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Derry Girls: Laughter and tears of working-class life during Troubles
It’s fair to say that the Channel 4 hit Derry Girls, which was commissioned for a second series after its first episode, had us all in laughter and tears by the end of it. The series is set in Derry, a “troubled little corner of the world” as Erin puts it, with the backdrop of the Troubles. It follows a group of teenage girls and a “wee English fella” as they grapple with teenage angst and all the fun that comes along with it in the context of sectarian conflict and steeped in nineties nostalgia.
The Ulster Rugby rape trial: No to victim-blaming & rape culture
During the trial in which Ulster and Ireland rugby players are accused of raping a young woman at a party, there has been fury at many of the comments made by the defence in court. When the young woman told the court she had consented to a kiss from Paddy Jackson but had not given consent to anything else, the defence barrister accused her of “teasing” Jackson, and asked her, "if you didn't like him, why were you kissing him in his bedroom?"
Oxfam scandal: we need democratic aid and working class solidarity
In January 2010 when the earthquake struck we wrote: "The humanitarian catastrophe that has befallen Haiti beggars belief." Hundreds of thousands were killed and millions left homeless, injured, denied medicine and starving. The country had just two fire stations and no 'quake-proof' housing. Even before the earthquake 80% lived below the poverty line and three-quarters were out of work. Haitians were therefore extremely vulnerable. Our headline read, "a disaster compounded by capitalism".
The Revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg
On 15 January 1919, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, the finest brains of the German working class and its most heroic figures, were brutally murdered by the bloodthirsty, defeated German military, backed to the hilt by the cowardly social-democratic leaders Noske and Scheidemann. On this 99th anniversary, we look at Luxemburg’s inspirational, revolutionary legacy.
Tories hanging on by a thread – unions must fight to deliver fatal blow
Rocked by the Brexit vote and then the general election upset, May has at times sought to pretend she empathises with the situation facing ordinary people. The Tories have shamefacedly tried to claim to the title of 'the party for working people'.
Eyewitness Report from Palestine
When Donald Trump made the announcement that the US was recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, he…
Review of “Adults In The Room: My Battle With Europe’s Deep Establishment”
Adults In The Room is a must-read for those who aspire to building a left that can achieve governmental power and transform society. That is not because Yanis Varoufakis has the answers about how to achieve that, but because his experience as Finance Minister brutally demonstrates how capitalism will operate to try to block such change.
Reclaiming Our History: Common History, Common Struggle – Peter Hadden
2018 marks the fiftieth anniversary of what is commonly accepted to be the start of the “Troubles”. In a few brief months in 1968 and 1969, Northern Ireland changed forever. A chain of events mobilised tens of thousands of young people, both Catholic and Protestant, in a mass movement which challenged the Unionist government and briefly posed the possibility of a revolutionary transformation of society.
Catalonia – Election another blow to Spanish establishment
As we go to press, talks to create a new pro-independence government in Catalonia continue. The election on 21st December resulted in a majority for pro-independence parties. The Spanish state and the conservative Rajoy government had attempted to suppress the independence referendum and subsequently suspended Catalan autonomy, prompting the snap election.
Film Review: No Stone Unturned- Loughinisland Massacre
On the night of 18th June 1994, the Heights Bar in Loughinisland was packed with fans watching the Ireland versus Italy game in the World Cup. Members of the UVF burst in and opened fire, killing six innocent men and wounding five others. No Stone Unturned tells the story of their families' fight for justice. This massacre was the UVF’s answer to the killing of three of its members in Belfast by the INLA and part of the long cycle of ‘tit for tat’ killings.