A podcast looking at Left politics in Ireland from the Irish Left Archive.
We talk to activists, writers, historians, politicians and others involved in Left or...
In this episode we talk to Niall McGuirk about the Hope Collective. Hope Collective originated in the early 1980s when Niall started putting on gigs to encourage bands to play in Dublin and developed into the Hope Collective in 1994. Hope facilitated dozens of bands playing gigs in Ireland and latterly has produced books recording the history and recollections of that music scene.
We discuss Niall’s involvement in playing and organising gigs, creating fanzines, the development of Hope Collective, the D.I.Y. philosophy and values underpinning it, and the community that it generated.
You can find out more about Hope Collective on their website, where you can also buy their most recent publication, Punks Listen, a collection of writing from musicians, writers and others about music that has inspired and influenced them.
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1:40:07
Until We Fall: Long Distance Life on the Left, with Helena Sheehan
In this episode we talk to Professor Helena Sheehan about her recent book, Until We Fall: Long Distance Life on the Left.
We discuss the lead up to and impact of the break up of the Soviet Union, Helena’s experience of post-apartheid South Africa and the changing role of the University in the contemporary period.
Helena is Emeritus Professor at Dublin City University (DCU) and has published and taught on culture, media, politics and philosophy. She has been active on the left in Ireland since the 1970s, with numerous campaigns and as a member, first, of Official Sinn Féin, then the Communist Party of Ireland and subsequently the Labour party.
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1:21:36
Unfinished Business: The Politics of 'Dissident' Irish Republicanism, with Marisa McGlinchey
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.
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39:02
Sinéad Mercier: Environment and Just Transition
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.
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1:00:42
Spirit of Revolution: Ireland from below, 1917–1923
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.
A podcast looking at Left politics in Ireland from the Irish Left Archive.
We talk to activists, writers, historians, politicians and others involved in Left organisations and movements about their experiences of participating in Left parties and campaigns; Left publications and political documents they’ve been involved in; and the history and development of progressive politics in Ireland. We also look at the role of the Irish Left Archive and similar informal projects.
The podcast is hosted by Ciarán Swan and Aonghus Storey.
Ireland