Ronan Burtenshaw interviews Martina Keogh – a survivor of the Gloucester (now Seán McDermott) Street Laundry – about her experiences of incarceration and forced labour at the hands of the Church and state. Martina Keogh was sixteen when she was arrested for fighting in 1966. Originally from Whitefriar Street in the south inner-city she spent much of her childhood in institutions or struggling with a sexually-abusive step-father. At her court … Read More
Minceirs Whiden
On the long road towards equality for Traveller people, rabble examines the stops along the way. Freda Mullin Hughes and Paul Reynolds speak to Travellers and activists working towards ethnic recognition. On a cold November’s morning a single heater battled to warm the converted lock-up garage. The shutters were up and three young men inside sipped the morning’s coffee surrounded by bicycles, parts and tools. Francis had just stripped a … Read More
[Interview] Meet Illustrator Mice Hell
Aura McMenamin talks style, skips and silly rhymes with artist Mice Hell I first met Mice at a Dublin zine fair called Independents’ Day. The fair was to showcase and sell the zines, art, magazines, jewelry and whatever else you could expect from low-key urban artists. There was also a handful of earthy dread-locked folk performers on the makeshift stage and vegan food stalls. Held in the unapologetically minimalist … Read More
Bootboys, Casuals and The Beautiful Game
The sterility of modern British football stadia – package trips, plastic seats, plastic fans – is a dystopian Thacherite vision of a broken society. The fan is an individual, paying top dollar to be entertained by lowly taxed high net worth athletes who are the playthings of foreign billionaire oligarchs. Donal Fallon says it’s little wonder there has been a wave of nostalgia for the visceral terrace culture of the … Read More
Turkish Protests: Sixth Death as Struggle Renews
On Monday the mass protest movement in Turkey was given another martyr. 22-year-old Ahmet Atakan died in a confrontation with police in the Armutlu district of Antakya in the southern Hatay province. Protestors and witnesses say he died after being shot in the head with a gas canister. The local governor’s office and state TV deny this, saying he fell from a building. Selim Matkap, head of Hatay’s chamber of … Read More
Hang Mandela
Anyone following left-wing blogs or political forums will be aware of the claim that Tory leader, David Cameron, is a hypocrite for marking Nelson Mandela as a hero. The viral post notes Mandela’s grave illness and continues ‘When he does die, and David Cameron jumps on the Mandela bandwagon, remember that in 1985 he was a top member of the Federation of Conservative Students, which produced the “Hang Mandela” posters.’ … Read More
Bono: What’s Behind Those Over Priced Shades?
The financial apocalypse has delivered us some small mercies after all: Bono won’t peer down on the ferries arriving into Dublin port from U2’s recording studio atop a 100-metre tall tower on the south quays. Having just returned from exile, Ronan Lynch had forgotten such megalomania. Harry Browne’s recent bashing of the shaded one quickly reminded him. Here’s his review. We get used to Bono in Ireland – we … Read More
They Came In Their Thousands: A Quick Round Up From Taksim
After more than a week of absence police arrived at Taksim Square this morning shortly after 7am local. This offensive prompted a day of battles in central Istanbul, which continues as midnight approaches. Reuben & Gielty filed this dispatch using a phone. They came in large numbers – probably more than a thousand in the morning, definitely more than that by afternoon. Their stated objective, endorsed by the Prime Minister, was to retake the square … Read More
Battle for the Banliyö
The explosions of flash-bangs echo around concrete towers of flats. Police fire tear gas and water cannon into crowds. The crowds reply with rocks and molotov cocktails. Plumes of smoke rise from bonfires as young men march with shields to the barricades. Saturday night in Gazi Mahellesi couldn’t feel farther from the festive atmosphere of Gezi Park. Reuben & Gielty investigate: This suburb in the north of Istanbul has seen … Read More
Fortress Taksim
Fortress Taksim. Reflection and reenforcement after days of chaos and drama. Our reporters Reuben & Gielty take to the streets of Istanbul to find out more about the protestors and their supporters. Monday in Gezi Park saw the protestors fortify the camp and evaluate the progress of the Taksim Uprising. Internally, measures were put in place to strengthen the autonomous structures of the liberated space while on the outside … Read More