This is the home page of the Irish anarchist writer Andrew N. Flood, pictures on this page were also taken by Andrew

Nationalism...No Thanks (WS43, 1994)
Anarchists are for the defeat of British imperialism. We would like to see an end to the killings in the 6 counties but we understand that the ultimate cause of the troubles lies at the feet of Britain and the northern sectarian statelet. But we want more, we stand for the creation of a new society in the interests of the working class and against the bosses, both orange and green.

It was always time to go..Troops out now! (WS43, 1994)
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, on Thursday, August the 15th, 1969, 400 soldiers from the Prince of Wales Own Yorkshire Regiment took up positions around Derry city. Why they arrived has been the subject of myth making and distortion for the last 25 years. The myth is a simple one, that the function of the British army in the 6 counties is to preserve the peace, to keep apart fanatical Catholics and Protestants who would otherwise tear each others throat out at the first opportunity.

Ireland, Sinn Fein and the peace talks (WS42, 1994)
The peace talks represent the ditching of Sinn Féin's left gloss and a return to good old nationalist politics, pure and simple. They started with the Hume - Adams dialogue, a still secret document but one which clearly set out to demonstrate that the northern nationalists could be trusted (by both Dublin and London) to 'behave' in the event of British withdrawal.

The real difference is not between Catholic & Protestant but between rich and poor (WS50) [In French]
he only Ireland worth fighting for one where every working class person stands to gain. Do we unite with all sorts of nationalist bosses and gombeens to "free Ireland"; or do we unite with our fellow workers - against Orange and Green divisions - to fight for the sort of Ireland we want to live in and our children to grow up in? We see in the common struggle for an anarchist Ireland the solution to partition, the destruction of exploitation and the withering away of sectarian hatred.

The Celtic Tiger ... who's doing the roaring (WS53, Jan 1988)
Particularly in the greater Dublin area, there is an economic boom and for many - though not all - this boom has brought jobs and hope for the future. Where did this boom come from and how long will it last?

What happened in the An Post dispute (WS36, 1992)
The An Post dispute which ended in June should be seen in the context of a fight against casualisation by a well organised workforce. . An emergency motion at the CWU conference in May 1990 instructed the Executive to oppose the introduction of casuals.

Support the building workers (Anarchist News 18, October 1998)
The courage of David McMahon and William Rodgers who have chosen to go to jail rather than back down in the face of an unjust law is an inspiration to all of us. They should be supported not just by all building workers but by all Irish workers.

Marching to nowhere :Stirring Up Sectarian Hatred (WS57, May 1999)
While we should oppose the Orange Orders parades where ever local people reject them (and our ideal would be for 'Protestant areas' to also oppose them), there are real problems with the way these campaigns are proceeding. The central problem however is that the residents' groups are fighting on the sectarian terrain chosen by the Orange Order. With its membership declining and its influence on the state under threat, the Order needs an 'anti-Protestant' opposition to justify its continued existence.

The Orange Order: An enemy of all workers (WS57, May 1999)
The reality of the Orange Order is that it is a counter-revolutionary institution set up and maintained to target not just Catholics but also 'disloyal' Protestants. It's formation and spread was encouraged by the British state in the years leading up to the 1798 rebellion precisely in order to drive a wedge between ordinary Catholics and Protestants. The 12th of July was picked as the key date to provide an alternative attraction to the marking of Bastille day and in itself to mark the sectarian massacre that led to the formation of the Orange Order.

On the Zapatistas

The Zapatistas - an anarchist analysis of their structure and direction Lessons from the rebellion in Chiapas This pamphlet contains two articles which use the Zapatistas own words and on the ground interviews carried out in a Zapatista community in 1997 to put forward a detailed analysis of the grassroots democratic structures of the Zapatistas. The first article published in 2001 ends with a critique of the politics of the Zapatistas from an anarchist perspective. The second article takes up that critique in light of the new direction announced by the Zapatistas in the summer of 2005. What is it that is different about the Zapatistas? “a great in depth discussion of the topic” A new direction for the Zapatistas? “an excellent discussion piece” - “I really enjoyed this piece” - “Excellent essay, thanks so much, very helpful" Download the PDF file of this pamphlet

A New Direction For The Zapatistas (RBR 10, Jan 2005)
Over the summer the Zapatistas announced a new strategy but what was it and what does it mean? On the global level the the rebellion in Chiapas was both an inspiration and organisational model for new a generations of anti-capitalist activists. Because of this the change in direction will have repercussions that stretch far beyond Mexico

Zapatistas: An Inspirational Decade On (WS, Jan 2005)
The importance of their rebellion is not in the brief military struggle that took place 11 years ago but in the society they have built in the years since

What is it that is different about the Zapatistas? (Chiapas Revealed, Feb 2001)
Long and detailed article that looks at the way the Zapatists organise and what possible influences there are from historic Mexican anarchist movement.

The Zapatistas, anarchism and 'Direct democracy' (Anarcho-Syndicalist Review 27, Winter 1999)
The Zapatista rebellion of 1994 has become the 90's equivalent of the Cuban and Nicaraguan revolutions. It has excited the imagination of a layer of active young. The balaclava and pipe toting Marcos is becoming the same sort of visual icon that the bearded and beret wearing Ché was 30 years earlier. And perhaps it is this similarity that has scared the organised anarchist movement into comparative silence on the on-going rebellion in Chiapas?

The Mexican Zapatistas and direct democracy (WS55, Oct 1998)
Much of the discussion around the Zapatistas has focused on their communiqués and essentially divides into two camps, one that sees them offering a new model of revolutionary organisation, the other that criticises them on the basis of problems with their political program. However, little has been written about day-to-day life in the rebel area, so when an opportunity arose to travel there in the summer of 1996 I took it.

Understanding the Zapatistas (WS56, March 1999)
The lack of serious discussion of the Zapatistas by the revolutionary left is surprising. There exists a certain amount of (mostly) uncritical reporting by individuals and a few essays aimed at putting the rebellion in a broader context. But the 'official left' either remains silent, or worse, produces ham fisted and lazy critiques that merely compare the rebellion to Cuba and Ché Guevara and say 'they failed, so will the Zapatistas'.

The Zapatista contribution to the new opposition (Talk, 1997) *
The challenges we have explored in recent weeks thrown up by neoliberalism and indeed the greater challenge of the failure of the left in the 20th Century require not only a new theoretical understanding of how struggle can be conduced but also real world examples of this actually happening.

What is the EZLN (June 1994 - WSM public meeting) *
The reason we are so concerned with the politics of the EZLN is not academic. Rather it is because we understand that real and permanent liberation can only be achieved by an international anarchist revolution. There have been many revolts by guerrilla movements in third world countries, some more successful than others but none have led to a fundamental change in the way society operates.

Report on the Second Encounter for Humanity and against Neoliberalism (Ainfos, August 1997)
Those on this road have gathered from all over the world, over 50 countries in all. They have temporarily left the struggles in their own countries to come here to dream of a new reality together. Here the weather beaten features of a male campesino from Brazil, are found beside the sunburned features of an 18 year old female squatter from Berlin.

Thousands of rebels from all over the world meet in Spain (WS52, 1997)
REGULARS READERS of Workers Soldarity will have read of the Gathering in Chiapas, Mexico last year hosted by the EZLN (Zapatistas) attended by 3,000 rebels from all over the planet. A second gathering 'for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism was held this August in the Spanish state. Here we interview Irish Mexico Group activist and WSM member Andrew Flood, who helped organise and attended this gatherin

Report on the First Intercontinental Gathering for Humanity and Against Neoliberalism (Ainfos, August 1996)
In the week from July 27th to August 3rd 1996 about 3,000 people gathered in the isolated mountainous jungle region of Chiapas in Southern Mexico. Our mission was to meet 'for humanity and against neo-liberalism'. We were hosted by five indigenous communities in conference centres that had taken hundreds of people weeks to carve out of the surrounding jungle [PDF file]

For Humanity and against neoliberalism (WS50, 1996)
In August of 1996 3,000 people from all over the world gathered in jungle camps as guests of the EZLN to discuss building a global fight against neo-liberal capitalism. The EZLN is an army that has been in rebellion against the Mexican state since January 1 1994. Workers Solidarity Movement member Andrew Flood who attended as a delegate from the Irish Mexico Group reports on this conference.

On the Russian Revolution

How Lenin led to Stalin (WS33, 1991)
FOR THE LENINIST far left the collapse of the USSR has thrown up more questions then it answered. If the Soviet Union really was a 'workers state' why were the workers unwilling to defend it? Why did they in fact welcome the changes? What happened to Trotskys "political revolution or bloody counter revolution"? Those Leninist organisations which no longer see the Soviet Union as a workers state do not escape the contradictions either. If Stalin was the source of the problem why do so many Russian workers blame Lenin and the other Bolshevik leaders too.

In defence of the Truth (WS34, 1992)
We have been insisting on the need for the far left to re-appraise the tradition of the Russian revolution and in particular the role the Bolsheviks played in destroying that revolution. One of the most detailed responses to the anarchists critique of Bolshevism was published in the winter issue of International Socialism the journal of the Socialist Workers Party. It is unfortunate that the SWP has chosen to continue the Leninist tradition of lying, even to their own members about the Bolsheviks role in defeating the Russian revolution

Defending the Bolsheviks or defending the truth? (1994)
We don't place any major priority on debating other small left groups but every now and again such an exercise becomes worthwhile. In particular decent defences of the Bolsheviks actions during the Russian revolution are hard to come by. That is ones that try and defend their actions rather than re-write history and slander opponents. This is a reply to one of the better defences of the Bolsheviks.

Victor Serge: The Bolsheviks pet 'anarchist' (1994?)
Notes for an article on Victor Serge which I never got around to writing.The material Serge wrote in his first years in Russia consists of crude apologies for the Bolshevik dictatorship. It is not surprising that this is the most popular material among today's Leninists. But in his later writings the Bolsheviks pet anarchist turns to bite his master. With the illusion of the 'success' of the Russian Revolution fading in the late 1930's Serge rediscovered the brutality of the Bolshevik regime.

Notes on the Makhnovista, Nestor Makhno and the Russian Civil war in the Eastern Ukraine (1995?)
This article is advanced notes for a section on the Makhnovista I was working on for the Anarchist FAQ. I abandoned work on this. They start with a long history of the military events followed by the constructive activities of the Makhnovista. The final section which I had only started was intended to answer Bolshevik slanders of the Makhnovista.

Can you have an anarchist army? (WS59, Spring 2000)
In the Makhnovista, officers were popularly selected from the ranks of the revolutionaries. It was a volunteer army - its shortage was always of weapons rather than combatants. It relied on the peasants' solidarity for support, both in terms of directly providing food and in directing them to local kulaks (wealthy farmers) who could stand the loss of "two or three sheep to make a soup for the insurgents".

On Revolution

Two weeks that shook Spain (WS49, 1996)
The first two weeks of the revolution were its high point. A massive wave of working class creativity was released, dealing with a thousand different problems. But these weeks were also the limit of the revolution, after taking most of Spain and controlling practically all of production the revolution stalled.

Revolution (WS32, 1991)
ANARCHISTS SAY that capitalism can not be reformed away. We say it must be overthrown through a revolution. Many people however believe that the failure of the Russian revolution of 1917 shows revolutions just replace one set of rulers with another. The failures of the revolutions in Nicaragua, Iran and Cuba to fundamentally change life for the workers of these countries seems to point to the same thing. So why all this talk of revolution?

Review: The Spanish Civil War by Antony Beevan (WS59, Spring 2000)
Beevan's approach is fresh and different. He understands that much of what made the Spanish Civil War unique from a military viewpoint was the revolution that had taken place. Rather than ignoring the anarchists or treating them as a minor nuisance he puts them where they belong, at the heart of the story.

On fascism and racism

The fight against fascism...yesterday and tomorrow (WS51, 1996?)
One clear lesson that emerges from the pre-war period is that the fight against fascism cannot be won by the work of 'heroic militants' once fascism has received the backing of capitalism and the state. In Italy, Germany or Spain nothing short of a revolution would have defeated fascism. As in every other case, a successful revolution would have required that the working class as a whole mobilised against the state and the fascist gangs and collectively crushed them.

Remembering the Anarchist Resistance to fascism (WS54, June 1998)
Individual acts were just the tip of anarchist organisation against fascism. In this period every western government saw fascism as a useful bulwark against 'communism'. From the early 1920's Italian anarchists had physically fought the fascists and even after World War II anarchists were being jailed for fighting the fascist Italian state in that period.

Can the European fascists take power in the 1990s? (WS38, 1993)
The current status of the European far-right as a primarily racist rather than fascist movement does effect the way we fight it. It is the official racism of the governments and opposition parties that has made the far right acceptable. Before World War Two fascism did not arise to head off an imminent revolution in either Germany or Italy. It arose because the bosses needed to squeeze the working class a lot harder than the democratic capitalist state was capable of. Wage cuts were so savage under fascism that wages in Germany, for instance, did not reach the 1931 level until 1956.

Anarchism: A history of anti-racism (Anarchist News 17, April 1998)
The contribution Irish anarchists have made to building the anti-racist movements here is part of an international movement and tradition stretching back over 100 years. We recognise no states and hence no border or immigration controls. But we recognise that as long as capitalism exists it will create borders, it will create racism and it will create refugees of both those whom it considers 'uneconomic' and those it considers a political threat.

On the internet

Roadblocks on the Information Super-highway (WS45, 1995)
The current structure of the internet makes effectively censoring it a very difficult prospect. And the crude attempts to set activists up for persecution has already met a heated response as thousands have e-mailed protest letters to some of the publications involved. A key factor in keeping the information freely flowing will be how far workers using and maintaining the net go along with or oppose this censorship.

Into the 21st century (WS44, 1995)
In the last year the international computer network called the internet has become a source for countless articles in the mainstream media. But did you know that anarchists have been using this system for several years now?

Other

Colombia 3 - wrong people in the dock (WS74, Feb 2003)
The trial of the Colombia 3 has produced a frenzy of speculation in the Irish media about whether they are guilty or not, and how this might effect the 'peace process'. What is all too lacking, however, is any background to Colombia itself. This is not too surprising. Andrew looks at the situation there and argues that it is the Colombian state that should be in the dock.

I Couldn't Paint Golden Angels (WS48, 1995)
Albert's book is a valuable addition to the archive of anarchist history, not because its an accurate portrayal of the movement in this period (it's extremely partisan and anecdotal) but because it reminds us of the reason and motivation we have for being anarchists in the first place.

French Workers Take on their bosses (WS47, 1995) [In Turkish] [In Dutch]
The strike wave that rocked France in the closing month of 1995 is yet another example of the great fighting spirit of the French working class. Yet when we look at the causes of the strike and the relative weakness of French workplace organisation the question that emerges is 'if they can do it, why can't we'?

Legalise it (WS43, 1994)
Possession of small amounts of all drugs should be de-criminalised. Anti- social drugs like heroin should be available on prescription from doctors at low cost to prevent junkies turning to crime to finance their habit. What is needed is a real debate on the control of the other drugs. It seems reasonable to say that the maximum of restrictions should be similar to those applying in relation to drink or tobacco and this should be medically based and enforced rather than state controlled.

Thinking about Anarchism: Smash the state (WS41, 1994)
Anarchists see the state as a mechanism by which a minority imposes its will on the majority of the population. To maintain its hold of power the state forms whatever armed forces and judicial apparatus are deemed necessary to keep the level of dissent manageable. This is different from how most Marxists define the state, concentrating on the mechanism by which the state stays in power (bodies of armed men) rather then the function of the state. It is the characteristic of minority rule which defines the state for anarchists

Election fever (WS37, 1992)
If we do not wish to see society divided into order-givers and order-takers we should not take part in choosing the order-givers. Our goal is efficient grassroots democracy, which will be co-ordinated nationally and internationally. We hold that everyone affected by a decision should be able to have a direct say in making that decision.

Anarchism today (WS34, 1992)
The tradition in which the anarchists stand is one that socialists need to identify with. For many on the left this will be a difficult process. They were weaned on a diet of slander when it came to anarchism, either being told that anarchists were police agents or that they were not real socialists at all and wanted a return to feudalism. We must resist the temptation to avoid this problem by going "beyond anarchism". The state has been the Achilles heel of 20th century socialism, it is not an issue to be fudged.

Labouring for what? (WS32, 1991)
There was no glorious period of Labour Party socialism, and never will be. It is a bosses' party which at times of crisis is every bit as willing to attack the working class as the Tories. Some of the left in the Labour Party, unable to avoid it's rotten record, will put their hope in some future Labour government led by the 'left'. Their hopes are as futile as those who see a majority Labour government led by socialists bringing in socialism in Ireland.

If voting could change anything...it would be illegal (WS32, 1991)
What do we say to people in the reformist parties? They can not (and should not) be ignored. We say look at the record of your party in government or to the Workers Party when you supported the 1981 minority Fianna Fail government. Look at what your party stands for. Look at the record of your party in the trade union bureaucracy. Look at the historical role reformist parties have played in other countries. Reformism has had it's test and failed one hundred times.

Dockers are fighting back internationally (WS54, June 1998)
On April 7th the main docks company in Australia (Patricks) sacked its entire workforce of 1,400. At the same time hundreds of security guards, with dogs, flooded onto 17 different dock locations around Australia, resulting in at least one worker being injured. Some arrived by boat and were described by one witness as behaving like Commandos as they leapt ashore.

Massive strike shakes Denmark (WS54, 1998)
Almost half a million workers went on strike, including almost all industrial workers and most workers in transport and building. It was so powerful that the police and other emergency services had to ask the unions whenever they needed petrol.

News stories

These are all quickly written pieces for indymedia or the WSM site, some are mostly photographs

Anti-war reports
Anarchist involvement in the anti-war movement focused on Shannon airport which was being used to refuel US planes en route to Iraq. This peaked on March 1st 2003 with the GNAW plan to pull down the ariport perimeter fence, a proposal that led to national debate in the media and on the streets.

Dec 6 2003 - Blockade of Shannon warport (with photos)
December 6th saw the largest anti-war demonstration at Shannon airport since April of last year. Some 400 people took part in what the Irish Anti War Movement (IAWM) had advertised as a blockade of the airport. The blockade was supported by the Grassroots Network Against War.

June 18 2003- Iraq - the war continues; Shannon - the refuelling continues
George Bush may have declared major combat operations over in Iraq on May 1st but resistance to the US occupation forces goes on. The killing today of one more US soldier at a petrol station in Baghdad means 42 have been killed in combat since that date, almost one per day. And every week US soldiers coming to and from Iraq continue to fly through Shannon airport.

April 12 2003- Shannon - at the end of a long road [with photos]
It seems quite likely that, at least for now, that will be the end of the IAWM. So the movement that could mobilise 100,000 ends up leading 467 (I counted) into a protest pen at Shannon as in the background military flights taxi for take off. The speakers told us of course that this was 'not the end'.

March 1st 2003- To the next time
Saturdays direct action at Shannon was foiled in its intention to get onto the airfield. But it demonstrated to the anti-war movements that such an action is possible to carry out and that is a major step forward.

25 Feb - 2003 - If not now, when
Although we don't know the details of the Bush and Blair war plan it seems certain we are only around three weeks from the official start of the war. Unofficially the war has gone on for the last 12 years with bombs raining down on Iraq and a regular basis and the economic war credited with killing over half a

17 Feb - 2003 - Incredible turnout at Dublin anti-war march - but what do we do now? [with photos]
Saturday 15 February saw the largest demonstration in Dublin in two decades and by far the largest anti-war demonstration in Ireland ever.If there is any reality to the claim that parliamentary democracy works then it is clear that the government had no choice but to end the refuelling of US warplanes at Shannon and to oppose the US drive for war in the UN. Perhaps this is what will happen but my advice is not to hold your breath

5 Feb 2003 - Direct Action at Shannon shows the way
On three occasions individuals or small groups of activists have succeeded in reaching and damaging military planes. One result of this has been that one of the commercial airliners ferrying troops, World Airlines, have announced that they are going to stop using Shannon, and are diverting their next 17 troop transports to Frankfurt airport

18 Jan 2003 - Mass demonstration at Shannon Warport (with pictures)
On Saturday 18th January thousands of people travelled from around the country to protest at the military use of the airport and to oppose war in Iraq.

October 12th 2002 - Mass anti-war trespass at Shannon Airport [with photos]
Saturday saw the largest anti-war demonstration to date at Shannon airport. As the demonstration ended a 50m section of the perimeter fence was torn down and up to 150 people entered the airfield perimeter.

Sept 28th 2002- Anti war demonstration in Dublin [with photos]
Saturday saw a sizeable anti-war demonstration in Dublin, in which over 2,000 people participated, organised by the Irish Anti-War Movement. This makes it slightly larger then the largest of the anti-Gulf marches of a decade ago.

April 27th 2002 - Second Palestinian solidarity march in Dublin [with photos]
On Saturday 27th Dublin saw its second major demonstration against the Israeli occupation of Palestine in a month. The march had been called around the slogans 'Justice for Palestine' and 'No war on Iraq' although most placards concentrated on the Palestinian situation.

April 6th 2002 - Protests against Israeli occupation in Dublin [with photos]
Some 1,500 to 2,500 people marched though Dublin on Saturday demanding an end to the Israeli occupation and freedom for Palestine. The demonstration called by the Alliance for Palestine and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign was the culmination of a week of activity that included a six-day occupation of a tree in the car park of the Israeli embassy.

Sept 30th 2001 - Anti-war demonstration in Dublin [with pictures]
Between 800 and 1,000 people marched through the centre of Dublin yesterday as part of an anti-war protest called by Globalise Resistance.

Sept 26th 2001 - First major anti - war meeting in Dublin
An anti war rally in Dublin last night confirmed that opposition to Bush's war is growing as fast in Ireland as it is internationally. The room booked for the meeting was full five minutes before it was due to start with 160 sitting but with at least another 100 people leaning against every available wall

Aug 19th 2002 - Shannon demonstration against refuelling of US war planes [with photos]
A total of about 70 people turned up for the protest but the vast majority of us were prevented getting into the area of the airport by the police. They had set up a checkpoint at the airport gates and were stopping any cars they suspected contained protesters. In the end we just marched up and through the Gardai line. They made a fairly half hearted attempt to stop us and then settled down to simply walking in front and behind us

Nov 4th 2001- Anti-war march in Dublin [with pictures]
Saturday November 4th saw a large anti war demonstration march through Dublin city centre. This reflects growing opposition to the US war against Afghanistan following the bombing of Red Cross warehouses, a hospital and dozens of homes. The march also saw the first appearance of the new Anarchist Against the War banner.

Bin tax struggle
After a couple of years of preparation the struggle against the attempt to impose the bin tax in Dublin exploded in the Autumn of 2003. This struggle was at its most intense for a little over the month from September 11 2003. Over 20 people were jailed for up to a month in that period and dozens more were dragged in front of the courts. At the time of writing (Autumn 2006) many areas of Dublin are still not paying the tax although the co-ordinated campaign did not survive much beyond 2003.

Oct 14 2003 - Day of action brings bin trucks to a halt
This morning saw a day of action across Dublin against the bin tax. At depot after depot activists from the campaign turned up in the early hours of the morning to stop the bin trucks leaving. This act of defiance is our answer to the continued jailing of activists by the high court.

Oct 11 2003 - Another bin tax march on Mountjoy jail
Saturday saw the second major march on Mountjoy jail of the bin tax protests. As many as 3,000 took part in this one, most marching out from Parnell square with a couple of hundred marching down from Cabra to meet them at the jail.

Oct 9 2003 - 10 jailed, hundreds protest at Mountjoy
Yesterday the High court jailed 10 bin tax protesters. Last night at very short notice over 300 people protested outside Mountjoy jail where some of them were being held.

Oct 8 2003 - Blockades and lobbies of Dublin city bin truck depots
There were blockades on two of the four Dublin city depots this morning and a lobby of the Rathmines depot. This is to mark the High Court case this morning when 24 protesters from the city are being dragged into the courts for breaking the councils injunction against blockading trucks.

Oct 2 2003 - Grange Gorman blockade successful
Last nights blockade of the Grange Gorman bin truck depot was a success with no truck managing to leave during the three-hour blockade. These were the trucks that were to do the rubbish pick-up in the shopping areas of the city centre.

Oct 1 2003 - Dail protest, blockades and the bin tax campaign
The opening of the Dail on Tuesday 30 September after the long, long holidays the TD's get saw a somewhat disappointing bin tax protest on the streets outside. Disappointing because while 4,000 or so marched last week only 10% of this number turned up for the Dail protest.

Sept 23 2003 - Bin tax and Reclaim the Streets protests link up in Dublin
Monday evening in Dublin saw a Reclaim the Streets demonstration joining up with an anti-bin tax march demanding the release of two imprisoned activists. At the Garden of Remembrance there were already around 1,000 people, this would rise to 3,000 by the time the march departed.

Sept 17 2003 - Bin tax protesters in Cabra blockade two trucks [with pics]
As Fingal council took a High Court case against bin tax protesters this morning bin tax campaigners in Cabra blockaded two trucks in solidarity with Fingal campaigners. Our intention is to hold onto at least one of these two trucks all day

Sept 12 2003 - Cabra activists blockade bin truck [with pics]
The Cabra/Dunard/Navan campaign activists had lobbied the Grangegorman depot Thursday morning and in solidarity with activists in Fingal decided to blockade one of the Cabra routes for one hour this morning.

Sept 11 2003 - Bin tax protesters lobby at depots [with pics]
Yesterday Fingal council attempted to start refusing to collect the bins of those who not paying the bin tax. This morning the campaign in the Dublin city area swung into action. Non-payers bins are still being collected in this area so our first move was a lobby of the depots that the trucks leave from each morning

Sept 2nd 2002 - Bin tax picket of Dublin corporation meetings [with photos]
Around sixty people took part in the picket, the bulk of them activists from the various political organisations opposing the charges. Obviously most non payers don't see the relevance of the regular council pickets and see non-payment as central to beating the tax

Oct 1st 2001- Bin tax struggle in Dublin [with pictures]
On Thursday the 27th all the local county councillors were invited to a meeting in the Liberties to explain their position on the bin tax. About 60 residents turned up to hear what they had to say for themselves.

September 17th 2001 - Delegates from local anti Bin tax groups meet in Dublin [with pictues]
Monday night saw the first real activists meeting of the Dublin Corporation area anti Bin Tax campaign. The council is sending out second demands for payment but the figures indicate that the non-payment rate is very strong, currently around 80%.

Globalisation

May 1st 2004 - The long march on Farmleigh
In terms of the development of a libertarian movement in Ireland the march on the EU summit at Farmleigh will probably be seen as a turning point. For the first time the movement mobilized large number of people from outside its own ranks, in a demonstration that was in direct defiance of the Irish governments attempt to ban such demonstrations.

Gardai harassment of Mayday protest leafleting continues (Indymedia.ie April 2004)
Over the last week the Gardai have repeatedly turned up on occasions where the Dublin Grassroots Network has been attempting ton inform the public about the Mayday protests. On each occasion they have demanded the names of the people there in what can only be a crude attempt to intimidate the protest organiser and reduce their ability to inform the public about the protesters. What are they afraid of you finding out?

Sept 22nd - RTS on Baggot St. a great success [with photos]
Sundays Reclaim the Streets was a great success. Over 1,000 people took part in the four-hour party. Despite attempts by the Gardai to whip up a panic because the organisers refused to meet with them in advance of the party the day was trouble free and very good humoured.

June 22nd 2002 - The Seville 2002 EU summit protests [with photos]
A group of Irish anarchists travelled to the June 2002 demonstrations in Seville Spain against the European summit. This is an account of the demonstration and our journey there

May 30th 2002 - Irish anarchists and the Seville protest
As you are probably aware the protests in Seville on the weekend of June 20th against the European summit are liable to be the largest globalisation protests to date. Anarchists from Ireland will be at the protests and in Dublin (and maybe elsewhere) we are arranging solidarity activity and a public meeting

May 9th 2002 - Large protest in Dublin against police brutality [with photos]
After two days when the first item on the evening TV news was the brutal Gardai attack on a Reclaim the Streets party it was not surprising that thousands joined a rally against police brutality outside Pearse St police station on Thursday night.

May 6th 2002 - Dublin Reclaim the Streets attacked by Gardai [with photos]
It was expected that this would be the largest Dublin Reclaim the Streets to date due to the massive level of publicity for it. What was not so expected was that by the end of the day 24 people would have been arrested and over a dozen hospitalised by a police riot on Dame street.

March 29/30 2002 - Second Grassroots Gathering in Cork a success
The second grassroots gathering was held over the Easter weekend in Cork. It was quite a success with nearly twice as many libertarian activists turning up as had been hoped for. Some seventy people from all over Ireland took part.

July 24th 2001 - Demonstrations in solidarity with Genoa anti G8 demonstrations in Dublin [with pictures]
Monday 23rd July saw two separate demonstrations take place outside the Italian embassy on Northumberland Road. Both had been called to protest the savage repression of the anti - G8 Protests in Genoa.

May 1st 2001 - May Day stock exchange protest [with photos]
May Day saw a very successful and well attended demonstration that forced the Dublin Stock Exchange to shut early. Some 300 protesters joined a demonstration called by Globalise Resistance which blocked the street outside the exchange.

April 7th 2001 - Protest outside US embassy against Bush's withdrawal from Kyoto agreement [with photos]
A picket of around 50 to 60 people was held at the US embassy in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland to protest the decision of the Bush regime to refuse to implement the Kyoto agreement on global warning.

Other

Attempted eviction of Dublin squat fails (WSM site, March 2004)
On Tuesday morning the second best kept secret of the Dublin libertarian scene came to an end when the council turned up to evict 16 Leeson street. Squated in the aftermath of the violent eviction of the Disco Disco building at 42 Parnell square last summer No16 has been the focal point for lots of activity ranging from theoretical discussions to organic gardening. Today the eviction attempt was defeated.

'It happened in the Phoenix Park all in the month of May' (indymedia.ie, May 2005)
The political history of the Phoenix Park. While the park hosts many of the symbols of power in Ireland - past and present - from the monument to the arch-reactionary Wellington, to the US-ambassador's residence and the Garda Headquarters, it has also seen its fair share of opposition.

July 18th 2002 - Irish Glass Bottle workers occupation
Workers at the Irish Glass Bottle plant in Ringsend have been in occupation of the plant for the last couple of months. The plant is closing, making some 375 workers redundant and the company is refusing to pay redundancy at the level recommended by the Labour Relations Commission

March 31 2002 - People Power Wins At Old Head of Kinsale [pictures only]
Well over a hundred activists and protesters braved the elements, hostile private security, newly erected fencing and barbed wire at the Old Head of Kinsale on Easter Sunday to score yet another important victory for free public access to the Old Head of Kinsale Walk.

Feb 16th 2002 - X case march in Dublin - 10 years on [with pictures]
Around 300 people marched through the centre of Dublin on Saturday to mark the 10th anniversary of the 'X' case and to support a No vote in the latest anti-abortion referendum.

Feb 3rd 2002 - Bloody Sunday - 30 years on tens of thousands march [with pictures]
Somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 people (RTE "more than 20,000 people") followed the original route of the march from the Creggan down through the Brandywell to the Bogside

June 15th 2001 - Pro Choice ship arrives in Dublin [with pictures]
For the last few months Irish pro-choice activists including members of the WSM have been preparing for the arrival of the Women of the Waves ship in Ireland. This has provided the strongest focus since the X case to resume the struggle for the right of women to control their own bodies, including the right to decide whether or not to continue a pregnancy.

May 8th 2001 - Dublin 'May Day march' and Hope carnival 2001 [with pictures]
The May Bank Holiday in Dublin saw the traditional trade union May Day march and the Hope carnival held by radical environmentalists. The contrast between both events was extraordinary.

May 5th - 7th 2001 - May Day and the Willam Thompson Summer School in Cork [with pictures]
Between a 100 and 150 people march through Cork on Saturday evening in one of most buoyant May Day marches in many years. Also on the same weekend was the Willam Thompson Summer school held in the Firkin Crane centre on the theme 'Making the Links'.

April 2nd 2001 - Dublin council defeated in attempt to ban demonstrations [with photos]
The attempt to effectively ban most demonstrations in Dublin O'Conell st collapsed last night. Some 300 to 400 people attended the demonstration (a typical council protest attracts 20-30).

March 31st 2001 - Report on Ideas and Action 2001 [with photos]
Saturday March 31st saw the third Irish anarchist gathering to be held under the title of 'Ideas and Action', this time in the North Star Hotel, Dublin. In terms of numbers this was the most successful gathering to date with around 70 people attending at least one of the three sessions.

Radio interviews

• An interview done in 2001 but broadcast in October 2002 as part of the seris 'Wealth, power and protest' this is the whole show and for some reason you have to listen to the end of the news and some ads before it starts? I'm about 30 minutes into the program. (this appears to be no longer online)
• An interview from May 2001 I did for national radio (RTE radio one, liveline, on anarchism and the MayDay protests) - http://www.rte.ie/news/features/new_world_disorder/rams/andrew.ram
• Another Interview from May 2001 done on the main Sunday luchtime radio news (RTE Radio one), - http://www.rte.ie/news/2001/0429/thisweek/thisweek6A.ram (this appears to be no longer online)

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Talks and transcripts of talks

Local or global trade (March 2001, Ideas and Action)
Text of talk to dayschool in Dublin). We wanted this debate today because we recognise that we share a considerable number of points of departure with those who advocate local sustainable development from an environmental rather then a nationalistic perspective

Anarchist globalisation after Prague S26 (WSM public meetings, October 2000)
Text of a talk given as part of a speaking tour after the 2000 World Bank protests in Prague. For anarchists this new movement is a vindication of the methods we argue for. It practises direct democracy with decision making by mass assemblies or delegates in what are often very difficult circumstances. It doesn't simply march up the hill and down again - requesting fair treatment from our rulers - but rather takes direct action to disrupt and indeed stop their proceedings.

Three talks given at the Prague counter summit

• Imperialism, globalisation and the rule of the few (Vltavska , Prague, 22 Sept 2000)
  We understand that we are not going to bring down the world order headed by the World Bank on Tuesday or by blockading any of their meetings. Instead we send out a clear message that there is an alternative. This alternative is not merely a question of policies but also of a new world in which for the first time the ordinary people of the world will take direct control over how our societies are run, not simply by occasionally choosing between professional politicians but by self management in the workplaces and the communities.
• Irish workers and the Celtic Tiger : The reality behind the neoliberal 'success story' (Aero Cinema, Prague, 23 September 2000)
  Up to a decade ago a third of school and college leavers immediately left the country in search of work, many of the remainder spent long periods of time on unemployment assistance, government training schemes and various government 'make work' schemes designed to keep the unemployment figures down. This managed to keep the official figures under 20% by this method but most people guessed real unemployment was far higher and for young people and in certain areas it probably approached 50%. This had been the pattern in the Irish economy not only for decades but in fact for centuries.
• The nature of economic globalisation: Where do we come from? Where do we go to? (Prague 24 September 2000)
  Prague S26 can be seen as the next "day for global action against neo-liberalism" called for by the 'Politics table' in Chiapas back in 1996. Of course it is much more then this, there are many key people in the movement who have no awareness of these meetings. But if we were to pick a point that the movements against neoliberalism moved from the single campaign/issue to global anti capitalism the perhaps that point is found in the jungles of the Mexican South East some four years ago
  See also the online transcript of this session, other speakers were Sever Frederichy, George Stefanses, Mark Leven and Naomi Klein

Anarchists and the Zapatista's (Nov 1999, Ideas and Action) [In Serbo-Croat]
Notes for a talk I gave at a WSM dayschool in Dublin. The significance of the Zapatista rebellion initially lay as much in the fact that they dared to rebel after the 'end of history'. While the rebellion and the autonomous communities it has created are certainly worth defending a real question remains as to how relevant it is as a constructive model. Some point to the village and regional councils as a real model for those struggling elsewhere. Others see the continued isolation of the rebellion in Chiapas as a demonstration that the Zapatistas lack any real alternative relevant to the mass of the world's population.

The Zapatista contribution to the new opposition (1997)
The challenges we have explored in recent weeks thrown up by neoliberalism and indeed the greater challenge of the failure of the left in the 20th Century require not only a new theoretical understanding of how struggle can be conduced but also real world examples of this actually happening.

Modern revolutions or is revolution still possible (1996)
With the fracture of the working class into smaller workplaces, mostly due to automation, the division of the old communities into suburbs, the advent of mass transport which meant even those in the suburbs no longer worked together, the move into white collar and skilled jobs, In short that the revolution although desirable is now utopian.

Anarchism and the Environmental movement (April 1995) [In Spanish]
We should not create a false choice between anarchism and environmentalism but rather ask what sort of environmental theory and action should anarchists favour on the one hand and on the other explain why any environmentalist should also be a class struggle anarchist.

Four October Myths (April 1995)
Here I am going to look at four myths, widly accepted by the left and right alike on the October revolutiuon and its aftermath

What is the EZLN (June 1994 - WSM public meeting)
The reason we are so concerned with the politics of the EZLN is not academic. Rather it is because we understand that real and permanent liberation can only be achieved by an international anarchist revolution. There have been many revolts by guerrilla movements in third world countries, some more successful than others but none have led to a fundamental change in the way society operates.

Prospects for revolution (1994)
Possibly given to conference of Irish anarchist groups (WSM, Organise, Class War)? Both Leninism and Social democracy have been shown to offer no way forward for our class, indeed they were dead ends which we are only now beginning to stumble out of. Social democracy as an idea is dead, none of the parties even pretends to be about introducing socialism through parliaments, instead they present themselves as bringing a kinder, gentler capitalism. Leninism as an idea should have died in the 20's when to became clear what a disaster the USSR had become. Instead it split and stumbled on in 57 varieties, each one blaming the other for the failure of their project.

An introduction to the history and ideas of anarchism (1994)
Where better to start a look at anarchism then to look at the state of the left as a whole. The organised revolutionary left today is at its weakest for many years. Its not so much a question of the triumph of capitalism however as the failure of the bulk of the ideologies of socialism

Greece: War and Civil War (1994 - WSM branch educational)
This talk was based on the Solidarity pamphlet 'The Greek Tragedy', subtitled 'the failure of the left' published in 1968 as a response to the coup in Greece the previous year. It states the left put up little resistance to the coup and places the reason for this in the lack of a tradition of self-activity in the working class. In particular the response of the Spanish workers to Franco's coup of 1936 is contrasted with what happened in Greece.

The development of capitalism in Japan (1993 - WSM branch educational)
This talk was infamous as being long and boring, it was triggered by and mostly based on one book whose title I can no longer remember. In Japan in 1869 feudalism was abolished and the clans surrendered their fiefs to the government. All classes were declared equal before the law and barriers on local movement and internal trade removed. Individuals were allowed acquire land and all the professions and trades were thrown open.

The changing nature of the working class (1993)
Possibly given at Irish anarchist summer school at Cushendall? The nature of the working class to-day is quite different from that of a hundred years ago. In the late 80's a large part of the left interpreted this as meaning socialism was no longer possible, that the best hope was to form alliances with greens and others in a rainbow coalition which would attempt to limit the worst excesses of capitalism.

Whatever happened to the AWG (WSM summer school, Wexford, October 1992) [In French ]
Our welcoming of the AWG was mainly based on a number of reasons. Their experience within DAM had led them to reject Syndicalism They also accepted the basis of the Platform of the Libertarian Communists, On Ireland they took a firm anti-imperialist line, and actually took place in activity around this. Now just over two years later the AWG no longer exists.

The Russian Revolution (1991, WSM public meeting)
The Russian revolution has been a subject of key importance to anarchists for two reasons. The first reason is that for the first time in history a working class revolution succeeded in ousting the old ruling classes. The second reason is that after the old ruling class was ousted a new class came to power. Those of us who want to make a revolution to-day must understand where the successes and failures of the past came from.