Workers' Liberty

I LEARN TO TELL THE TIME

18 Jan 2008 |

Sean Matgamna

I LEARN TO TELL THE TIME Winter light waning in the window behind us, We sit, becalmed, crouched by the turf-fired grate, Elbows on knees, our palms spread to the heat, Talking: her sleep is heavy all around us. Hard times: she has gone back again to serve In the workhouse hospital for seven nights A week; two kids, snatched sleep, too many fights; She can not last for long, nor can his nerve: Our time is nearly done; and there, he took It in his head to teach me to unlock, To “read”, the secret signs on our old clock (I never would teach him to read a book). For years we measured time after...

THE BELLS OF SAINT MARY'S

18 Jan 2008 |

Sean Matgamna

THE BELLS OF SAINT MARY'S The nun is being banished by her priest For her own good; he will not tell her why: She must not know (And now I start to cry, Released in the dark). She has to leave, at least For now, in silence, knowing not their guilt Who ache for her to stay, but must not say (I'm crying bitterly now, ambushed, at bay, Smothering in the story, like a quilt). Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman's ailing nun, “Bells of Saint Mary's”: tawdry arts that sway Shadows behind the flick'ring shadow play: Weeping in darkness through that strange re-run Silence-charged futile tears against the tide...

The last days of the old order in Northern Ireland

11 Jan 2008 |

Sean Matgamna

This series: The Northern Ireland crisis of 1968-9 and the left Part 7 Section 2 of this article Next in series: Part 8: IS/SWP conference, September 1969 Part 1: Why Northern Ireland Broke Down Part 2: The Irish Workers' Group, I S and the "Trotskyist Tendency" Part 3: Why Northern Ireland Split on Communal, Not Class, Lines Part 4: When militant sloganeering meant promoting communal war Part 5: When socialists looked to "Catholic Power" ; and Part 5 Section 2 Part 6: SWP (IS) and Northern Ireland in 1968-9: Advocating civil war — until it starts! ; and Section 2 Part 7: The end of the old...

The last days of the old order in Northern Ireland (section 2)

11 Jan 2008 |

Sean Matgamna

This series: The Northern Ireland crisis of 1968-9 and the left (Part 7, section 2) Part 1: Why Northern Ireland Broke Down Part 2: The Irish Workers' Group, I S and the "Trotskyist Tendency" Part 3: Why Northern Ireland Split on Communal, Not Class, Lines Part 4: When militant sloganeering meant promoting communal war Part 5: When socialists looked to "Catholic Power" Part 6: SWP (IS) and Northern Ireland in 1968-9: Advocating civil war — until it starts! Part 7: The end of the old order in Northern Ireland Part 8: IS/SWP conference, September 1969 Part 9: The debacle of demagogy, August 1969...

(Part 7) The last days of the old order in Northern Ireland (section 3)

11 Jan 2008 |

Sean Matgamna

This series: The Northern Ireland crisis of 1968-9 and the left (Part 7, section 3) Section 1 of this article Section 2 of this article Next article in this series: Part 8: IS/SWP conference, September 1969 Part 1: Why Northern Ireland Broke Down Part 2: The Irish Workers' Group, I S and the "Trotskyist Tendency" Part 3: Why Northern Ireland Split on Communal, Not Class, Lines Part 4: When militant sloganeering meant promoting communal war Part 5: When socialists looked to "Catholic Power" Part 6: SWP (IS) and Northern Ireland in 1968-9: Advocating civil war — until it starts! Part 7: The end...

SWP (IS) and Northern Ireland in 1968-9: Advocating civil war — until it starts!

17 Dec 2007 |

Sean Matgamna

This series: The Northern Ireland crisis of 1968-9 and the left Part 6 Part 1: Why Northern Ireland Broke Down Part 2: The Irish Workers' Group, I S and the "Trotskyist Tendency" Part 3: Why Northern Ireland Split on Communal, Not Class, Lines Part 4: When militant sloganeering meant promoting communal war Part 5: When socialists looked to "Catholic Power" ; and Part 5 Section 2 Part 6: SWP (IS) and Northern Ireland in 1968-9: Advocating civil war — until it starts! ; and Section 2 Part 7: The end of the old order in Northern Ireland ; Section 2 ; Section 3 Part 8: IS/SWP conference, September...

When socialists looked to "Catholic Power"

27 Nov 2007 |

Sean Matgamna

This series: The Northern Ireland crisis of 1968-9 and the left Part 5 Part 1: Why Northern Ireland Broke Down Part 2: The Irish Workers' Group, I S and the "Trotskyist Tendency" Part 3: Why Northern Ireland Split on Communal, Not Class, Lines Part 4: When militant sloganeering meant promoting communal war Part 5: When socialists looked to "Catholic Power" ; and Part 5 Section 2 Part 6: SWP (IS) and Northern Ireland in 1968-9: Advocating civil war — until it starts! ; and Section 2 Part 7: The end of the old order in Northern Ireland ; Section 2 ; Section 3 Part 8: IS/SWP conference, September...

When socialists looked to "Catholic power" (continued)

22 Nov 2007 |

Sean Matgamna

This series: The Northern Ireland crisis of 1968-9 and the left (Part 5, section 2) Next article in this series: Part 6: SWP (IS) and Northern Ireland in 1968-9: Advocating civil war — until it starts! McCann: We have failed to get our position across. We keep saying parrot-like that we are fighting on working-class issues for working-class unity, that our objective is a workers’ and farmers’ socialist republic. But when you say to the people in the Bogside area in Derry that they are being exploited because they are workers not because they are Catholics, they are not very inclined to believe...

When “militant” sloganeering meant promoting communal war

19 Nov 2007 |

Sean Matgamna

This series: The Northern Ireland crisis of 1968-9 and the left Part 4 Part 1: Why Northern Ireland Broke Down Part 2: The Irish Workers' Group, I S and the "Trotskyist Tendency" Part 3: Why Northern Ireland Split on Communal, Not Class, Lines Part 4: When militant sloganeering meant promoting communal war Part 5: When socialists looked to "Catholic Power" ; and Part 5 Section 2 Part 6: SWP (IS) and Northern Ireland in 1968-9: Advocating civil war — until it starts! ; and Section 2 Part 7: The end of the old order in Northern Ireland ; Section 2 ; Section 3 Part 8: IS/SWP conference, September...

The British Left and the Irish Crisis 1968-70

20 Oct 2007 |

Sean Matgamna

Part 1: Why Northern Ireland Broke Down , Part 2: The Irish Workers' Group, I S and the "Trotskyist Tendency" , Part 3: Why Northern Ireland Split on Communanal, Not Class, Lines ,