Spirit of revolution In this episode we discuss the recently published book, Spirit of Revolution: Ireland from below, 1917–1923 . This edited volume looks at regional and local case studies during the revolutionary period, highlighting the widespread radicalism – beyond the national independence movement – that flourished around Ireland at the time in land and housing action, labour mobilisation and trade unionism. We discuss the volume with John Cunningham and Terry Dunne, who are co-editors of the book, as well as both contributing individual chapters. John Cunningham works in the Department of History at the University of Galway and is prominent in the Irish Centre for the Histories of Labour and Class. He is a former editor of Saothar: journal of Irish Labour History, and is currently writing a biography of Tom Glynn, an Irish-born activist and theorist of the Industrial Workers of the World in Australia and South Africa. You can read an article by John on Tom Glynn on RTÉ’s Century Ireland website . Terry Dunne has a PhD in Sociology and has published widely on agrarian social movements. He also writes and hosts the podcast Peelers and Sheep: Rebel Tales From The Land. He is currently researching agrarian politics during the Irish Revolution, supported by the Royal Irish Academy. Terry previously spoke to us in episode 22 on anti-war and activist movements, historical sociology, and “Peelers and Sheep” . Spirit of Revolution is published by Four Courts Press and is available from their website . If you are listening to this episode at the time of publication in May 2024, the book will have a launch in Dublin on Wednesday 29th of May at 6pm in Books Upstairs on D’Olier Street, hosted by historian and previous guest on this podcast, Mary Muldowney.

In this episode we speak to activist and academic Camilla Fitzsimons. Camilla’s academic work focuses in particular on education and social movements, and she is an Associate Professor in Maynooth University School of Education. Her publications include two books – Community education and neoliberalism: Philosophies, practices and policies in Ireland (2017) and Repealed: Ireland’s Unfinished Fight for Reproductive Rights (2021). We discuss Camilla’s early political experience; her involvement in forming the Spectacle of Defiance and Hope in response to service cuts and austerity, which organised marches and workshops with a central focus on political education; her work on abortion rights and the Repeal referendum, and her book Repealed; feminism, and differentiating Left feminism from the right and liberalism; and Palestine solidarity activism in light of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, and Camilla’s work with Academics for Palestine, which seeks to build the campaign for an academic boycott of Israel and help create awareness in the higher education sector. Camilla’s website is at camillafitzsimons.com. You’ll find a video of the Spectacle of Defiance and Hope in 2011 on Youtube, and it also continues to have an active Facebook group. Other material mentioned in the discussion is linked below: The Irish Debt Crisis Community Workshop (2015) Camilla’s research on safe access zones, which generated complaints to her university: Irish healthcare workers experiences of anti-abortion protesters and the case for safe access zones Research included in the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI), including a chapter of Repealed.

In this episode we talk to Jim Monaghan. Jim first became politically active as a student in the late 1960s in Dublin. We discuss the increasing politicisation in Ireland at that time, and Jim’s political activity, initially with Labour and Students for Democratic Action, the League for A Workers’ Republic, and briefly the LWR-breakaway, the League for a Workers Vanguard. Jim then describes his move to Official Sinn Féin, the contrast of moving from a small left group to a larger party, and the direction of Republican politics at that time; his later involvement with the Movement for a Socialist Republic and People’s Democracy, after they merged; his involvement as Chair of the Dublin H-Block/Armagh Committee during the Hunger Strikes; and the contemporary political landscape, and the extent of the social and political change that has occurred since his early political involvement.

Throughout 2023 we have asked podcast guests if there are any cultural artefacts or events that they consider particularly influential on their politics. This episode brings together responses from historian Mary Muldowney, anarchist activist Gregor Kerr, Republican activist Des Dalton, author Michael Flavin, historian Brian Hanley, and Irish Anarchist Network activists Nestor and Saornil. Below, in the order they are mentioned, are our guest’s choices for politically influential books, films, music, events and media. (Where possible, we’ve linked to publicly accessible versions. Others are linked to further information.) Ermanno Olmi – The Tree of Wooden Clogs Frank Capra – It’s A Wonderful Life Robert Tressell – The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists Dunnes Stores Anti-Apartheid strike 1913 Lockout 100th Anniversary Plaque in Dun Laoghaire Ernie O’Malley - On Another Man’s Wound and The Singing Flame J. Bowyer Bell - The Secret Army Caught in A Free State George Orwell - Homage to Catalonia Geoffrey Robertson - Reluctant Judas: Life and Death of the Special Branch Informer Kenneth Lennon The Jam – The Gift The Style Council – Our Favourite Shop Eamonn McCann – War and an Irish Town V for Vendetta Margaret Killjoy Robert Evans & Jake Hanrahan – The Women’s War

In this episode we’re joined by David Costelloe. Dave writes on history and politics on his website Never Felt Better, and in particular has written an extensive series of articles on Irish military history from the earliest records almost to the contemporary, Ireland’s Wars. We spoke to Dave previously in 2021, on episode 20 of the podcast, about his background and work on earlier military history, and he joins us again to discuss the period of the Troubles in particular and the comprehensive series of articles on the topic he has written since last speaking to us.

An introduction to our next series of episodes and discussion of the Irish Left Archive project and changes we’ve made in the past year. The discussion includes mention of trying to keep all aspects of the project open. As such, we’ve made the website and podcast statistics publicly accessible, as well as any source code used in the project. Website statistics: https://u.leftarchive.ie/share/6wv4MBNDrbJW52uY/Irish%20Left%20Archive Podcast statistics: https://op3.dev/show/8e88bb97-6c47-518a-8260-1cbedbd4b095 Source code repositories: https://git.aonghus.org/Irish-Left-Archive You can follow us on the Fediverse (Mastodon, Pixelfed, Peertube etc.) at @[email protected].

In this episode we talk to Des Dalton. Des is a long-term Republican activist who joined Republican Sinn Féin in the late 1980s and has served on the party’s Ard Comhairle and as party President from 2009 to 2018. Since leaving the party in 2021, Des has been an independent Republican activist. We discuss Des’s political background and his Republicanism, which led him to joining Republican Sinn Féin from Ógra Fianna Fáil in his teens; the politics of Republican Sinn Féin, its position in Left politics and the role of Internationalism in Republicanism; his experience in the party as a member and later as President, and the party’s publications and newspaper, Saoirse; and finally his departure from the party and his perspective on contemporary Republicanism and its future direction. Two articles written by Des, which are mentioned in the discussion, are linked below: The 1962 IRA Ceasefire: Lessons for Today. By Des Dalton. All Republican Groups Should Call A Ceasefire

In this episode we talk to historian Brian Hanley about the new five-part documentary podcast, Dirty War in Dublin, written by Brian and produced by Kevin Brannigan. We discuss how the podcast came about and was developed, and look at the history of the Irish Civil War it covers and its wider context. Listeners will be familiar with Brian’s work from previous episodes of our podcast. If you haven’t already listened, you can hear Brian discuss the book he co-authored on the Official IRA and the Workers’ Party, The Lost Revolution, in episode 13; reactions to Bloody Sunday in the Republic of Ireland in episode 35, which marked the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday; and discussing his own political experience and background in episode 19. Dirty War in Dublin is available on Spotify, and you can find more of Brian’s work on his website, brianhanleyhistory.wordpress.com.

In this episode we talk to Emma Campbell. Emma is an artist, activist and researcher based in Belfast. She is a co-convenor of Alliance for Choice and has particularly focused both her activism and solo art work on abortion rights, with projects including When they put their hands out like scales, which included ‘Journeys’ – photographing people’s journeys to abortion clinics in England – and ‘Women on Waves’ – collages drawing on historical images and archive photos from the Women on Waves campaign. Emma is also part of the Array Collective, which won the Turner Prize in 2021 for The Druthaib’s Ball. Emma’s PhD research addresses photography as an activist tool for abortion rights, and she is a Research Associate in Social Studies at the University of Ulster. We discuss Emma’s work and how it intertwines with her activism, and look at how the campaign for abortion provision in Northern Ireland has progressed, from the lead up to the 2019 adoption of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recommendations, the repeal of criminal sanctions and introduction of legal abortion, and the current state of provision. We also discuss how viewers respond to Emma’s work and how that has changed over time; her involvement in the Array Collective and the activist nature of the group; and the experience of being nominated and winning the Turner Prize in 2021. You’ll find Emma’s website at emmacampbell.co.uk, where you can see some of the work discussed, and the Array Collective at arraystudiosbelfast.com. The Alliance 4 Choice website is at alliance4choice.com.

In this episode we talk to anarchist activist Gregor Kerr about the Dublin Anarchist Bookfair. The bookfair was first held in 2006 and organised by the Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM) and continued for a number of years. After a hiatus of a few years, the Irish Anarchist Network (IAN) and independent anarchists have come together to organise the fair for 2023, which will take place in the Teachers’ Club on Saturday 20th May. Gregor Kerr is an anarchist activist and trade unionist who was involved with the WSM when the original anarchist bookfair started and is part of the group organising this years’ event. We discuss the panels and workshops taking place this year and the organisations and campaigns that will be taking part. We also discuss the history of the Dublin Anarchist Bookfair, how it helps to bring campaigns together and its role in campaigning and organising, and the orientation towards international anarchists and other parts of the broader left. The bookfair is on Saturday 20th May 2023. You can find more details on the IAN website or follow on Instagram @anarchist_bookfair_dublin. If you’re interested in anarchism in Ireland, we previously spoke to Aileen O’Carroll of the Workers Solidarity Movement in episode 31,Jason Brannigan of Organise! in episode 38, and to members of the Irish Anarchist Network a couple of months ago in episode 47.