Over 30 years of anarchist writing from Ireland listed under hundreds of topics
Report on Cork Pride 2012
Date: Mon, 2012-08-06 17:11
For the third year in succession the Cork branch of the Workers Solidarity Movement participated in the Cork Pride Parade. Anarchists have been involved in Pride organising in Cork since its beginnings in the mid-noughties and have long seen Pride as both an important civic festival and an opportunity to connect with Cork's burgeoning LGBT community. Cork WSM also distributed a leaflet on Pride and its politics at the parade (see below). The parade was the culmination of a week of hectic activity and celebration by Cork's LGBT community across a number of venues and across a range of activities.
Fighting Austerity: Amber Women’s Refuge, Kilkenny.
Date: Sat, 2012-08-04 21:36
The Amber Women’s Refuge in Kilkenny was set up to support women facing domestic violence. Although the Centre has never been as busy it is now facing massive cuts. The workers at the Centre are fighting to save the service. Earlier this week the workers, members of SIPTU, placed a daily two-hour picket at the Centre to highlight the situation they are facing. They are looking for support. Following the intervention of the Labour Relations Court, talks have taken place between the workers and management. Although daily pickets have been suspended pending the outcome of these talks, the fight for the Centre is still very much on. In this interview Claire O’Neill talks about what has happened and the background to the dispute.
Shell finally get their TBM out of the bog after week of resistance
Date: Sat, 2012-08-04 18:49
On Monday we provided the first report & video of the secret Shell convoy that had left Dublin port with a massive police escourt late Sunday night. This turned out to be the start of a week of frantic activity as the Convoy was tracked across the country and then subject to repeated blockades as it neared Erris. Whether because of this pressure or not on near its final destination the convoy missed a key turn with the main truck and its load of 160 tons jacknifing on a tight turn and starting to slide into the roadside bog. With a massive mobilisation of Garda and private security Shell finally dragged out the truck Friday. The report that follows gives an account of the final day, you will find moment by moment reports of the rest of the resistance during the week on the WSM Facebook page and WSM Twitter.
Sean Quinn - Cowboy turns desperado - A Western in four parts
Date: Wed, 2012-08-01 12:09
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We don’t know a lot about the personal life of this son of a small farmer. He was the richest man in Ireland in 2008 with an estimated wealth of €4.7billion and now he is only out of jail because the Judge wants him to help the Irish Resolution Banking Corporation (IRBC) recover some of the €2.8 billion that he owes them. You may never have heard of IRBC but you will know of it’s previous alias: Anglo Irish Bank,winner of the dodgiest bank award in a state where there is stiff competition for that prize. His son is in prison, (plush Training Unit in Mountjoy) serving a sentence for what the Judge called ‘outrageous’ contempt of court as he sought to put money/assets beyond the reach of the bank. His nephew Peter is supposed to be there for the same reason but has gone missing. All we know about Sean – the daddy of the empire is that he’s big into the GAA and he likes to play poker for a few quid with his friends. Along with his love of poker, I would guess that Sean senior fancies the odd western.
Greek Steel Workers Strike - Greece on the verge of revolution? Think again...
Date: Tue, 2012-07-31 16:11
Undoubtedly, Greece is the country that has suffered the most during this last and totally unrestrained wave of liberalization and fierce devaluation of labour which has been sweeping Europe since the start of the financial crisis in 2008. At the same time there are a multitude of political anti-systemic oppositional forces which have managed to maintain a living presence in Greek society.
The third world war
is coming
That's what they say
Fuck
This ain't gonna be
a class war either
Multimillion Euro operation to move Shell's machinery turns into farce - Tunnel Boring Machine stuck at Glenamoy
Date: Tue, 2012-07-31 10:27
For the last twelve hours Shell and the Gardai have been attempting to move some sections of a 500 ton tunnel boring machine to the remote site of Aghoos in Erris. Despite this, the effort has proven to be farcical, with protestors pulling off three road blockades under the noses of hundreds of Gardai. In the latest twist, the lorry, which has been on the road for twelve hours so far, failed to make a crucial turn on the last leg of its journey at the Aghoos / Bellinaboy Road due to its size, despite being in a specialist vehicle.
Hundreds of Garda deployed to protect Shell's machine from the people of Ireland
Date: Mon, 2012-07-30 09:58
A huge secretive Garda security operation last night swung into operation in Dublin Port as Shell's Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) left the port as part of a huge convoy of Garda vehicles. News of the operation had leaked at the last minute meaning that with only an hours notice a handful of Shell to Sea campaigners managed to get down to the port entrance despite the pouring rain. Most of us were pulled over and questioned by Garda at least once and the Garda helicopter stayed overhead as various Garda vehicles including a van load of riot cops with the door open drove past us repeatedly.
The Spanish revolution and its relevance today
Date: Fri, 2012-07-27 14:26
This year marks the 76 anniversary of the ‘Spanish Civil War’ which is one of the most mis-understood conflicts in the 20th century. For some particular those wedded to a traditional view of history the war was merely between the forces of fascism and those committed to defending the democratically elected Republican Government. It is also this time of year when we will be greeted with a range of lectures and talks organised by the Communist Party inspired International Brigades Commemoration Committee across Ireland which deliberately distorts the reality of the 'civil war'. However, for anarchists nothing could be further from the truth. The social revolutionary upheaval was not just a battle against fascism but a new society in the making-libertarian communism.
Eyewitness from the anti-austerity struggle in the Spanish state
Date: Mon, 2012-07-23 10:55
Something is changing in Spain. On Thursday 19th July, hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people took to the streets against the greatest attack on Spain's welfare state in its history, in the form of cutbacks announced by the Partido Popular government. Public servants, trade unions, left wing political parties, worker organisations and unemployed people marched in 83 cities across Spain. A WSM member who returned on a visit to Toledo during Friday's protests reports on the struggle.
Dub: Pro Choice Open Planning Day
Date: Fri, 2012-07-20 11:00
A day of networking and workshops organised by the Irish Choice Network which brings together several pro-choice groups and individual activists including from Choice Ireland, Action on X, RAG, Lashback and WSM. Timetable is to be finalised but there will be two sets of workshop sessions with a few choices of workshop in each session. Most will have a very practical activity focus, some will be about direct actions