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Politics, sexuality, art, marriage, death, love, anxiety and religion. These are the things that plague the collective minds of humanity. Listen as two teenagers talk about these topics as deep as they can while they just figure it out.
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A podcast looking at Left politics in Ireland from the Irish Left Archive. We talk to activists, writers, historians, politicians and others involved in Left organisations and movements about their experiences of participating in Left parties and campaigns; Left publications and political documents they’ve been involved in; and the history and development of progressive politics in Ireland. We also look at the role of the Irish Left Archive and similar informal projects. The podcast is hoste ...
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Unfinished Business: The Politics of 'Dissident' Irish Republicanism, with Marisa McGlinchey
39:02
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In this episode we talk to Dr. Marisa McGlinchey about her book, Unfinished Business: the politics of ‘dissident’ Irish republicanism (Manchester University Press, 2019). Based on a series of interviews with radical Republicans from several organisations, the book discusses the development of ‘dissident’ Irish republicanism and considers its impact…
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Sinéad Mercier: Environment and Just Transition
1:00:42
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In this episode we speak to Sinéad Mercier. Sinéad is a lecturer inEnvironmental Law & Policy and PhD Researcher in the Sutherland School of Lawin UCD with thePROPERTY [IN]JUSTICE project led by AmyStrecker and Amanda Byer. We discuss Sinéad’s political background, herengagement with Trade Unionism and work with ICTU; environmental campaigning,how …
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Spirit of Revolution: Ireland from below, 1917–1923
1:04:40
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Spirit of revolution In this episode we discuss the recently published book,Spirit of Revolution: Ireland from below, 1917–1923. This edited volume looks at regional and local case studies during therevolutionary period, highlighting the widespread radicalism – beyond thenational independence movement – that flourished around Ireland at the time in…
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Camilla Fitzsimons: Spectacle of Defiance & Hope, Repeal, and Academics for Palestine
1:19:56
1:19:56
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In this episode we speak to activist and academic Camilla Fitzsimons. Camilla’s academic work focuses in particular on education and social movements, and she is an Associate Professor in Maynooth University School of Education. Her publications include two books – Community education and neoliberalism: Philosophies, practices and policies in Irela…
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Jim Monaghan: LWR, Workers' League, Official Sinn Féin, People's Democracy, & the H-Block Armagh Committee
1:03:32
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In this episode we talk to Jim Monaghan. Jim first became politically active as a student in the late 1960s in Dublin. We discuss the increasing politicisation in Ireland at that time, and Jim’s political activity, initially with Labour and Students for Democratic Action, the League for A Workers’ Republic, and briefly the LWR-breakaway, the League…
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Throughout 2023 we have asked podcast guests if there are any cultural artefacts or events that they consider particularly influential on their politics. This episode brings together responses from historian Mary Muldowney, anarchist activist Gregor Kerr, Republican activist Des Dalton, author Michael Flavin, historian Brian Hanley, and Irish Anarc…
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David Costelloe: Military History and The Troubles
1:13:12
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In this episode we’re joined by David Costelloe. Dave writes on history and politics on his website Never Felt Better, and in particular has written an extensive series of articles on Irish military history from the earliest records almost to the contemporary, Ireland’s Wars. We spoke to Dave previously in 2021, on episode 20 of the podcast, about …
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An introduction to our next series of episodes and discussion of the Irish Left Archive project and changes we’ve made in the past year. The discussion includes mention of trying to keep all aspects of the project open. As such, we’ve made the website and podcast statistics publicly accessible, as well as any source code used in the project. Websit…
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Des Dalton: Republican Sinn Féin and Independent Republicanism
1:11:46
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In this episode we talk to Des Dalton. Des is a long-term Republican activist who joined Republican Sinn Féin in the late 1980s and has served on the party’s Ard Comhairle and as party President from 2009 to 2018. Since leaving the party in 2021, Des has been an independent Republican activist. We discuss Des’s political background and his Republic…
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Dirty War in Dublin, with Brian Hanley
1:07:30
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In this episode we talk to historian Brian Hanley about the new five-part documentary podcast, Dirty War in Dublin, written by Brian and produced by Kevin Brannigan. We discuss how the podcast came about and was developed, and look at the history of the Irish Civil War it covers and its wider context. Listeners will be familiar with Brian’s work fr…
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Emma Campbell: Art and Activism, Alliance for Choice, Array Collective and the Turner Prize
1:24:16
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In this episode we talk to Emma Campbell. Emma is an artist, activist and researcher based in Belfast. She is a co-convenor of Alliance for Choice and has particularly focused both her activism and solo art work on abortion rights, with projects including When they put their hands out like scales, which included ‘Journeys’ – photographing people’s …
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Dublin Anarchist Bookfair, with Gregor Kerr
56:19
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In this episode we talk to anarchist activist Gregor Kerr about the Dublin Anarchist Bookfair. The bookfair was first held in 2006 and organised by the Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM) and continued for a number of years. After a hiatus of a few years, the Irish Anarchist Network (IAN) and independent anarchists have come together to organise the …
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In this episode we talk to Dublin City Council historian-in-residence Mary Muldowney about left approaches to history. Mary discusses her research and public dissemination of history; her advocacy of oral history and its particular utility in bringing out working class histories and history ‘from below’; attitudes to history in Irish academia and h…
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In this episode we speak to two members of the Irish Anarchist Network, Nestor and Saornil. The Irish Anarchist Network was formed in 2022 by a number of independent anarchists. We discuss the formation and growth of the network and how they went about organising and structuring it; their orientation towards direct action and the balance between pr…
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In this episode we talk to Mickey Moran. Mickey is a member of Éirígí and is the party’s representative for the midlands. He has been politically involved since his late teens, initially in activism in Limerick and Cork with animal rights, anti-war, anti-fascist and anti-globalisation campaigns. Moving to London in 2008, he was involved with the an…
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In this episode we talk to academic and author Michael Flavin about his novel, One Small Step. Published by Vulpine Press, the novel tells the story of a young boy from a Northern Irish catholic background growing up in Birmingham in the 1970s and the impact of the 1974 Birmingham bombings. We discuss Michael’s own background, coming from an Irish …
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Vincent Doherty: Offical Sinn Féin, International Marxist Group, Troops Out, People's Democracy, H-Block Committee, Sinn Féin
1:25:48
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In this episode we talk to Vincent Doherty. Vincent has been politically active since the early 1970s, having grown up in Derry during the Civil Rights marches and outbreak of the Troubles. He joined the Official Republican movement in 1972 and was involved in Derry until moving to England in 1973. There he was briefly involved in the Socialist Lab…
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Diary of An Activist, by Orla Egan and Megan Luddy O'Leary
1:03:09
1:03:09
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In this episode we talk to Orla Egan and Megan Luddy O’Leary about their recently published book, Diary of an Activist, an illustrated memoir of social activism in the 1980s and 90s. The book draws on Orla’s experiences “journeying through vegetarianism, anti-nuclear and CND protests, feminist and queer activism, lesbian parties, coming out and bec…
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Snapshots of Political Action: Documenting Protest
51:46
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This episode introduces a new project from Irish Election Literature and the Irish Left Archive. Snapshots of Political Action aims to bring together material distributed at individual demonstrations, marches, rallies and protests in Ireland, providing a view of the different political strands and groups that come together in campaigns. We’re joine…
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Pádraig Mannion: Official Sinn Féin and The Workers' Party
1:32:13
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In this episode we speak to Pádraig Mannion. Pádraig has been a member of Official Sinn Féin and then The Workers’ Party since joining as a student in Galway in 1974, and has had several roles within the party, including on the Ard Comhairle / Central Executive Committee. He is also Secretary of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA). We discuss …
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A quick update on the Irish Left Archive project and the podcast as we start back after a break with more interviews with activists on the left. We’ll be switching to putting out interview episodes once per month in future and hope to keep that rolling without the series gaps we’ve had before. As always, thanks to everyone who has been a guest on t…
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This episode is a quick round up of the current podcast series and future plans for the Irish Left Archive. Thanks to all of our guests so far, and to everyone who has listened, contributed material to our document collection, and got in touch with information and feedback. We appreciate all the contributions we receive - the accuracy of the inform…
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Ruairí Ó Brádaigh: The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary, with Charles Tuba
1:42:07
1:42:07
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In this episode we’re joined by Charles Tuba to discuss the book Ruairí Ó Brádaigh: The Life and Politics of an Irish Revolutionary, by Robert White (Indiana University Press, 2006). The discussion looks at Ó Brádaigh’s strand of Republicanism, and in particular the policies of abstentionism and the Éire Nua policy outlining a federal Irish stat…
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Mags O'Brien: Divorce Action Group, Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Women and Trade Unionism
1:15:19
1:15:19
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In this episode we talk to Mags O’Brien about her political background; the divorce referendum campaigns of 1986 and 1995; her experience with the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza in 2011 - which was captured at sea and the crew held in an Israeli jail - and subsequent Palestine solidarity work with Gaza Action Ireland; her work as a tutor with the SIPTU C…
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Jason Brannigan: Organise!, Just Books, and Anarcho-Syndicalism
1:05:03
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In this episode we talk to Jason Brannigan. Jason is an anarchist activist in Belfast and member of the anarcho-syndicalist group Organise!, as well as being involved in Just Books, which encompasses a library of radical material, meeting space and education project. We discuss Jason’s background in Belfast, his involvement with Just Books and Orga…
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Bloody Sunday: Reactions in the Republic of Ireland, with Brian Hanley
1:33:02
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In this episode, to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, we’re joined by historian Dr. Brian Hanley to discuss the reaction in the Republic of Ireland to the events in Derry on 30th January 1972, when British soldiers opened fire on civil rights marchers, killing 14 and injuring several others. The reaction in the South saw walkouts and stri…
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Mark Fitzpatrick: Anarcho-punk, Hunt Sabotage, and Animal Rights
1:19:21
1:19:21
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In this episode we talk to Mark Fitzpatrick. Mark is an animal rights and vegan activist originally from Cork and now based in New Zealand, where he is on the board of the Vegan Society of Aotearoa. We discuss Mark’s politicisation in the anarcho-punk scene in Cork in the late 1980s, his involvement in hunt sabotage in Ireland and the UK, his persp…
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Tony Novosel: Northern Ireland's Lost Opportunity - The Frustrated Promise of Political Loyalism
1:13:31
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Our guest in this episode is Tony Novosel. Tony is a historian at the University of Pittsburgh and the author of Northern Ireland’s Lost Opportunity: The Frustrated Promise of Political Loyalism (Pluto Press, 2013). Northern Ireland's Lost Opportunity: The Frustrated Promise of Political Loyalism (Pluto Press, 2013) We discuss Tony’s own background…
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Our guest in this episode is Jess Spear. Jess is an eco-socialist and socialist feminist activist based in Dublin. She is National Organiser of RISE, a revolutionary Marxist network of People Before Profit (PBP). She is the editor of the eco-socialist quarterly magazine, Rupture, and co-authored the pamphlet What is eco-socialism?. She was a resear…
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Aileen O'Carroll: Workers Solidarity Movement
1:17:55
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In this episode, we talk to Aileen O’Carroll of the Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM). Aileen first became politically active via Student Union and pro-choice politics, and joined the anarchist WSM in the early 1990s and remains a member, having been involved in several prominent campaigns. She is a trade union activist, and chaired the Maynooth br…
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In this episode we talk to Dr. Jack McGinley. Jack is the Principal of Umiskin Press - a not-for-profit publishing house focused particularly on labour and trade union history. He has been active in the Trade Union movement since joining the Workers’ Union of Ireland in the 1970s, which later formed part of SIPTU. Among other roles, he was on the N…
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Adrienne Wallace: People Before Profit
1:01:05
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In this episode we talk to Adrienne Wallace. Adrienne is an activist and local councillor for People Before Profit (PBP). She has been active with PBP since the early 2010s and is the party organiser for the South East. She was elected to Carlow County Council in 2019. She also stood as a Dáil candidate in the 2015 Carlow/Kilkenny by-election and s…
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Roger Cole: Peace and Neutrality Alliance
1:25:58
1:25:58
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In this episode we talk to Roger Cole. Roger has been involved in politics in Ireland since joining Labour as a student in the late 1960s. He was involved in the Liaison Committee of the Labour Left, and subsequently became General Secretary of the Socialist Labour Party (SLP). After the SLP, he re-joined Labour and remained a member until leaving …
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A quick update on the podcast and forthcoming episodes. We’ll be back with new episodes every fortnight from next Monday, and we have several activists lined up from across the Irish Left to talk to us about their experience of organising and campaigning. Thanks to everyone who has listened so far, and thanks to all our guests who have taken the ti…
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This is a quick round up on the current series of the podcast and plans for the future. We’ll be back with more guests in the early Autumn. Thanks again to everyone who has spoken to us so far. Also, thanks to those who have provided documents for inclusion in the Irish Left Archive over the years; they are all listed in the acknowledgements on our…
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Official Irish Republicanism, 1962 to 1972, with Charles Tuba
1:22:44
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In this episode, we’re joined by Charles Tuba to discuss Seán Swan’s book, Official Irish Republicanism, 1962 to 1972, and the issues it raises around changing views of Republicanism, and the period leading to and following the Republican split in 1969. The book was published in 2007, and listeners who haven’t read it will find a chapter available …
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Allan Armstrong: The Scottish Left, Republican Communist Forum and Internationalism From Below
1:13:02
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In this episode we talk to Allan Armstrong. Allan has been an activist on the Left in Scotland since the late 1960s. He was a member of the International Socialists (later the Socialist Workers’ Party) during the 1970s and was a convenor of Scottish Rank & File Teachers, leaving the SWP when it sought to dissolve the latter group. As a part of the …
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Lynda Walker: Communist Party of Ireland, NICRA, Women's Rights Movement, Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, and International
1:11:55
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In this episode we talk to Lynda Walker. Lynda has been a political activist in Belfast since moving there from her native Sheffield in 1969. She is a long-standing member of the Communist Party of Ireland, and served as National Chairperson of the party from 2006 to 2017. She was active in the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, and was ins…
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Terry Dunne: Anti-war and Activist Movements, Historical Sociology, and "Peelers and Sheep"
1:01:47
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In this episode we talk to Terry Dunne. As an activist, Terry has been involved in anarchist groups, and the anti-war, environmental and social justice movements. Terry has a PhD in sociology and an interest in the historical sociology of social movements. He has written particularly on agrarian social movements, and his work has been published in …
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In this episode we talk to Ciara Galvin. Ciara is a Labour party councillor in Kildare for the Celbridge Local Electoral Area. She has been a member of Labour since 2010, and was involved in Labour Youth, serving as Trade Union Co-ordinator. She was elected to Kildare County Council in the 2019 local elections. Outside her local council role, Ciara…
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David Costelloe: Irish Military and Revolutionary History
1:17:16
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In this episode we talk to David Costelloe. David writes on history and politics on his website Never Felt Better, and in particular has written an extensive series of articles on Irish military history entitled “Ireland’s Wars”, which spans from the earliest recorded conflicts on the island right up to the revolutionary period. We discuss with Dav…
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Brian Hanley: Socialist Workers' Movement, 1980s and 90s
1:24:58
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In this episode we talk to Brian Hanley about his experience of Left activism as a member of the Socialist Workers Movement (SWM) in the late 1980s and early 90s. We discuss the cultural and political influences that led him to join the SWM as a teenager in Limerick; the nature and political position of the organisation at that time; the experience…
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Danny Morrison: Sinn Féin, An Phoblacht / Republican News, and Political and Fiction Writing
1:15:56
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In this episode we talk to Danny Morrison. Danny is a writer and Republican political activist from West Belfast. He was national director of publicity for Sinn Féin in the 1980s, and editor, first, of the Sinn Féin paper Republican News in Belfast, and then of An Phoblacht when the two papers were merged. He is the author of several fiction and no…
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Sarah Clancy: Poetry, Activism, Politics, and the Contemporary Left
1:20:44
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In this episode we talk to Sarah Clancy. Sarah is a poet and activist from Galway, and currently based in Clare. Her published collections include Stacey and the Mechanical Bull in 2011, Thanks for Nothing, Hippies in 2012, and The Truth and Other Stories in 2014. Sarah has often performed her work both at literary and at political events. We discu…
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In this episode, we are joined by Luke’s school friend Marcus as we discuss Americas political landscape ahead of the 2021 inauguration of Joe Biden, as well as digressing into politics in general and of course.....Trump.
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Laura Broxson: National Animal Rights Association (NARA)
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In this episode we talk to Laura Broxson. Laura is an activist focused on animal rights and founder of the National Animal Rights Association (NARA). NARA is a non-hierarchical organisation, taking a radical animal rights and vegan perspective. We’ll discuss how Laura came to activism and founding NARA; the anti-fur and hare-coursing campaigns in w…
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We’re back after a taking break for a few months, so this is just a quick update on the podcast and the Irish Left Archive project. We’ll have full episodes with more guests coming out fortnightly, starting next week. One of the new elements we’ve added to the site in recent months is to start a collection of personal accounts and recollections fro…
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Just Figuring it Out Episode 7: The Christmas Special! (2020 year in review)
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We’re back for a Christmas special to end your year as we talk about Santa, scooters and 2020
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John Goodwillie: Young Socialists, Socialist Labour Alliance, SWM, Socialist Labour Party, Gralton magazine and the Green Party
1:15:36
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In this episode we talk to John Goodwillie. John is a long-time political activist, who has been involved in a number of progressive parties and organisations. He was a member of Labour in the 1960s and belonged to the Young Socialists, Socialist Labour Action Group and subsequent Socialist Labour Alliance. He was involved with the Socialist Worker…
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Brian Hanley: The Lost Revolution - The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers' Party
1:16:00
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In this episode we talk to historian Brian Hanley about The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers’ Party, the book which he co-authored with Scott Millar, published in 2009. We discuss the history of Official Republicanism from the move to the Left in the 1960s up to the contemporary, and how Brian and Scott went about rese…
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