The Dublin EU Mayday protests of 2004 - The Ghost of Mayday Past

Fri, 21 Oct 2005 14:15:47 +0000
Grassroots gathering, Mayday, Mayday 2004, Summit protest, WSM history, Anarchist movement, National, Magazine, Analysis

Compared to many other European countries May Day demonstrations have always been small in Ireland, even in the 1980's when the Stalinist left was much more influential and the unions were much more powerful. By the mid-1990's, with the old left in complete disarray and the union bureaucrats more focussed on partnership with the state and the bosses rather than workers' rights, May Day had become a fairly underwhelming event.

So, given this dismal tradition why were the explicitly libertarian May Day events in 2004, comparatively speaking, such a success? Of course there was the impetus of a major European Union summit but to understand why anarchists were in a position to organise big May Day events calls for a brief examination of the development of libertarian ideas and practices in Ireland over the past few years.