16 July 2009 Edition
Towards a political strategy for the 26 Counties
16 July 2009
IT is now nearly six weeks since the local and European elections. Party activists have had a chance to recover from what was a long and gruelling campaign. Some activists are settling into their new roles as Town, City and County Councillors. Our new councillors and those who retained their seats have been involved in working out agreements with other parties at council level and, where possible, such as in South Dublin County Council, in establishing agreements with other parties on the left. Free article
The Mitchel McLaughlin Column
16 July 2009
SOCIETY in the North of Ireland is steeped in tradition, so much so that when residents find certain marches objectionable, tradition all too often is cited as the over-riding rationale for perpetuating offence. Now while there is much to be celebrated as 'tradition' on this island, it is time that the difference between 'tradition' and 'bloody-mindedness' is clarified. Free article
Another View by Eoin Ó Broin
16 July 2009
DUBLIN Sinn Féin had a bad election. In the locals we took 36,259 votes and 8.6% of the poll. In the European contest we took 47,928 votes and 11.8% of the poll. We lost four councillors and our MEP. However, despite the losses, we have halted the decline. In the 2007 generals we took 35,259 votes and 6.9% of the poll. Free article
INTERVIEW: Noel Harrington, newly-elected councillor in Kinsale
16 July 2009
NEWLY-ELECTED Kinsale Town Councillor Noel Harrington is a familiar face in republican circles, having been involved in the Movement since the late 1960s. ELLA O'DWYER first met him at a Manchester Martyrs commemoration in Bandon about seven years ago and they struck up a comradely friendship; anybody who knows Noel will know how easy it is to befriend this man. But there's more to Noel's story than the friendly face and warm manner that made him one of the most well known and popular candidates in Cork in the last local elections. Here is something of his story. Free article
INTERVIEW: Larry O'Toole, new Sinn Féin group leader on Dublin City Council
16 July 2009
SHORTLY after last month's local elections, where LARRY O'TOOLE topped the poll in Artane/Whitehall, he was appointed the new Sinn Féin group leader on Dublin City Council. He tells ELLA O'DWYER about what he hopes to bring to the role, the priority issues for Sinn Féin on Dublin City Council and the desirability of an 'Alliance of the Left'. Free article
Cúlchaint LE EOGHAN Mac CORMAIC
16 July 2009
Tá mise ar na daoine sin a chreideann go mbíonn infhaiteacht na teicneolaíochta i gcónaí ag tarraing píosa fada siar ó cumas na teicneolaíochta atá ann, 'sé sin le rá go mbíonn dáileadh agus roinnt na teicneolaíochta déanta i mbealach go mbíonn na soláthróirí céim nó dó chun tosaí orainn i bhfad sula dtugtar amach ar an ghnáth mhargadh aon 'teicneolaíocht' úr. Smaoin, mar shampla, ar ríomhairí, gutháin, seinnteoirí ceoil agus físe: ní tuisce go bhfuil ceannaithe agat ná go bhfuil ceann difriúil le tuilleadh cloigíní agus feadóga ar fáil. Is léir go mbíonn 'drip-feed' ó ráithe go ráithe, ó bhliain go bliain ag na tairgeoirí nó bíonn siad ag súil go mbeidh daoine ag iarraidh a bheith 'suas go dáta' leis an gléas nó uirlís is déanaí. Is mar sin a déantar brabús agus méadú díolúcháin. Free article
THE JULIA CARNEY COLUMN
16 July 2009
LET'S try something different this week; something a little bit more entertaining than continuing 'Lessons in Journalism' for Jim Cusack or taking the mick out of DUP ministers who don't believe in gravity. Instead of talking about things that appeared in the news, let's focus on things that didn't. Here's something that didn't appear in any national newspaper in Ireland... Free article
More than a game BY MATT TREACY
16 July 2009
THERE were some uncanny resonances last Sunday of Dublin's epic Leinster final victory over Offaly in 1979. On that day, Dublin won their sixth title in a row having been down to 14 men for the whole of the second half - and the winning goal was scored by Bernard Brogan. Free article
Remembering the Past: Francis McCloskey and Sammy Devenney
16 July 2009
BY the high summer of 1969, the Six-County state was like a powder keg ready to explode. The events of a few weeks in July and August were to change the course of Irish history. A peaceful protest campaign led by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association had begun only the previous summer but in October 1968 marchers had been banned and batoned on the streets of Derry by the RUC. In January 1969, the Belfast to Derry march led by the left-wing students' organisation, People's Democracy, was viciously attacked at Burntollet Bridge in County Derry, by ambushing loyalists who were aided by the RUC. Free article