2011 Desmond Greaves School - This weekend in Dublin

23rd Desmond Greaves Summer School

THE 23rd Desmond Greaves Summer School will be held at the Pearse Centre in Dublin over the weekend 9 to 11 September 2011. Desmond Greaves was a historian and a Marxist, who wrote extensively on Irish labour history. He wrote important books on James Connolly, Liam Mellows, and the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union. The School is organised each year to mark his contribution to Irish history writing and politics and to continue his work.

This year’s School will address issues concerned with the economic crisis and what the way forward from here might be. The debates and discussions will be particularly relevant at a moment when there seems to be no let up from the economic, financial, and political crises that continue to grip Ireland and the world.

On Friday, 9 September, Fred Magdoff, Professor Emeritus at the University of Vermont and a director of the Monthly Review Foundation in the US, will speak under the title ‘The Crisis of 21st Century Capitalism: A US View.’ He will address the causes of the financial and economic crises in the US and the strategies the US government has taken in response. He will also ask who is paying for the crisis. This has huge relevance for us in Ireland: the well-being of the US economy has huge consequences for the Irish economy, and we can learn much from Fred Magdoff.

On Saturday, 10 September, there will be a panel discussion on ‘Ireland and the Eurozone Crisis.’ The panellists will be Anthony Coughlan, Director of the National Platform in Ireland, and Fabio de Masi, economic adviser to the Die Linke party in Germany. This is a vitally important issue for Ireland, with many now questioning the ability of the eurozone to address its massive debt problems as well as the long-term future of the eurozone itself. In recent days, the possible expulsion of peripheral countries from the eurozone has been raised with a new seriousness. Karen Devine, from DCU, will chair this debate.

On Sunday, 11 September, there will be a panel discussion on ‘Where is Contemporary Capitalism Going?’ The panel includes Fred Magdoff, University of Vermont and director of the Monthly Review Foundation, Kieran Allen, School of Sociology, UCD, and Mary Cullen, historian and feminist. At a time when recession and economic and financial crisis is calling into question the foundations and assumptions on which the current economic system is based, this will be an important and timely debate. While many now doubt the sustainability of contemporary capitalism, others believe there is no alternative. The speakers will address these and other questions.

Elsewhere over the weekend, there will be debates on ‘Is Ireland a Democratic Republic?’ with Sinéad Pentony, Head of Policy at TASC, Kevin McCorry, solicitor and former organiser of NICRA, and Harry Browne, lecturer in the School of Media Studies, DIT; and on ‘An All-Ireland Economic Area: Does It Make Sense?’ with Senator Kathryn Reilly, Sinn Féin, Peter Bunting, ICTU, and John Bradley, formerly of the ESRI.

The School will take place at the historic Pearse Centre at 27 Pearse Street, Dublin 2. It begins at 7.30pm on Friday, 9 September and runs over the following weekend.

2011 Desmond Greaves School

Friday to Sunday, 9 to 11 September 2011

The Pearse Centre, 27 Pearse Street, Dublin 2

Friday, September 9th at 7.30 pm
The International Economic crisis: The Crisis of 21st Century Capitalism - A US View
Speaker: Fred Magdoff
Chairperson: Catherine Connolly

Saturday, September 10th at 11.00 am
Is Ireland a Democratic Republic?
Speakers: Sinéad Pentony
Kevin McCorry
Harry Browne
Chairperson: Fionnuala Ní Bhrógáin

Saturday, September 10th at 2.30 pm
Irealnd and the Eurozone Crisis
Speakers: Anthony Coughlan
Fabio de Masi
Chairperson: Karen Devine

Sunday, September 11th at 11.00 am
An All-Ireland Economy: Does it Make Sense?
Speakers: Kathryn Reilly
Peter Bunting
John Bradley
Chairperson: Robert Ballagh

Sunday, September 11th at 2.30 pm
Where Is Contemporary Capitalism Going?
Speakers: Fred Magdoff
Kieran Allen
Mary Cullen
Chairperson: Catherine Murphy