Workers Solidarity Movement

I was a student at Trinity College Dublin in the last four years of the 1980's. The following account is based entirely on my recollections of student activism in those years, unfortunately I don't seem to have archived any of the actual leaflets or papers produced back then. At the time we were always disappointed with the level of struggle, it’s only in hindsight that I realize that period was one of relative militancy in terms of student struggles in Ireland.

This is a collection of articles on Education struggles in Ireland and elsewhere over the last decade. Most have been written by anarchists and are first hand accounts of struggles the authors were involved in. We are making them available so new generations of activists could learn what worked and did not work in these earlier struggles.

All Welcome.

College fees are planned for next September

Build for the USI February 4th national protest
Join the fight against fees

Student Forum organised by Free Education for Everyone (FEE)
Thursday January 22nd
5pm
Room 4046,
Arts Building,
Trinity College

The Education Cuts announced in October’s Budget have unleashed a wave of protest across the country. During the months of November and December approximately 120,000 people took to the streets of Dublin, Galway, Tullamore, Cork and Donegal to register their anger at the government’s attempts to make schoolchildren pay for the financial crisis. Cowen, Lenihan and O’Keefe have been left in no doubt about the level of popular opposition to these cutbacks. In addition thousands of 3rd level students have also taken to the streets and participated in marches, pickets and blockades to protest at the proposed re-introduction of fees.

A student who was claims to have been manhandled last night by Minister Eamon O Cuiv at an Anti-Fees protest in NUIG has called for an apology from the minister.

Somewhere over 50,000 people took part in the INTO organised march through Dublin this afternoon in protest at the education cuts, The was the culmination of a series of regional marches called by the INTO.

On October 22^nd, in the biggest show of student strength in many years, over 15,000 third level students marched through the streets of Dublin. They were united in their opposition to the Budget’s 67% College Registration Fee increase and Minister for Education, Batt O’Keefe’s threat to bring back full college fees by September 2009. Last month, he announced that the return of fees would raise €530 million in revenue at a family income threshold of €120,000. To his embarrassment, he later had to admit that these figures were wrong and that in fact the maximum revenue would be only €130 million.

They came from the four corners of Munster and beyond for yesterday’s INTO organised protest march through Cork city. 

The final numbers taking part were huge and clearly the biggest seen in the city for a long, long time. Schools from Dungarvan, Listowel, Skibbereen, Kenmare, Thurles, Limerick, Tralee were present along with a huge showing from Cork City. Union banners present were from all over and included the TUI and the ASTI.

As part of the growing struggle against education cuts WSM branches have produced a leaflet that is being distributed by anarchists who study or work across the education sector. We’re working together to build a democratic and open campaign that can fight education cuts, challenge the imposition of fees and push to improve access to, and quality of, education. You can help by downloading the leaflet and distributing it at education protests or at local schools and colleges.