Don: Peadar O'Donnell Weekend 2012

Date:

Workers Solidarity Movement will be attending this years Peadar O'Donnell Weekend 2012 in the Rosses area of West Donegal. Hope to see you there if you can make it, as we will be providing an anarchist bookstall as part of a number of events organized for the weekend, so drop by and say hello and pick up some free anarchist info or buy a book.

Support the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast

Date:

The opening of the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast is a positive step forward for women’s rights and continuing battle for abortion services in Ireland.  While the 1967 Abortion Act has still not been extended to Northern Ireland due to an alliance of reactionary conservative forces from our local sectarian parties to the Churches.  This means that abortions can be carried out only to preserve the life of the mother, or if continuing the pregnancy would have other serious, permanent physical or mental health effects. There is strict assessment regarding any impact on mental well-being and the woman must consult with two clinicians.

Gal: Grassroots Gathering 13 in Galway - island wide gathering

Date:

Grassroots Gathering
Community struggles - campaign strategies - developing networks
NUI Galway, Friday October 12 - Sunday 14

  • Communities against fracking and drilling; movements against austerity; other sessions
  • What it is, practical details, grassroots principles, call for volunteers

NEW - FULL TIMETABLE AVAILABLE HERE(More details of sessions at the end of this post.)

Lisbrook House Asylum Centre Candlelight Vigil

Date:

273 men, women and children have been left devastated with the news that Lisbrook House asylum centre, which has been home to many people for several years, is to close its doors. The residents of Lisbrook House are playing an integral role in the local Galway community but now are being scandalously moved out from their homes.

*Lisbrook House asylum centre residents and supporters will hold a candlelight vigil tomorrow night (Friday 12 October) at 8pm outside the facility.

The Croke Park Agreement – the very antithesis of Larkin’s trade unionism

Date:

Next year, 2013, will mark the 100th anniversary of what many see as the most significant industrial dispute ever to have taken place in Ireland - the Dublin Lockout.  The employers of Dublin, led by William Martin Murphy, locked out over 20,000 workers in an attempt to starve them into submission and to smash the increasingly popular Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU).

Stormont rubber stamps Welfare Reform Bill

Date:

Anyone with any illusions in Stormont as a 'progressive' alternative to Tory cuts from Westminster should take note after yesterday’s passing of the devastating Welfare reform bill.  The motion which will impact on thousands in NI and affect disability living allowance, housing benefit and employment support was passed in the second stage by 60 votes to 42. This biggest shakeup of the 'welfare' since 1945 has already been passed in Scotland and Wales and will bring in a single, Universal Credit to replace six income-related, work-based benefits.

Solidarity Stroll - Fighting for Domestic Workers' Rights

Date:

On Saturday, the 6th of October, the Solidarity Stroll took place, organised by the Dosmetic Workers Action Group and the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland. They were calling for the Irish Government to ratify the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention on Decent Work for Dosmetic Workers (C189). This convention would give dosmestic workers the same rights as other workers.

Dub: AFA Ireland 21st birthday weekender

Date:

Anti-Fascist Action Ireland will be hosting a weekend of events to mark there 21st birthday on the 5th to the 7th of October in Dublin City.

Text of AFA announcement follows.  We have confirmed over 100 international guests so far from Glasgow, Huddersfield, London, Manchester, Liverpool, Brighton, Leeds, Naples, Rome, Venice, Toulouse, Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, Malmo, Copenhagen, Split, Bilbao, Oslo and Prague .

Dub: Conversations about Anarchism - some basics

Date:

The first of the 2012 Conversations about Anarchism will take place in the WSM space in Seomra Spraoi. Conversations about Anarchism is our friendly discussion based sessions designed for people who are new or fairly new to anarchism and want a chance to ask and hear answered some basic questions.

We are calling this first 2012 session 'An Introduction to Anarchism' and we will be using the five questions from the Anarchist FAQ to start off our conversation. These are

What does "anarchism" mean?
Are anarchists socialists?
Where does anarchism come from?
Why is solidarity important to anarchists?
Are anarchists in favour of organisation?

March for Choice - Thousands take to the Streets

Date:

This year has seen a re-energised campaign for abortion rights  in Ireland, starting with the Action on X campaign at the beginning of the year but Youth Defense's awful billboard campaign over the summer invigorated pro-choice activists to take full scale action. On Saturday 29th September the March for Choice was organised to mark International Day for Decriminalisation of Abortion. This has also been organised a month ahead of a publication of a report on abortion from a government appointed expert group, which will examine how the Governement will handle the abortion issue.