Features
Sometimes socialists are tempted to see the ‘enemy of my enemy as my friend’. When the corporate media engages in blatant pro-Western propaganda, you want to go to the opposite extreme and support their opponent. When Assad was demonised, you felt it was better to turn a blind eye
Features
The Orange Order did not start as a gentry project but arose from clashes in Armagh between the mainly Catholic, Defenders, and Protestant Peep o’Day Boys, most famously in the battle of the Diamond in 1795. Around forty-eight Catholics were shot dead in this skirmish and many were
Culture
We live in paradoxical times. You don’t have to convince many that Trump is terrible or the planet is burning or about the gross inequality in the world. Yet there is often a fatalism, a feeling that we cannot do much about it. How often have socialists heard the
Features
Yesterday marked the initial public offering of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, on the New York Stock Exchange. At $1.8 trillion, it is now the most valued corporation on earth. SpaceX is an amalgamation of three main activities: rockets, AI infrastructure and Starlink, which provides satellite access for both military
Features
Every worker should be warned about Covalen, a subsidiary of CPL Recruitment. One recent Monday morning, the company said that the jobs of 720 workers were at risk. This came via a brief video announcement, and no questions were allowed. The workers were treated like disposable hankies. Covalen will pick
Features
The government’s attempts to buy off fuel protesters are pathetic. They consist mainly of ‘temporary measures’ and are geared to support small businesses. There is a ten-cent reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel, but that does not bring prices below the level when Trump and Israel
Features
A 140-unit apartment complex is to be built on the site of the Bessborough Mother and Baby home, even though the grounds have not been fully exhumed. 900 women and children died there, in circumstances that are still not fully known. In other words, it is probably a crime
Features
The date keeps getting put back. There will be no border poll before 2030, declared Taoiseach Mícheál Martin. The DUP’s Gregory Campbell even claimed that it may never happen. Yet the Belfast Agreement, which was signed nearly 30 years ago in 1998, offered a non-violent ‘constitutional way’ as
Features
You know something is really bad when Elon Musk creates a Grok app that can generate sexualized images. For all the talk of ‘empowerment’, there is a deep vein of sexism in our society, which Musk, of course, celebrates. But think of the ‘cleaners’ of social media – the people who
Features
It is easy to slip into binary choices. The current wave of protests in Iran is an example. In the past, many Western liberals argued that the Iranian revolution of 1979-80 led to a terrible result – Khomeini and domination by the ‘mad mullahs’. No matter how much you pointed
Features
Hardly a day goes by without a story that implies we must prepare for war. This week, Niall O’ Connor, a journalist and an ex-Garda, told how ‘military style’ drones entered Irish airspace during Zelensky’s visit. It set off an anguished controversy on the airwaves. RTÉ then reported
Features
I worked hard on Catherine Connolly’s campaign alongside members of the Irish Labour Party. Their leader, Ivana Bacik, is a TD from the same constituency. Afterwards, I was sceptical when I heard her claim that the Labour Party had become a ‘Connollyite republican party’. I thought, however, this could