down their weapons and obey the cease fire. When asked about this, he replies: ‘I certainly have been part of meetings. I have been part of a series of discussions within Republicanism across the length and breadth of Ireland about Sinn Féin strategy and Republicanism in general and the direction of the party. I’ve spoken to all shades of Republicans the length and breadth of the country.’ There is that description again of ‘Republicans’, rather than IRA, that he filters the interview with. Why is it that he won’t – or can’t – admit to being a member of the IRA? ‘If someone said they were in the IRA, no matter how long they served in jail, they would be arrested, charged and sentenced. Very few people have been convicted of membership… I would also be barred from holding public office for the next five years; I could receive a sentence of up to ten years.’ He accepts that the IRA made ‘mistakes’ during their violent campaign. ‘Certainly, mistakes were made and people suffered. I empathise with anyone – Republican, Unionist, or otherwise – who as an innocent victim suffered through the struggle.’ … Rather than dwelling on details of Northern Ireland’s violent past, he insists that everyone must look to bringing about a peaceful future for this island. For his part, he says he wants to persuade these dissidents to end the violence. ‘We have an open-ended offer to talk to anyone about anything and that certainly involves anyone involved in these groups.’
He’s particularly exercised by the dissident groups…
While he believes that the majority of dissident activities have been with the aim so far of being nothing more than ‘disruptive’, Storey now fears that it’s only a matter of time before innocent people are killed. ‘There’s a serious threat. You’re waiting on a tragedy. We had a pipe bomb near a Catholic school; we had a couple of children injured, the other week, when one of these Republican groups carried out an attack. And then there’s this reactionary stuff from the so-called Real UFF [Ulster Freedom Fighters] in recent days.’ There are between ‘five or six’ serious dissident groups, but Storey dismisses the view that the majority of them are fixated with the political agenda of a united Ireland and insists that many are nothing more than a front for criminal gangs – some with connections to Limerick gangs, as well as one well known criminal who is calling the shots from prison. ‘People have humorously referred the plethora of Republican groups out there like seen in The Life of Brian film, but tragically it is a far more serious matter. It is a collection of mistaken purist traditional Republicanism, adventurism, militarism, criminality and M16 securocrats. You will find that there is no evidence of any support for these groups outside of their own worlds. There is no logic for it. ‘There is criminality permeating throughout this. The Continuity IRA in Belfast have collapsed into an organised criminal gang and went over to Limerick-based leadership. They are linked to one of the feuding gangs in Limerick… Their bread and butter… is in the extortion of either criminals, drug dealers, or the families of criminals and drug dealers.’ What makes him believe that British intelligence have also infiltrated some of these dissident groups? ‘You wonder about the degree and level of the securocrats. Yes, British intelligence. The idea that something on the surface has a Republican ring to it doesn’t wash.’ He disagrees with recent views that these dissident groups are now gearing up for attacks on the mainland UK. ‘I don’t want to say I don’t believe it’s a possibility and then something happens in a couple of weeks time, but… you’re dealing with a phony war with a number of various dangerous elements within it.’
Two cheers… maybe two and half… October 16, 2010
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Economy, Irish Politics.13 comments
There’s a fair bit I don’t agree with Breda O’Brien on, though less than some might suppose. But on issues of equality she’s pretty damn good, albeit the tone isn’t necessarily to my taste. Good too to see though someone in the Irish Times making a few pointed connections and showing up the links between the supposed great and the good and the very institutions that cheerled us first into financial crisis and which are now cheerleading us towards an ‘austerity’ the depth of which I doubt anyone is still truly aware of.
This weekend I’ll be listening to… yourcousin’s musical selection October 16, 2010
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Culture, This Weekend I'll Mostly Be Listening to..., US Politics.7 comments
In what is rapidly turning into a very welcome monthly (or even more frequently) contribution (column? slot?) from yourcousin, here is his selection for this weekend…and an overview of the situation on the ground on the far side of the Atlantic…
Well midterm elections are approaching fast here in the land of the free. Right wing libertarianism is on the rise and labor is taking a beating. Locally the word just came down on a one year contract that takes about $2.10 off of my check and $3.50 off of my benefits and pension. This is only a one year contract and is seen as a stop gap. Right now work is very slow. I am only one of two carptenters on my job with one apprentice (we call him the superintendent’s “son”) and six foremen. That is not including assistant superintendents, of which we have at least four and one general foreman. Seriously, it’s not the nearly that big of a job. Total there are at least four “white hats” (carpenters wear blue hardhats, bosses wear white ones) who are family inside the company. If I may be so bold as to lower the standard of commentary on CLR by saying that the situation sucks balls, and not in a good way (because I believe in let and let live, so that may be one’s “thing” so to speak. Right, because who am I to judge?).
Tea Party candidates are on the rampage. The yard signs are definitely in favor of Republicans. Not an ironclad poll, but a definite barometer. In my neighborhood the most prevelant sign is a tax increase in order to save fire houses (though most candidate signs are republican). The irony, especially considering this post is flavored in no small part by this post So I wanted to post something that emphasize social solidarity. Not big government, per se, but folks standing together for better or for worse. The Chilean mine rescue, while welcomed news is dampened somewhat by the fact that the company won’t pay the miners for the time that they were trapped underground. And while they were hard rock miners I think that most of the best songs are coal miner songs. Now don’t get me wrong no self respecting hard rock miner would go near coal, but I’m not nearly so discerning concerning my musical tastes.
I’d start this set off with a shout out to LATC, with whom I fundamentally disagree on almost everything, but who was curious for my opinion on a fire department standing by literally while a home and multiple animals burned up.
I was going to do a whole set on Peter, Paul and Mary, but since WBS is willing to allow me some leeway with the guidelines of “this weekend I’ll be listening to…” I thought I’d push it a bit further. A cursory look at my largely defunct blog will reveal the simple truth that I don’t like people. This should not be confused with what Kurt Vonnegut misguided concept of the “great Americn individual” of whom he had this to say, “The great American individual,…Thinks he’s the embodiement of liberal [probably should read Liberal] thought throughout the ages. Stands on his own two feet, by God, alone and motionless. He’d make a good lamp post if he’d weather better and didn’t have eat”. That strikes me as an accurate portrayal of the Tea Party movement today, even if I can sympathize with some of their motives. It also reminds of another song which seems to me to capture the spirit of the “great American individual”…
Not even going to go into the Bobby Bare version…
The saga in Chile brought this to mind. I was raised on the Johnny Cash version and had to go back when I got older to get this version. I was always struck by the last verse. It can easily bring a tear to my eye.
And again acknowledging that this was a hard rock mining incident I wanted to pep spirits a bit by showing for all the world to see that Johnny Cash was indeed a union man.
To try to add context to current domestic events I was tempted to tack on the old Statler brothers tune, “More that a name on a wall”, but I’ve decided against it as CLR might not be the most hospitable environ for that sort of thing. So we’ll leave it with a tune that sums up my take on my contract, the midterms, and the rescue in Chile.
Remember “John Henry was a steel driving bastard, but John Henry was a bastard just the same…”
Did Anglo-Irish Systematically Profit from Fraud? October 15, 2010
Posted by Garibaldy in Blogging, Capitalism.19 comments
Guido Fawkes is reporting that it did, and that he has documentation to prove it.
This week at the Irish Election Literature Blog… October 15, 2010
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Irish Politics, The Left.add a comment
…A fine crop this week from AK, both of the IELB and this parish too as a contributor on polls and election data – and very welcome he is too. Anyhow, some very topical stuff covering a number of names prominent on this site and elsewhere over the last few days, starting with…
First off a flyer for someone it seems is highly regarded by many in these parts.
Which leads me onto another who changed his spots…..Found this at home and had to laugh. A 1992 Letter from the Democratic Lefts Eamon Gilmore with “..substance and policy are more important than style and performance.”
Then ‘An Open Letter To The Citizens of Ireland’ from one of the new political Parties the Irish Democratic Party.
The July 2006 issue of The Irish Socialist Networks ‘Leftline’
Leaflet for the SWPs John Carty running in Gorey in the 2004 Local Elections
Finally one showing the different paths of two former residents of the ‘Birds Nest’ home in Dun laoghaire took. ‘Oh Ah Paul McGrath’
And finally finally… “Elect a Worker -Its All a question of Class” an ad for SFWP candidates Jimmy Brick, Tony Coffey and Billy Dillon from the 1979 Local Elections in Galway
Meanwhile back at the Seanad – the Croke Park debate… October 15, 2010
Posted by WorldbyStorm in back at the Seanad, Irish Politics.4 comments
Let us reflect for a moment on Nixon in China.
Hmmmm… Got the picture of how a rightwinger of his ilk (although God knows in retrospect he seems like a marginally right of centre US politician compared to what we’ve been, to use the term lightly, treated to subsequently) could go to Red China and how the Chinese and the US could establish a détente?
Now let us note the tone of some of the Fine Gael contributions to the above debate. I jest, it’s not quite Nixon, but broadly could be characterised as being fairly even handed and accepting of the idea that the Public Sector is a vital component of our society, and notable even amongst them is Senator Jerry Buttimer’s rebuttal of the phrase ‘productive sector’ solely for the private sector.
There’s even a little too and fro between FF Senator’s Paschal Mooney and Liam Twomey over… er… Topshop.
Perhaps they see a chance to woo part of the former FF vote that’s split LPwards.
Meanwhile a well known Fianna Fáil nominated Senator rows back slightly from some pronouncements… and… ach, it’s all here.
I’ve reproduced many of the contributions in full, they’re not all worth a read, but context is everything. I’ve put in bold the bits that were of particular interest to me. There were other contributions, although curiously no Shane Ross, as far as I could see, though he was present earlier in the day.
I’ve also included Minister Dara Calleary’s closing statements.
Corporate Taxation… October 14, 2010
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Economy, Irish Politics.1 comment so far
…I mentioned during the last week that there was a piece in a recent enough issue of Village on Corporate Taxation… here’s the original piece by Mark Lonergan a Chartered Accountant working with MNCs…
I noted in a post which referenced it that:
Perhaps Lonergan is wrong – and it’s certain that one way or another increases in CT alone aren’t sufficient to stabilise revenues. Perhaps an increase to 20% is too great in the short term. There are plenty of intermediate levels that it could be set at, perhaps with agreements that it would remain at those for a period of five or ten years.
But again, the point is that the Republic has a low tax level as against our European partners, or more widely the OECD
countries. But this isn’t inevitable, it isn’t some function of our specific economy. It is the result, as noted in the two reports released this last month, of political and economic policies that were utterly ill-thought out. And that being the case, beyond the current problems, the argument for a thorough reworking of the situation in the future becomes overwhelming.
