Over 30 years of anarchist writing from Ireland listed under hundreds of topics
All the Evil in the World – Pandora, the One Percent and the New European Reaction
Date: Sun, 2015-04-26 21:37
A spectre is haunting the people of Europe, but this time it's not one to be welcomed. All the powers of new Europe have entered into an unholy alliance to raise this spectre: Merkel and Rajoy, Hollande and Cameron, Irish Blueshirts and Greek state police. Where is the movement in opposition that has not been decried as terroristic by its opponents in power? Where is the opposition that has not cried out for law and order in the face of the more progressive parties? Two questions result from these facts:
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What class, classes or section of the population is conjuring up this phantasm? IE, what classes benefit from authoritarian extremism?
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What is to be done? IE, What course of action should the people of Europe take to counter this threat? And what role do the libertarian left have to play in bringing that course of action to fruition?
To answer these questions, it is essential to examine the current wave of reaction across the European continent and asses its purpose and its source.
Grangegorman residents key points on the March 2015 attempt to evict
Date: Thu, 2015-04-09 15:08
The text that follows was published by the residents of the squatted complex at Grangegorman on 24 March to describe the day long eviction attempt they succesfully resisted on the previous day. It was initally published on their Facebook page and handed out in leaflet form to people walking by the complex. The words are there own.
On Monday 23rd March, the squatted buildings at Grangegorman, where a community has been living for a year-and-a-half, was the subject of a violent attempted eviction by a large force of contractors and Gardaí. Here is a summary of the situation.
Capitalism in Ireland: Many of Us Have No Home, a Few Have 500+
Date: Tue, 2015-04-07 15:41
Thank's to the unpopular property tax we at least know slightly more about the super wealthy in Ireland. The government is normally very careful to neither collect information about this group nor to publish it in a way that would reveal the enormous gap in wealth and power between us and them. It would not do to have Joe or Josephine Worker realise that they could work for 10,000 years and still never approach the wealth of the Denis O'Briens.
Grangegorman resists Eviction
Date: Fri, 2015-03-27 15:52
We covered the attempted eviction of the squatted complex at Grangegorman during the week of via our new Facebook page, youtube and Twitter.
For those not familar with Dublin the attempted eviction is happening just 100m north of Smithfield Square. The complex consists of a mix of residentical, industrial & commercial premises that had been left derlict for up to 15 years. There had been a couple of eviction scares previously but at 6.30am on the morning of Monday 23rd March the residents were suddenly worken by the sound of a gang of over 30 men smashing their way into the compound and in at least one case into their houses.
One of our reporters was awoke shortly afterwards to a text message sayiong this was happening and they made their way down, the coverage that follows is a result of their work and the work of other WSM reporters. We've edited the updates together and improved their readibility.
Abortion: Bodily Autonomy, Capitalism, Misogyny
Date: Wed, 2015-03-04 14:00
In this society we are told that we have certain rights; the right to vote, the right to protest, the right to bodily autonomy (i.e. the right to decide what happens to our bodies). All of these rights can be taken away in a flash at the whim of those in power. But you cannot take away from a pregnant person that which they don’t have: bodily autonomy.
Abortion is extremely restrictive on this island, with the southern state not acting on the prohibitive legislation that is in place – as was highlighted with Ms. Y in August 2014 – and the northern state only allowing abortion when the pregnancy endangers the mother’s life (read: not health).
Direct Action: A Basic Introduction - Video & Text
Date: Sat, 2015-02-28 14:00
An introductory video on what direct action is and isn't, providing illustrations from the campaign against the water charges.
Direct action is at the heart of the struggle against the water charges, from preventing meters being installed, to Meter Fairies removing them, to boycotting registration and the water bills in April. But what is direct action, and what is it not?
Water Charges: We've Got Them Surrounded. Imagine Winning. What Comes Next?
Date: Tue, 2015-02-24 14:00
We can win this battle but we would be fools to settle for that. As someone said at the January 31st demonstration, 'we have them where we've wanted them for years'. Our opportunity is huge, with a great multitude politically awakened and eager to change society. So the question is presented: will we waste this opportunity to make a better world or will we seize it? What do we do once we win, and how should that affect what we do now?
This raises lots of other broad questions we should all ask ourselves:
- Is voting in a new government enough?
- Should we keep the system the same, or try something new?
- How do we achieve that better world?
- What would a better system look like?
The Origins and Development of the Movement against Water Charges in Ireland - Audio & Video
Date: Fri, 2015-02-20 16:17
A talk about the development & future of the campaign against water charges, a mass campaign of resistance to privatisation of water and an austerity tax that has emerged in southern Ireland involving hundreds of thousands of people.
Watch the video
ACAB: All Cops Are ... Bounded
Date: Mon, 2015-02-16 15:00
This photo was taken at Thursday evening's demonstration against the criminalisation of protest - in particular the arrest of almost 20 people for participating in a 2 hour blockade of the Tánaiste 3 months previously. It shows protesters holding signs saying 'ACAB' – but what does this mean? It means 'All Cops Are Bastards'. We can hear some people objecting already: 'not all Gardaí are bad'. But please hold on, that's missing the point entirely. ACAB doesn't mean that each police officer as an individual person is nasty, sadistic, dishonest, and so on. It means that every police officer is bounded by their job as an agent of the state, and this necessarily causes cops to act like 'bastards' - whether or not they want to.
A cop goes to work as a cop, not as an individual. They cease to be 'John Murphy' and become 'Garda B203', anonymous law enforcement officer 71032. ACAB means that no matter how nice a person the cop is individually they must break strikes, attack social movements, execute homophobic, sexist, and racist laws, deport and evict people, and even torture and murder, because that is what the police do. Feel free to make a conscientious objection, you will be fired.
