Tag: History
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In memory of Leon Trotsky
On 21 August 1940 – 85 years ago today – Leon Trotsky died following an attack by a GPU assassin, on the orders of Stalin, the day before. This article by Alan Woods, commemorating Trotsky, was originally published in the year 2000. We share it today in memory of a revolutionary titan whose work and…
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When British troops were sent onto Ireland’s streets
On 14 August 1969, British troops were deployed onto the streets of the North of Ireland. Operation Banner had begun. At the time, some mistakenly believed they were there to bring peace. The Marxists warned they would bring no such thing. Below we republish an article first printed in the In Defence of Marxism magazine…
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James Connolly – A chapter of horrors: Daniel O’Connell and the working class
Daniel O’Connell was born in Kerry 250 years ago as of this week. Hailed in the history books as “The Liberator”, O’Connell’s record in fighting for the oppressed Irish masses is not as straightforward as we are initially made to believe – quite the contrary in fact. We republish today an extract from James Connolly’s…
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Ted Grant: Programme of the International
We publish below a document produced by Ted Grant in May 1970. Much has changed since it was first produced, and the Revolutionary Communist International has continually refined and updated its perspectives and analysis in subsequent books and articles. However, the historical value of this document, especially those parts concerning the history of the internationals,…
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Connolly and the 1916 Easter Uprising
109 years ago today, on 24 April 1916, a joint force of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army – a workers’ militia led by the Marxist revolutionary James Connolly – stormed the GPO in Dublin. At the same time, various rebel detachments occupied several other buildings and sites in Dublin’s inner city. The…
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Ireland after the Ceasefire
30 years ago, on 31 August 1994 the Provisional IRA declared a ceasefire. 25 years of armed struggle had failed to bring the unification of Ireland any closer. The ceasefire (which despite an interruption between 1996 and 1997 would eventually lead to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998) was an admission on…
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James Connolly and the struggle for Irish independence
The great revolutionary James Connolly was born 156 years ago today to Irish parents in Edinburgh. Connolly grew to be the greatest Marxist ever produced by these islands; an iconic figure in the history of the Irish working class. Executed by the British army in 1916 following his leading role in the Easter Rising, Connolly’s…
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Dublin Lockout
The 26th of August 2023 marked the 110-year anniversary of the beginning of the Dublin Lockout. 20,000 members of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) battled with the forces of British and Irish capitalism. The workers were conscious that this was a life-or-death struggle for the very existence of their organisations. They made…
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Republicanism and Revolution: “the rich always betray the poor”
In 1798, the first uprising took place against British rule in favour of a Republic in Ireland, inspired by the democratic ideals of the French and American revolutions.
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Revolution and civil war in Ireland – 100 years on
One hundred years ago, the streets of central Dublin were turned into a warzone. Hundreds were killed – the vast majority of them civilians – as British shells rained down on the Four Courts building and the surrounding area, where armed members of the Irish Republican Army had set up an occupation.