Irish, EU & international politics & economics
By Denis Rogatyuk. The scenes of six Metropolitan police officers dragging Wikileaks founder Julian Assange out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London as he was clutching a copy of the History of the National Security State by Gore Vidal have sent shockwaves of horror and an avalanche of condemnation from […]
By Eimear Sparks. Last weekend, Verona hosted the World Congress of Families, a global gathering of religious fundamentalists and representatives of right-wing movements, including the Italian government, who seek to restore ‘the natural order’. Their tactics include denying women access to contraceptive and abortion care, putting in place impediments to […]
By Ciarán MacAirt. Jean Smyth-Campbell was shot dead in a car in a layby on the Glen Road, Belfast, just before midnight on 8th June 1972. Only for her family, she may have become another forgotten victim of our dirty war. Jean was a 24-year-old single mother of a six-year-old […]
Dear Home Secretary, The Good Friday Agreement places the people of Northern Ireland in a unique position within the United Kingdom. We have the right to be Irish or British or both, as we so choose. A right that was overwhelming voted for in referendum and a right that your […]
By Niall Muprhy. On 23 June 2016, 56 per cent of people in the North voted to remain in the European Union (EU). They did so because it is in our best interests politically and economically. The reckless and irresponsible rhetoric that has conditioned the British government’s approach to effecting […]
Guest post by Nazarena Lomagno. The NGO Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF, Reporters Without Borders) has recently published a report, ‘Worldwide Round-up of journalists killed, detained, held hostage, or missing in 2018’, and its findings are shocking. Over the past year, 80 media professionals were murdered, 348 were arrested, and 60 […]
By Emma de Souza. The Good Friday Agreement was overwhelming supported in referenda both North and South – yet a core principle and the very integrity of the treaty itself is currently being questioned and undermined. I am an Irish citizen born in Northern Ireland, whose Good Friday Agreement right to identify as such has been persistently denied […]
By Damien Thomson. “How many more need to die for this war to end?” – Marielle Franco The day I first heard about Marielle Franco was the day she was murdered. One year later, the case is still unsolved and the plot thickens, as state involvement in her killing becomes […]
By Emma McArdle. Domestic abuse: it’s an issue that is so common and quietly permitted in society that many people who are actually suffering don’t see it for what it is. The prevalence of domestic abuse is staggering. (I use the term ‘domestic abuse’ instead of ‘domestic violence’ because the […]
Guest post by Jon S. Rodríguez Forrest. Last year more than 2,200 people died at sea while they were trying to reach the European Union. These deaths are not an unfortunate accident. These are murders, the direct consequence of political decisions taken by the coalition of Conservatives, Social Democrats, and […]