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BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
'The working class must take back what is ours': Imagining James Connolly's Ireland
James Connolly is well-known for being a socialist and revolutionary leader in the fight for Irish independence, as well as a champion for the working class. "A revolution will only be achieved when the ordinary people of the world, us, the working class, get up off our knees and take back what is rightfully ours," is one of his famous quotes. Advertisement According to Dictionary of Irish Biography, Connolly arrived at a view that the future for socialism and the working class in Ireland lay in an independent republic rather than in continued union with Britain or in a federal arrangement involving home rule. This was quickly reflected in his and his colleagues' decision to disband the Dublin Socialist Club and to establish in its place the Irish Socialist Republican Party (ISRP). His manifesto for the new party was radical and ahead of its time, calling for free education and child health care, nationalisation of transport and banking, and a commitment to the further extension of public ownership. Connolly spent seven years (1903-1910) in the United States and, during that time, was instrumental in the development of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) militant labour organisation. Advertisement The group promoted the ideology of revolutionary syndicalism or industrial unionism, recruiting among the huge mass of unskilled and general labour in the USA. Connolly recruited Irish and Italian workers in New York for the IWW. Promoting socialism in Ireland The Dictionary of Irish Biography said Connolly's commitment to promoting socialism among the Irish was evident in his foundation of the Irish Socialist Federation in 1907. It was through its agency that he began to re-establish links with socialists in Ireland, notably with his former ISRP colleague, William O'Brien. By 1908, both he and O'Brien's Dublin socialists were considering the possibility of his coming back to be organiser for the newly emerging Socialist Party of Ireland (SPI). Advertisement The period after his return from the US saw much of the most significant theoretical and practical work of his life. In 1910, he published the important tract Labour, nationality and religion, written to rebut the attacks of the Jesuit Father Kane on socialism and to contest the notion that catholicism and socialism were irreconcilable. In the same year he also brought to publication his most famous work, Labour in Irish History. This was the first substantial exposition of a Marxist interpretation of Irish history. Highly original in some if its findings, the Dictionary of Irish Biography said it argued for the continuity of a radical tradition in Ireland, and sought to debunk nationalist myths about Ireland's past and to expose the inadequacies of middle-class Irish nationalism in providing a solution for Ireland's ills. Advertisement Easter Rising: Connolly the revolutionary During a period of time spent in Belfast, Connolly hoped to inspire union growth and socialist progress, but this agenda was quickly overtaken by the events of the lockout and general strike in Dublin from August 1913. He was summoned to Dublin to assist Larkin in the leadership of this conflict, and, when the struggle was lost and Larkin left for America in 1914, Connolly took over as acting general secretary of the defeated Transport Union. To the disastrous defeat of the locked out and striking workers was now added the calamitous outbreak of world war. This drove Connolly into an advanced nationalist position and, though he never abandoned his socialist commitment, the social revolution took a back seat. The Dictionary of Irish Biography said the growing militancy of Ulster unionist opposition to home rule, the British government's postponement of plans for home rule in the face of unionist opposition, the growing prospect of the partition of Ireland, the outbreak of world war, and the consequent collapse of international socialism, all contributed to his adopting an extreme nationalist stance. Advertisement As he wrote in Forward in March 1914: "The proposal of the Government to consent to the partition of Ireland . . . should be resisted with armed force if necessary." Connolly said that the "carnival of slaughter" that was the world war drove him to incite "war against war", and to make tentative overtures to the revolutionary IRB. By late 1915, his increasing militancy at a time when the IRB had decided on insurrection caused them in turn to approach him; by late January they and he had agreed on a joint uprising. The Transport Union headquarters at Liberty Hall became the headquarters of the Irish Citizen Army as he prepared it for revolt. The Dictionary of Irish Biography pointed out that it was ironic that Connolly, who had always argued that political freedom without socialism was useless, now joined forces with militant nationalists in an insurrection that had nothing to do directly with socialism. It seems that Connolly believed national freedom for Ireland in the circumstances was a necessity before socialism could advance. In the event, he led his small band of about 200 Citizen Army comrades into the Easter Rising of 1916. His Citizen Army joined forces with the Volunteers, as the only army he acknowledged in 1916 was that of 'the Irish Republic'. As commandant general of the Republic's forces in Dublin, he fought side by side with Patrick Pearse in the General Post Office (GPO), until surrendering on April 29th. Connolly was badly injured in the foot, and was court-martialled along with 170 others. He was one of 90 to be sentenced to death, and was the last one of the 15 to be executed by firing squad. He was shot dead, seated on a wooden box, in Kilmainham Gaol on May 12th, 1916. Connolly was buried in the cemetery within Arbour Hill military barracks, and his wife and six of his children survived him. James Connolly's vision for Ireland would make the country a very different place to live in today. While all the participants in the Easter Rising shared the goal of Irish independence, each had their own ideas about what kind of Ireland should emerge afterward. If he had survived and lived beyond 1916, possibly becoming Taoiseach, it is fair to say Connolly's Ireland would be more socialist, secular, and worker-led in structure. He had envisioned a workers' republic where industry and land were publicly owned and democratically managed, and was not just simply fighting for Irish independence, but for the Irish working class.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Trump administration denies daily quota for immigration arrests
In a new court filing, attorneys for the Trump administration denied the existence of a daily quota for immigration arrests, despite reports and prior statements from White House officials about pursuing a goal of at least 3,000 deportations or deportation arrests per day. In May, reports from both the Guardian and Axios revealed that during a meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) leaders on 21 May, the White House adviser Stephen Miller and the Department of Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, demanded that immigration agents seek to arrest 3,000 people per day. Following that report, Miller appeared on Fox News in late May and stated that 'under President Trump's leadership, we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for Ice every day.' He added that Trump 'is going to keep pushing to get that number up higher each and every day'. However, in a court filing on Friday, lawyers representing the US justice department said that the Department of Homeland Security had confirmed that 'neither Ice leadership nor its field offices have been directed to meet any numerical quota or target for arrests, detentions, removals, field encounters, or any other operational activities that Ice or its components undertake in the course of enforcing federal immigration law.' The filing is part of an ongoing lawsuit in southern California, where immigrant advocacy groups have sued the Trump administration, accusing it of conducting unconstitutional immigration sweeps in the Los Angeles area. In mid-July a judge issued a temporary restraining order barring immigration agents from detaining individuals based on factors such as race, occupation or speaking Spanish anywhere in the central district of California, which includes Los Angeles. On Friday, an appeals court upheld that order. Politico reported that during a hearing earlier this week in the case, the justice department lawyers were pressed on the reports regarding the alleged arrest quota, and a judge reportedly asked whether it was a 'policy of the administration at this time to deport 3,000 persons per day?'. An attorney for the justice department, Yaakov Roth, reportedly responded 'Not to my knowledge, your honor' per Politico. And in the government's filing on Friday, the attorneys for the government said that the allegations of that the 'government maintains a policy mandating 3,000 arrests per day appears to originate from media reports quoting a White House advisor who described that figure as a 'goal' that the Administration was 'looking to set''. 'That quotation may have been accurate, but no such goal has been set as a matter of policy and no such directive has been issued to or by DHS or ICE' the attorneys added. The discrepancy was first reported by the Los Angeles Daily News and Politico. Neither DHS or Ice immediately responded to a request fro comment from the Guardian. In a statement to Politico, a White House spokesperson did not directly respond to questions about the discrepancy, but said that 'the Trump Administration is committed to carrying out the largest mass deportation operation in history by enforcing federal immigration law and removing the countless violent, criminal illegal aliens that Joe Biden let flood into American communities.' A justice department spokesperson told the outlet that there is no disconnect between the DoJ's court filings and the White House's public statements. The spokesperson added that 'the entire Trump administration is united in fully enforcing our nation's immigration laws and the DoJ continues to play an important role in vigorously defending the president's deportation agenda in court.' At various points during his 2024 election campaign, Trump claimed that he would target between 15 and 20 million people who are undocumented in the US for deportation. As of 2022, there were 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Cut red tape hindering marine restoration to boost coastal towns
Conservative MPs are urging Labour to cut red tape for marine restoration companies to support coastal communities in decline. The Conservative Environment Network (CEN) warned of the impact on towns of declining tourism and flooding, storms and coastal erosion, in a report outlining measures to help them. The group, which includes dozens of Tory MPs, called for regulation to be streamlined for projects such as the Solent Seascape Project, an initiative to restore saltmarsh, seagrass, oyster reefs, and seabird nesting sites between the Isle of Wight and mainland England. Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins backed the report, calling it a 'valuable conservative contribution for consideration in our ongoing policy renewal programme'. 'Britain's once-buzzing seaside towns are facing growing economic and environmental pressures. The Conservatives are determined to set out a plan to protect our coastal communities and preserve them for future generations,' she said. She added: 'Needless red tape continues to hamstring investment into marine restoration projects that could bring coastal communities jobs, nature-abundant habitats, and protection against the growing threats of climate change.' The network is also calling on Labour to use the flood defences budget to fund more nature-based solutions and to designate more highly protected marine areas in English waters to protect against practices like bottom trawling, in which fishing gear is dragged across the seabed destroying habitats and scooping up a wide array of species. They also want the Government to publish blue carbon codes – frameworks that define how carbon stored in marine habitats like seagrass and saltmarsh can be measured, verified and sold as credits – to unlock more funding for coastal resilience. They say these moves will boost nature recovery as well as local economies through nature tourism and job creation as more projects could get off the ground. Some 67% of English coastal towns are in the Office for National Statistics higher deprivation category and 3,500 properties are in areas at risk from coastal erosion. Kitty Thompson, head of campaigns at CEN, said offering solutions for coastal communities could also help the Conservatives challenge Nigel Farage's Reform UK. 'The teal tide is not inevitable. Reform offers an easy outlet of anger for many coastal towns who have watched their neighbourhoods fade. 'But they won't give these communities the solutions they deserve. If the Conservatives offer a pragmatic, credible alternative that can deliver for coastal communities, then they can challenge Reform in coastal target seats, stopping them in their tracks,' she said. Jacques Villemot, marine rewilding lead for Rewilding Britain, said the current marine licensing framework is outdated and called for the application process for projects to be streamlined. 'This framework urgently needs to be updated to support marine rewilding projects. Though necessary, in its current format marine licensing acts as a blocker, a laborious and costly process which was designed for approving developments like huge oil rigs and large wind farms,' he said.
