Tag: Theory

  • Ireland after the Ceasefire

    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…

  • Communists and elections: parliament, positions, and the party

    Communists and elections: parliament, positions, and the party

    In the British general election, the Revolutionary Communist Party, only 8 weeks after its founding, ran the most successful revolutionary communist election campaign in decades. Fiona, candidate of the RCP, received 1,791 votes for an openly revolutionary programme. This is an excellent result, but the reason communists participate in elections is to raise their programme…

  • Republicanism and Revolution: “the rich always betray the poor”

    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. 

  • [PRE-ORDER] Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution

    [PRE-ORDER] Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution

    The republication of Alan Woods’ Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution, which has been out of print since 2005, could not have come at a more appropriate time. The British ruling class has just buried a monarch whose reign was synonymous with the long-term ‘managed decline’ of British imperialism.

  • For a socialist United Ireland: back to Connolly!

    For a socialist United Ireland: back to Connolly!

    We were delighted to announce recently the republication by Wellred Books of Alan Woods’ Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution, the first edition of which came out in 2005 and has long been out of print. The brand new introduction to the book, which we publish below, draws out the processes that have been developing in Ireland…

  • 100 attend successful book launch of ‘Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution’ by Alan Woods

    100 attend successful book launch of ‘Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution’ by Alan Woods

    On Saturday 26 November, 65 people gathered in the London Irish Centre, with another 35 connecting online, for the launch of the new edition of Alan Woods’ Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution (order here). Comrades joined the live-streamed event from Ireland, Britain, Sweden, the USA and Canada, making this a really international gathering.

  • Revolution and civil war in Ireland – 100 years on

    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. 

  • The partition of Ireland at 100: a story of blood-soaked counter-revolution

    The partition of Ireland at 100: a story of blood-soaked counter-revolution

    One hundred years ago, on 3 May 1921, the partition of Ireland became law in the British parliament. As the Marxist revolutionary, James Connolly, had predicted, partition created “a carnival of reaction both North and South”.

  • ‘Common History, Common Struggle’ – from an error of emphasis to opportunism

    ‘Common History, Common Struggle’ – from an error of emphasis to opportunism

    Peter Hadden was still working on the finishing touches of his book, Common History, Common Struggle, when he sadly passed away in 2010. In it he analysed the events surrounding the beginning of the Troubles in Ireland. What began as a mass uprising of working-class, Catholic neighbourhoods eventually descended into a reactionary spiral of violence.