8pm Tuesday 28 February
Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, House of Commons, London SW1
(Westminster Tube)
Speakers:
Mary Lou McDonald TD, Vice President Sinn Féin
Pat Doherty MP.
By Frances Davis
Almost one year on from the general election in the southern Irish state, which saw the crushing defeat of the Fianna Fáil government and the election of a Fine Gael/Labour coalition, the Irish economy remains in deep crisis. Implementing the same austerity policies as the previous government, the devastating impact on living standards continues, in parallel to the effect of similar Tory policies in Britain.
By Frances Davis
On Thursday night (13 October) Martin McGuinness’ speech to a packed rally in Dublin’s Mansion House demonstrated beyond any shadow of a doubt why the left and progressives everywhere should not only support his bid for the Irish Presidency, but draw inspiration from it.
His speech gave a strong message to all of the detractors and the right wing establishment in the 26 counties, who have done everything possible to malign his candidacy. Far from having anything to hide or regret, he explained how he was not only right to have followed the course he had, but proud of his history.
By Frances Davis
Sinn Féin held its Ard Fheis (Annual conference) over 9-10 September. Described as ‘a conference of firsts’, it was indeed the first time the event had taken place in Belfast at the prestigious Waterfront Hall. The rising confidence and strength of the party was evident, reflected in the breadth of speakers and policies over the two days, and laid out in both keynote speeches of party president Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. Vice President Mary Lou McDonald gave the perspective for ‘reuniting Ireland’.
By Frances Davis
This week, as Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams’ announced the party’s new Ministerial Assembly team, the party emerged from the fourth consecutive election this year which has seen Sinn Féin’s vote steadily rise – north and south of the border. The 5 May Assembly and council elections in the six counties saw a continuation of a trend in the north – that of an increase in support for Sinn Féin, and of endorsement for the Good Friday Agreement.
By Frances Davis
This year will mark the 30th Anniversary of the 1981 hunger strike, in which Bobby Sands and nine other republican prisoners died in a struggle for political status against the Thatcher government’s brutal policy of ‘criminalisation’. The hunger strike was a critical turning point in the most prolonged struggle against colonialism anywhere in history – the more than 800-year-long struggle against British rule in Ireland. This historic moment in Irish history, which ultimately saw the victory of the hunger strikers’ demands, was indeed, as Fidel Castro described that year, ‘one of the most heroic chapters in human history’.
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