ireland

North of Ireland elections

11th May 2016 Socialist Action 0

Support Sinn Féin struggle against Tory cuts and defence of peace process

By Tom Leary

The outcome of the latest elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly was broadly unchanged. But there was a modest setback for Sinn Féin which saw its representation fall by one Assembly member and its share of first preference votes dipped 2.9 per cent to 24 per cent. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) topped the poll once more with unchanged seats and 29.2 per cent of the vote, down just under 1 per cent.

Government parties of austerity trounced in Irish election – Sinn Fein advances

29th February 2016 Socialist Action 0

The governing coalition of Fine Gael and Labour suffered a humiliating rejection at the hands of Irish voters in the General Election and the anti-austerity forces advanced. This continued the pattern evident in both the Portuguese and Spanish elections in 2015. It may also set the stage for renewed elections to the Dáil in Dublin later this year as no party looks able to form a stable government.

Lenin on ‘The British Liberals and Ireland’

17th February 2016 Socialist Action 0

In the centenary year of the Irish Rebellion in 1916, Socialist Action continues its series on the topic. Below is a short article by Lenin, ‘The British Liberals and Ireland’, which first appeared in March 1914, that is before the outbreak of the First World War. It is reproduced in full from the invaluable Marxist Internet Archive and can be found here.

Two visions of Ireland at stake in the General Election

11th February 2016 Socialist Action 0

By Frances Davis and Ian Richardson

The much-anticipated General Election in the southern Irish state, called for 26 February, has brought into sharp focus two clear political alternatives – a continuation of right wing austerity politics or a break with it, in favour of a left wing alternative. The fact that the election is taking place in the centenary year of the 1916 Rising also gives an added significance – and one which is not just based on an historic poignancy. Most of the fundamental tasks of 1916 are yet to be accomplished.

Lenin and the Easter Rebellion of 1916

8th February 2016 Socialist Action 0

To mark this year’s centenary of the Easter Rising this website will be carrying a series of articles on the Irish liberation struggle, starting with Lenin on the Irish Rebellion of 1916. Lenin was the foremost exponent of Marxism of his generation whose leadership was decisive in the success of the Russian Revolution. This was made possible by the development of a theoretical outlook which informed the anti-imperialist wing of the socialist movement which subsequently became the worldwide communist movement.