The growth of fascism in 2020 was a disturbing development in Irish politics and one that needed a coherent response from the left. Fascists were able to capitalise on discontent at the COVID restrictions and insert themselves into anti-mask protests. At the same time, socialists, appreciating that anti-mask is anti-worker and insisting that the government […]
Socialists and Scottish Independence
Socialists support Scottish independence because it would create better conditions for short-term working-class victories and the long-term struggle for socialism. It would also herald the end of the imperialist British state. Socialists support the right of self-determination – in this case the right of the people of Scotland – to decide their own future democratically. […]
Irish Relationship and Sexuality Education should be secular and not controlled by Catholic bishops
The challenge of obtaining secular Relationship and Sexuality Education in Irish schools has been ongoing since 1995, when the teaching of RSE was first introduced to Irish schools. The main thrust for the introduction of the programme was a sharp rise in teenage pregnancies and the AIDS epidemic. The Irish constitution recognises the role of […]
Ireland after COVID19: Unite the Union’s ‘Hope or Austerity’ road map
To date 3.6 million people worldwide have been infected by Covid-19, with over a quarter of a million (258,000) dying from the respiratory illness that attacks the lungs and airways. From December 2019 the virus travelled from its original source in southern China to all of Asia, Europe and the rest of the world in […]
Brexit: What Should Irish Socialists Say?
Short version: Independent Left advocate Remain. At the time of writing, there is still a lot of uncertainty around whether and under what conditions the UK will leave EU. On Saturday 19 October, it seemed possible that Boris Johnson would just about get a Brexit deal through the UK parliament, only for him to be […]