Today's occupation is happening at 66-67 Great Strand Street, Dublin 1. Come down and support the occupation - get involved in the debate during the day. Today one of NAMA’s properties in Dublin has been opened to the public. The building will host a series of talks and workshops engaging the public in the questions that surround debt, property speculation and asking how we can use NAMA buildings for social and community purposes.
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A Uachtaráin,

It is my assertion that the current government of the Irish Republic is attempting to initiate changes that will negatively impact the welfare of the people of Ireland.

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny T.D. is seeking to circumvent the initiation of a referendum by seeking to have a ruling from the Attorney General which will deny the people of Ireland our constitutional right to self determination which is also a principle of international law.

I am hereby petitioning you with respect in your capacity as Uachtarán na hÉireann to invoke your powers under Article 27.5.1 to call a referendum on the ESM Treaty, a proposal I believe is of such national importance that the will of the people should be accordingly ascertained.

Article 15.4.1° The Oireachtas shall not enact any law which is in any respect repugnant to this Constitution or any provision thereof. ... read full story / add a comment

The Irish government has been complicted in the murder of innocent people for almost a decade now via the wars of aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are completely hypocritical when for so many years they condenmed the acts of murder in the North, but now not only remain slient about these mass murders in far off lands but actively support it through the apparatus of the state in the form of providing resources -Shannon Airport, policing to go with it and of course welcoming back in 2004 the war criminal Bush and more recently Obama. We are supposed to cheer when the US and NATO drop daisy-cutter 4,000 lb bombs or when drones fire missles and say oops! when innocent civilians get killed.

And to counter the propaganda spewed a few weeks ago about the so-called ending of the war in Iraq. It is not over. There are still troops there. And contary to statements at the time of only 64,000 killed as if that was just a few, the figure is well over one million people, as estimated by internationally peer reviewed Lancet study that was done twice to confirm the initial findings.

We are so immersed in the propaganda that we have all forgotten our true values and the difference between right and wrong. Fortunately there are a few individuals willing to stick by their convinctions.

Below we reproduce a handwritten communication we received from one of the members of the Peace Team that sabotaged a US troop transporter at Shannon warport last Tuesday morning, 20th December 2011. We have verified that this person participated in this action. ... read full story / add a comment

Fair Hotels is an initiative of hotel workers employed in Fair Hotels throughout Ireland and trade union representatives. Hotels listed on www.fairhotels.ie were invited to participate in the Fair Hotels campaign by their own staff and their staffs' representatives. Each of the hotels listed on www.fairhotels.ie has agreed to participate. Our objective is to support and promote quality employment in the hotel industry in Ireland. ... read full story / add a comment

The Occupy movement has grown steadily in the past 4 weeks in Ireland. It is part of the global Occupy movement. As to what it is about is best summed up by the OccupyGalway statement:

Occupy Galway is part of the international movement against austerity measures imposed on ordinary people around the world. We are all part of the 99% who, so far, have been subject to economic inequality and social injustice from the 1% who control the world's resources. We, the 99% demand:

1 - The removal of the IMF and ECB from all Irish financial affairs;
2 - That the national debt imposed on Irish people from the bank bailouts be lifted;
3 - The return of Irish resources (gas, oil, forestry) to the people of Ireland;
4 - Real particpatory democracy.

THIS IS NOT A RECESSION, IT'S A ROBBERY!!! ... read full story / add a comment

"it shall be for the house (Dail and Senate) to determine the appropriate balance between the rights of persons and the public interest..." Okay this is pretty basic - A referendum is needed every time a government wishes to change our constitution - this is because the constitution theoretically exists to protect people from the excesses of any government i.e. any elected government can only work within the confines of what the constitution sets out. This means the constitution belongs to the citizens (i.e. us) not the Government. Whatever government is in power has to get our permission to change it. Lots of things in our constitution are outdated and need to be changed BUT and it's a big BUT we should be really careful of letting it be changed for trivial issues. ... read full story / add a comment

NEW YORK TIMES: Updated, 3:35 a.m. Sunday | In a tense showdown above the East River, the police arrested more than 700 demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street protests who took to the roadway as they tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday afternoon. (After a 2 week corporate media blackout, #occupywallstreet direct action is now front page news) ... read full story / add a comment

On this 10th anniversary of 9/11 attacks there are many things to reflect on and in this article we are going to focus on the relationship between 9/11 and the political 'Left'. Today 10 years later, the public particularly in the US seems quite dividved as numerous polls show that a majority of US citizens don't accept the official story and a significant portion believe the government was involved in one form or another. The mainstream media though is still very much on page with the official version of events. The details of the topic itself are divisive and two clear camps have arisen with opposing views and very little common ground between. At this stage many people are simply tired of discussing it and wish to move on. This article does not intend to dwell on the mechanics of the event itself but examine the wider political effects. ... read full story / add a comment

The situation in Libya is not what it seems as reported by the mainstream press -the same press that has promoted all the previous wars with some lame excuse or another. The MSM media likes to teach the public to think only in black in white. So if you oppose NATO, you love Gadaffi. Actually it possible to see both as bad. But the long and short of it all is that it really all just amounts to a modern form of the Class War. Notice how our liberties in the West are disappearing along with the social gains achieved over the last century of labor struggles. The Libya things is mainly an oil grab. It is also because Gadaffi was not an obedient dictator and it is also because it had the highest standard of living in Africa and very generous welfare and last but not least it was not adhering to the NeoLiberal agenda and the free market. The same ideology that has ruined all our economies and is being used as the excuse to take away all our gains and make us worker far longer and for less.

So the purpose of this feature is to present the alternative and to provide some background analysis to what is going on and happened so far

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Over the past week at Giuseppe Conlon CW House in Harringey London, we have recieived calls of concern, and requests for explanations, following the rioting and looting over the weekend that started in our borough of Harringey and extended across London and then to regional towns in England.

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Maghaberry jail is where Irish Republican prisoners in the Six Counties who did not agree with the Good Friday Agreement remained while the Provisions walked out under the terms of the Agreement. Subsequently their numbers have been swelled by others also opposed to the GFA. Although the British and the Northern Ireland Executive's Justice Minister deny they are political prisoners, they call them "Separate" because they are separated from non-political prisoners within the jail. After broken agreements, ongoing harassment and violent and physically intrusive body searches, the prisoners now escalate their protest campaign.

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It has been said that we live in a business run society which is characterised by business parties masquerading as political parties and a 'political class' that implements policies which more often than not puts the interests of 'big business' ahead of the well being of the general populace. The unprecedented nature of bank bailouts in this country along with continued and debatable payments to bondholders with an apparent absence of serious public consultation let alone a referendum on matters with such wide-ranging and generational consequences seems to lend some credence to this characterisation of modern society. ... read full story / add a comment

The Force Research Unit (FRU) was a covert military intelligence unit set up by the British Military of Defence sometime between 1979 and 1981. Its motto was ‘Fishers of Men’. Its remit was to recruit and run double agents in the paramilitary groups in the 6 counties. At its peak the FRU had up to 80 officers and about 100 support staff dealing with hundreds of informers. The FRU were in collusion with loyalist paramilitaries during the 1980’s and 90’s that led to the murder of dozens of catholics including high profile solicitor Pat Finucane. Despite having been exposed in British Tribunals and in the press of collusion with loyalist paramilitary gangs, a rebranded FRU has been involved in illegal operations in Iraq and Libya showing that the British establishment not only knew about the collusion but also actively encouraged it and rewarded those of its officers who were engaged in these activities.
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Below is the first in a series of articles relating to social welfare within the twenty six counties. Amongst the specific issues dealt with will be cutbacks, 'fraud' and the broken promises and hypocrisy of the Fine Gael/Labour coalition less than 100 days after taking office ... read full story / add a comment

The Robin Hood Tax will stage a global day of action on June 22nd. As a fledgling group, Robin Hood Tax (Ireland) will initiate an email campaign aimed at our TDs asking them to support a Robin Hood Tax in Ireland. ... read full story / add a comment

As Elizabeth Windsor's visit moves into history it is time to analyse the reasons for the visit and what happened during it: the small protests, the massive restrictions on movement in Ireland's capital city, the huge violations of the right to protest, ... read full story / add a comment

The country yesterday was abuzz with the visit of Obama to Ireland and the mainstream was aglow covering the event. There is no doubt he is popular in Ireland as evidenced by the tens of thousands who queued up and turned out to see him and went through airport type security to get a closer look. I would suppose there are two reasons for this and one is that everyone wants to be seen and associated with success and the other is that Irish people seem to get very proud of their country and want to show it off when important people or visitors in general show up. ... read full story / add a comment

Pissed off with very high unemployment, a political system which is not working, a feeling that banks and the markets matter more than life itself, the youth, unemployed and precarious of Spain launched their revolt last Sunday. Three days on and many squares in the country are occupied and movements are building up under the banner of "Democracy Real, Ya! (Real Democracy, Now!) ... read full story / add a comment

• Scientists accuse European Food Safety Authority of corruption and fraud
• Doctors invoke the Precautionary Principle
• Consumers want GM-free Irish label to support responsible farmers ... read full story / add a comment

Come up straight away or join us for the Days of Action this Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd April. Accomodation & food provided, donations welcome. email or txt 0851141170 for details.

The injustice faced by the community here is symbolic of the corruption and problems faced by people all over Ireland. ... read full story / add a comment