Northern Ireland’s Unhappy Centenary
100 years ago the partition of Ireland deepened sectarian divisions and lay the foundations for conflict and reaction – but a century later, there is a growing movement for a new republic: north and south.
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Seán Byers works for Trademark Belfast, a trade union-based organisation focused on research, political education and post-conflict transformation.
100 years ago the partition of Ireland deepened sectarian divisions and lay the foundations for conflict and reaction – but a century later, there is a growing movement for a new republic: north and south.
Friedrich Engels was born 200 years ago today. We remember his engagement with the Irish question – and why he came to believe that, for workers in England to gain their freedom, “the lever must be applied in Ireland.”
On Easter Sunday, we remember Ireland’s 1916 Rising – and the role the working-class played in the revolutionary upheaval it initiated.
The recent deal to re-establish Northern Ireland’s Assembly may have broken a deadlock but it doesn’t resolve any of the fundamental contradictions at the heart of the peace process – and is likely to lead to another wave of punishing austerity.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the riots that sparked the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The working-class communities which bore the brunt of the violence have benefitted least from the peace.
The problems in Northern Ireland’s peace process didn’t begin with Brexit, and they won’t end with a backstop.