Matt
Collins
is
a
People
Before
Profit
Councilor
on
Belfast
City
Council.
Here
he
sets
out
some
the
complexities
of
dealing
with
the
issues
of
bonfires
in
the
City.
Cllr. Matt Collins (People Before Profit, Belfast City Council) This summer the issue of bonfires was at the centre of politics in the North, with tension increasing after it emerged that Belfast City Council effectively colluded in the storing of large amount of material for loyalist bonfires, and then some weeks later when sporadic violence […]
Bob Dylan wrote his legendary song ‘It’s a Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall!’ in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, when the world stood on the brink of nuclear war.
pic: Hurricane Irma By John Molyneux It was a prophetic song in which Dylan evoked in the most powerful poetic metaphors a world during or after a nuclear holocaust. By the skin of our teeth we avoided that fate in 1962 but now 55 years on we have another missile crisis over Korea and Dylan’s […]
Donal McKendry looks at the parallels. The Jobstown case has once again shone light on the corruption in the Irish state and among powerful elements within the Gardaí. We are told that there was no conspiracy in this case. Instead, the prosecutor’s independence was robust enough to withstand any potential pressure that may […]
It is over a month now since Seanie FitzPatrick was acquitted on all charges and, as far as the media is concerned its all forgottern . It should not be. When Seanie FitzPatrick walked free from the high court it expressed all that is rotten in Irish society, writes Brid Smith.
The fact that the dismissal of his case coincided with the ongoing determined attempt by the State to criminalise and jail the Water Charges protestors of Jobstown reinforced the point and rubbed salt in the wound. Let’s start with the official story. The official story was that the Judge ordered the jury to acquit FitzPatrick […]
The new exhibition at the National Gallery, Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting, which runs till 17 September, is well worth a visit. This is both for the art in itself – Vermeer is a wonderful painter and many of the other artists featured are also very good – and for what it tells […]
How they speak to us The 1% who run this society, the capitalist ruling class, speak to the rest of us i.e. the general public, a majority of whom are working class, mainly through the media, that is via a series of intermediaries – politicians, TV producers and presenters, news readers, newspaper editors, […]
The establishment politicians are raging about it and so are many of the commentators and pundits in the media, but they can’t do anything about it. The fact is that on water charges the people have won.
The establishment politicians are raging about it and so are many of the commentators and pundits in the media, but they can’t do anything about it. The fact is that on water charges the people have won. Remember ‘Big’ Phil Hogan, the Fine Gael bully. He was going to charge us all five or six […]
One of the key ideas, tenaciously defended by the entire political establishment and ALL the mainstream media is that the law courts, the judges and the police are neutral.
One of the key ideas, tenaciously defended by the entire political establishment and ALL the mainstream media is that the law courts, the judges and the police are neutral. By ‘neutral’ they mean above or independent of politics, above or independent of social classes and above or independent of all interest groups. They simply enforce […]
The magnificent strike by Tesco’s workers forced management to back down, at least temporarily and we hope permanently, on their threat to unilaterally impose changes in working conditions.
Following on from the victories by the LUAS drivers and Dublin Bus drivers this proves that strong industrial action works. The solidarity and commitment of the Tescos workers was outstanding. They are all low paid workers but they took action on a principle in defense of their fellow workers, understanding that an injury to one […]
There is now widespread understanding among ordinary people in Ireland that if you want anything done in this country the way to go is People Power.
John Molyneux If you don’t want to pay unjust water charges no amount of letter writing and debate in the Dáil or on RTE will do the trick. You have to block the installation of meters, put hundreds of thousands on the streets and refuse to pay. If you want something done about homelessness don’t […]
