Category Archives: Politics

from the Dail to the White House and back via Downing Street and elsewhere.

matt

Sé writes:

This is Maitiú Ó Casaide, Young Musician of the Year. He says:

“We are really lucky that our culture and language are still alive. The government and the West Brits are making every effort to suppress our Gaelic identity.”

Impassioned young native speaker blowing off steam?

Calm, reasoned, mutually respectful debate, anyone?

60 Soicind le Maitiú Ó Casaide  (Nos magazine)

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Ireland’s State-run postal service An Post has denied that a stamp produced for Valentine’s Day is intended to back a Yes vote in the forthcoming same-sex marriage referendum. According to The Irish Catholic newspaper, the latest stamp, employing the word ‘LOVE’ in multi-coloured lettering, also includes, as part of the red letter ‘E’ an equals sign, an internationally recognised symbol for support of gay marriage.

An Post denies stamp is ‘pro-gay marriage’ (Iona Institute)

Pro same sex marriage stamp criticised (The Irish Catholic)

(H/T: Rep)

uplift

Outside the Department of Justice, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin yesterday

Emily Duffy, on behalf of Uplift, a community organisation focused on ‘people powered change’ writes:

[Yesterday] we handed in a petition of over 1,200 signatures to the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald to call on her to end the direct provision system for the 4,309 asylum seekers in Ireland.

We are supporting the scheme to clear the backlog of those lives stuck in direct provision, and for the Irish government to live up to its responsibility to protect the most basic rights of everyone living on this island.

Previously: Direct Provision Care Packages

Scheme To Clear Asylum Backlog (Irish Refugee Council)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK00GSTYhSQ

Broden from TENI writes:

TENI launched a video on legal gender recognition yesterday to correspond with the introduction of the Gender Recognition Bill into the Seanad. Trans people need to be at the centre of this debate, and trans voices need to be heard.

Positive visibility is at the core of what TENI does. We know that by telling our own stories we can change the hearts and minds of Irish society. We need legislation that reflects our lived realities.

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Annie West tweetz:

I could draw what 50,000 Right2Water protestors looks like, but erm *cough* I ran out of paper…

Alternatively…

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The Workers Solidarity Movement writes:

“The worst example of figure fudging appeared on the Irish Times website on Wednesday night, when journalist, Ronan McGreevy attempted to coroborate the Garda figure by using an app called CrowdSize. His estimate came to 32,000. It all looked very plausable, if you weren’t there. The problem with McCreevy’s use of the app, was that he only filled a fraction of the ground that was covered by protesters, the area around Merrion Square west, where the stage was. It is possible that he didn’t move from that area…overall, the estimate I got from running CrowdSize on the areas I covered was around 65,000, and given what others have told me about numbers in areas I didn’t cover, the attendance had to have been in excess of 80,000 at the very least.”

FIGHT!

Dec 10 water charge protest in Dublin (WSM, Facebook)

Previously: The Final Countdown