Irish, EU & international politics & economics
Interview with Claire Hunt by Evelyn Flynn. Evelyn Flynn, a medical student from Dublin, sat down with Homeless Period Ireland’s Claire Hunt to talk period poverty. EF: What is Homeless Period about? How did it come about? CH: In December 2016, the Homeless Period Dublin initiative was born with a view to helping women and girls who found themselves unable […]
By Marie Sherlock. Looking from the outside in, the Irish economy is performing really well at the moment – on course to have the second-highest GDP growth across the European Union (EU) this year. Malta and Ireland have alternated positions at the top of the EU28 scoreboard for GDP growth […]
Ailbhe Smyth has been fighting to repeal the eighth amendment banning abortion since it was inserted into the Irish Constitution in 1983, and has been fighting for women’s liberation and LGBTI rights since the late 1980s. More than any other individual, she has provided the consistent leadership, energy and commitment […]
By Ruairí Creaney. Irish unity is on the agenda. Across Ireland, it is being discussed in the media, at dinner tables and workplaces on a daily basis. While the endless calamity of a Brexit led by hard-right Tories, and the possibility of a hard border being imposed on our country […]
By Damien Thomson. On Tuesday 16 April, Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed the Environment Committee in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, calling for “Cathedral Thinking” on climate action – a reference to the huge and immediate mobilisation of empathy, panic and money at the sight of the Notre […]
By Bernard Sweeney. Since the formation of the Irish state, Travellers have been subjected to a sequence of oppressive policies, much the same as those that were weaponised against all Irish people prior to 1922. Since the creation of the Free State with the liberation, albeit partial, of the Irish […]
By Brigitta Balogh. Below is an open letter from Brigitta Balogh to British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Minister for Faith, with responsibility for Gypsy and Traveller equality policy Lord Bourne. Dear Lord Bourne, Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Brigitta Balogh and I am a Hungarian-born […]
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 Meadhbh Bolger. For much of their lives, half of the world’s population need menstrual products to live a decent life, yet many cannot afford them. In the Irish state, they cost an average of €100 per woman per year – and their use, particularly of disposable products made mostly […]
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 […]