How marvellous will it be to think, in a free and independent Scotland, that the final phase of our journey began with a picnic in the capital? I can tell you, that will be the most beautiful thing – the bun fight that sent London packing. This coming Saturday I am going to Edinburgh. I am going to walk through our ancient capital. I am going to take in the sights. And I am going to walk to Holyrood Park for a picnic. After I have scoffed my pieces and drained my flask I am going to stand up and talk to my friends. If anyone wants to stop me, they had better bring an army.
That Awkward Moment When… Naomi Klein
This is exactly the problem with this level of national hypocrisy; on the one hand there is the need to flatter the stars, even when those stars are the epitome of everything this neoliberal state both fears and loathes – giants like Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky, then on the other there is this cringe-worthy attempt to silence and stifle the replication of their big ideas.
Joan Collins TD vs Ireland Inc.
Today’s decision by Judge Aeneas McCarthy in the District Court offers a ray of hope and a vindication of the community strategy of peaceful protest, non-payment, and civil disobedience. Joan Collins and others have shown that this can work and can become the basis of a successful campaign of social resistance to austerity throughout Ireland.
Only as Thick as a Prison Wall
Economics and Business Studies in secondary school did little for me at all. Such classes were always thought to be for the students who professed the ambition of becoming ‘businessmen.’ Girls were never encouraged to take them. They had Home Economics. I never wanted to be a businessman. Pin stripe suits and bowler hats never … Continue reading Only as Thick as a Prison Wall
Long Way to Tipperary
Nine decades of silence, indifference and frequent contempt have been heaped upon the memory of the part Ireland played in the British war effort during the great conflagration of the First World War – not by its disgruntled old colonial overlord, but by the Irish state itself. Boys and men from every corner of this … Continue reading Long Way to Tipperary
Standing Up To Bullies
Listening to Joan Burton, Tánaiste of this republic and a woman with the charisma of wet weekend in Greystones and the fashion sense of my dead grandmother, quoting Jim Larkin at the Labour Party Conference in defence of her class betrayal has left me cold and wanting to vomit. Underlining her complete lack of grace … Continue reading Standing Up To Bullies
Urban Combat in Maryland
In spite of everything that has been happening I am impressed that the most recent actions in the government’s programme of austerity haven’t led to violent clashes on the streets. So far the Gardaí have employed riot units and dogs against anti-austerity marches with families and children, they have gotten heavy handed on a number … Continue reading Urban Combat in Maryland
Let My People Go
Quite unintentionally my recent stay in hospital coincided with the book of Exodus in my scriptural reading cycle. This meant that the plaques visited upon the land of Egypt were being acted out on my body as I recovered from surgery. As my own sense of captivity deepened the words of Moses to pharaoh gathered … Continue reading Let My People Go
Random Public Journal 