"Germany's postwar inoculation against far-right extremism has been on the wane for over a decade and, on Sunday [6th September], it finally gave up. Voters in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt embraced the Alternative for Germany to an unprecedented extent: it won 44 per cent support on a record turn out of 76 per cent". … Continue reading Germany Struggles for Existence — Editorial
Politics
Good Friday Agreement: “Got F*** All”?
The late Brendan Hughes famously described the Good Friday Agreement as the “Got F*** All” agreement. He had a point in relation to the Republican objective: The Republican War was concluded by the IRA with Northern Ireland still part of the British State and Sinn Fein administering British rule within a new Stormont. The Good Friday Agreement did, of course, achieve an … Continue reading Good Friday Agreement: “Got F*** All”?
The Brian P. Murphy OSB Archive. (Series 9)
The evolution of British policy and the emergence of a Sinn Fein Publicity Department in the years after the Easter Rising. Mss notes, Part 32 Before the end of May 1920, Sir John Anderson and 'Andy' Cope had taken up their appointments at Dublin Castle. However, it was not until early August 1920 that the … Continue reading The Brian P. Murphy OSB Archive. (Series 9)
German Perspectives:
Herbert Remmel has forwarded the following newspaper account of the swing to the Alliance For Germany Party in and the rout of the previous 'Party of Government': the Christian Democrats Preliminary Thoughts Towards An Assessment Of The Election Results in Saxony-Anhalt From An Anti-Fascist Perspective by Ulrich Schneider [National Executive member, Die Linke] The high … Continue reading German Perspectives:
Casement On The Couch!
Rory Carroll, the Ireland correspondent of the Guardian newspaper and author of A Rebel And A Traitor, was interviewed on 1st August by Pat Kenny on his Newstalk radio programme, for the commemoration of Casement’s execution on 3rd August 1916. When Kenny asked Carroll to comment on the content of the 'Black Dairies', he … Continue reading Casement On The Couch!
Organised Labour
@@@@@@ Public Service Pay Agreement: "The Unions are not hanging around!" "THE UNIONS are not hanging around. Just days after announcing what could be a highly disruptive work-to-rule in the health sector, scheduled to start on 30th September 2026, they set dates for strikes" (Irish Independent, 12.9.2026). Public servants are set to hold two 24-hour … Continue reading Organised Labour
Labour Comment
The Politics of Virtue (August 2010) It remains to be seen if the era of Fianna Fáil dominance has come to an end or if the mould of Irish politics has been broken. Labour Comment cannot claim to know the future. It can only go on the evidence presented to it. On the evidence of … Continue reading Labour Comment
Ireland And The World—Editorial
The history of Ireland has been about emerging from the shadow of England. That has been the objective right up until the present time. Irish nationalism was never isolationist. Roger Casement believed that the dominance of Britain prevented Ireland from connecting with Continental Europe. The seminal event in our recent history was the 1916 Rising, … Continue reading Ireland And The World—Editorial
Red Eddy—Gusty’s Brother
Reading Brendan Clifford’s article about the BICO in the August issue of the Irish Political Review jogged a few memories. I was a comrade of Eddy Spence in the Sixties: He was a member of the Communist Party of Northern Ireland (CPNI) and I was in its youth wing the Communist Youth League (CYL). As Brendan Clifford points out, Eddy … Continue reading Red Eddy—Gusty’s Brother
Béal na Bláthair
David McCullough, the radio journalist, was the chief speaker at the Béal na Bláth celebration of Michael Collins' War against opponents of the 1921 'Treaty' this year. However, according to the Irish Times report (24 August), he did not actually mention that War. But that was the one big thing for which Collins had definite … Continue reading Béal na Bláthair
