Irish Left Archive Podcast

In this episode we talk to Dr. Marisa McGlinchey about her book, Unfinished Business: the politics of ‘dissident’ Irish republicanism (Manchester University Press, 2019). Based on a series of interviews with radical Republicans from several organisations, the book discusses the development of ‘dissident’ Irish republicanism and considers its impact on politics throughout Ireland since the 1980s. It argues that, rather than being simply traditionalists left behind by the mainstream, the dynamics and trajectory of ‘dissident’ republicanism are shaped more by contemporary forces than historical tradition and that by understanding them we can better understand the emerging forms of political challenge in an age of austerity and increasing political instability internationally. Marisa is an Assistant Professor in Political Science at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University. Her PhD thesis, carried out at Queen’s University Belfast, examined the decline of the Social Democratic and Labour party in the post-Good Friday Agreement period and is in preparation for publication by Manchester University Press. She is a regular contributor to media coverage of ‘dissident’ republicanism.

In this episode we speak to Sinéad Mercier. Sinéad is a lecturer in Environmental Law & Policy and PhD Researcher in the Sutherland School of Law in UCD with the PROPERTY [IN]JUSTICE project led by Amy Strecker and Amanda Byer. We discuss Sinéad’s political background, her engagement with Trade Unionism and work with ICTU; environmental campaigning, how environmentalism has developed in Ireland, and some of the campaigns and groups that have played a role in that; Sinéad’s previous experience in environmental law and as a policy researcher with Senator Alice Mary Higgins and with the Green Party; and the contrast between an environmentalism still embedded in colonialism and capitalism and a genuinely transformative socialist environmentalism and Just Transition. Sinéad’s paper, “Four Case Studies on Just Transition: Lessons for Ireland”, can be found on the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) website . The discussion also mentions Adrian Kane’s book, Trade Unions , published by Cork University Press . Listeners can find the Not Here Not Anywhere campaign to end fossil fuel infrastructure and exploration at notherenotanywhere.com.

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.