Socialist Party (Ireland) Struggle, Democracy, Socialism

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 1913 lockout when the bosses of Dublin tried to starve the working class of Dublin into submission and smash the emerging Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) led by Jim Larkin and James Connolly.

This past week in Boston has been almost surreal—a horrific attack occurred on Marathon Monday that shouldn’t be seen in this city or anywhere in the world. Countless acts of solidarity occurred starting with people running towards the explosion to help the hundreds caught in the path of devastation. Marathon runners endured another two miles to give blood, and countless Bostonians opened their homes to the stranded.

In Northern Ireland, the Provisional IRA was a central force from the 1970s onwards in what is euphemistically known as ‘The Troubles’.

A lot of ink has been spilt in the mainstream media, praising the role a free trade agreement between the EU and the US could play in pulling the two economies out of the crisis they are engulfed in. Richard Bruton outdid himself in the Sunday Business Post on 14 April 2013, claiming “abolishing restrictions in the EU’s services sector alone could boost EU GDP by 2.6%.” Three days later a press release from him claimed that the whole deal could boost EU GDP by a mere 0.5%!

"Emergent service workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains" doesn't have the same ring to it, was one response to the recently published Great British Class Survey, which itself concluded that traditional social divisions of upper, middle and working class are out of date in 21st century Britain.

Speaking following the 'No' vote on the Croke Park II deal Paul Murphy MEP commented: I warmly welcome the decisive No votes from SIPTU, the INMO and the INTO announced this afternoon, which alongside the No votes from several other unions have killed off Croke Park II and has knocked the government and the troika onto the ropes.

Ken Loach’s new documentary ”The Spirit of ’45” isn’t just a film about a historical period. It’s an excellent addition to the discussion on how working people can achieve a decent life in 2013.

A statement 'our movement must be a safe place for women' by two UNISON activists, Marsha-Jane Thompson and Cath Elliot, has been posted online and has received the support of trade union activists, including leading figures.

Can an institution, like a human person, suffer from schizophrenia? Judging by the latest report from the International Monetary Fund it would certainly seem so. The condition involves a ‘breakdown of thought processes’, a ‘deficit of typical emotional responses’ and ‘disorganised thinking and speech.’ All these conditions are evident in the prescriptions by the IMF for the Irish people.

Millions have been waiting for this day, 8 April 2013. Margaret Thatcher will never be forgiven for the devastation that her Tory governments' policies wrought on working class communities in the 1980s - and is still being felt today. "I would suggest as a memorial to Mrs Thatcher that instead of the usual headstone or statue, a dance floor should be erected over her grave". This was proposed by a writer to the Observer paper from Durham, a former mining area, on the 30th anniversary of her coming to power.