The Worst Laid Plans
Fintan O'Toole on one reason why Dick Spring should scrap An Bord Pleanala.
Politics
Portrait of Peadar O'Donnell as an Old Soldier
On an evening in 1917, Peadar O'Donnelll, twenty five years old and recently appointed full-time organiser for the ITGWU in the north-eastern counties, was sitting at a table in a small hotel in Monaghan having his supper. Four men, three in uniforms and one in a gray suit, approached him. They were members of the staff of the Monaghan County Asylum and had been on strike for three weeks.
The Changing of the Guard
The Election of the General Secretary of the ITGWU For the last two years, the Irish Transport and General Workers Union has been racked by a level of internal conflict and division which has split it into two almost equal parts. The two elections since 1981 have been accompanied by attacks of a personal nature against one candidate in particular - Des Geraghty, at present National Group Secretary with responsibility for the construction, mining and related services industries, and a member of the Workers' Party.
Beyond Compassion
Extract from Chairman of the Labour Party, Michael D. Higgins' speech at the Labour Party Conference in Galway last October.
The Extraordinary Life and Times of Sean McBride: Part 2
In the first part of his profile of Sean MacBride, Michael Farrell wrote about MacBride's involvement in the War of Independence and Civil War, his career as an IRA leader in the 1920s and 1930s and his role as a lawyer defending republican prisoners during the Second World War. In the concluding part of the article he looks at the formation of Clann na Poblachta and MacBride's role in the first InterParty government, including the Mother and Child controversy.
Ireland in Wonderland: Ten Years in the EEC
On May 1972 Ireland held a referendum on entry to the EEC. Just over 81 % of the voters voted in favour. In the last quarter of 1982 the EEC Commission's twice yearly poll, the Euro-Barometer, shows that only 47% of the Irish electorate believed membership of the Community was "a good thing", one of the lowest figures recorded during the decade.
Ministers and Misfits
Magill analysis of the current Cabinet and their suitability for their positions.
The Extraordinary Life and Times of Sean McBride: Part 1
Sean MacBride is the last veteran of the War of Independence and the Civil War to still play a major part in Irish and international politics. He has had an extraordinary career. His father was executed when he was 12, his mother arrested in front of him when he was 14. He joined the IRA at the age of 15 and accompanied Michael Collins to London for the Treaty negotiations when he was 17.
Read 'em And Weep
He was a slow starter, but once he put the foot down it was burnt rubber all the way. In the space of the short few years it took The Beatles to dump Pete Best and find the Maharishi he'd gathered a personal fortune, fashioned a legend of vision and efficiency and made a vain grasp at the brass ring. Missed.
How long more must we tolerate this awful Government?
The Government has already taken decisive steps to ensure that it will join the increasing ranks of the worst the country has known. the composition of the Cabinet and the Programme for Government are resolute commitments in that direction.