Throughout 2023 we have asked podcast guests if there are any cultural artefacts or events that they consider particularly influential on their politics.

This episode brings together responses from historian Mary Muldowney, anarchist activist Gregor Kerr, Republican activist Des Dalton, author Michael Flavin, historian Brian Hanley, and Irish Anarchist Network activists Nestor and Saornil. Below, in the order they are mentioned, are our guest’s choices for politically influential books, films, music, events and media.

(Where possible, we’ve linked to publicly accessible versions. Others are linked to further information.)

In this episode we’re joined by David Costelloe. Dave writes on history and politics on his website Never Felt Better, and in particular has written an extensive series of articles on Irish military history from the earliest records almost to the contemporary, Ireland’s Wars. We spoke to Dave previously in 2021, on episode 20 of the podcast, about his background and work on earlier military history, and he joins us again to discuss the period of the Troubles in particular and the comprehensive series of articles on the topic he has written since last speaking to us.

An introduction to our next series of episodes and discussion of the Irish Left Archive project and changes we’ve made in the past year.

The discussion includes mention of trying to keep all aspects of the project open. As such, we’ve made the website and podcast statistics publicly accessible, as well as any source code used in the project.

You can follow us on the Fediverse (Mastodon, Pixelfed, Peertube etc.) at @[email protected].

In this episode we talk to Des Dalton. Des is a long-term Republican activist who joined Republican Sinn Féin in the late 1980s and has served on the party’s Ard Comhairle and as party President from 2009 to 2018. Since leaving the party in 2021, Des has been an independent Republican activist.

We discuss Des’s political background and his Republicanism, which led him to joining Republican Sinn Féin from Ógra Fianna Fáil in his teens; the politics of Republican Sinn Féin, its position in Left politics and the role of Internationalism in Republicanism; his experience in the party as a member and later as President, and the party’s publications and newspaper, Saoirse; and finally his departure from the party and his perspective on contemporary Republicanism and its future direction.

Two articles written by Des, which are mentioned in the discussion, are linked below:

In this episode we talk to historian Brian Hanley about the new five-part documentary podcast, Dirty War in Dublin, written by Brian and produced by Kevin Brannigan. We discuss how the podcast came about and was developed, and look at the history of the Irish Civil War it covers and its wider context.

Listeners will be familiar with Brian’s work from previous episodes of our podcast. If you haven’t already listened, you can hear Brian discuss the book he co-authored on the Official IRA and the Workers’ Party, The Lost Revolution, in episode 13; reactions to Bloody Sunday in the Republic of Ireland in episode 35, which marked the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday; and discussing his own political experience and background in episode 19.

Dirty War in Dublin is available on Spotify, and you can find more of Brian’s work on his website, brianhanleyhistory.wordpress.com.

In this episode we talk to Emma Campbell. Emma is an artist, activist and researcher based in Belfast. She is a co-convenor of Alliance for Choice and has particularly focused both her activism and solo art work on abortion rights, with projects including When they put their hands out like scales, which included ‘Journeys’ – photographing people’s journeys to abortion clinics in England – and ‘Women on Waves’ – collages drawing on historical images and archive photos from the Women on Waves campaign. Emma is also part of the Array Collective, which won the Turner Prize in 2021 for The Druthaib’s Ball. Emma’s PhD research addresses photography as an activist tool for abortion rights, and she is a Research Associate in Social Studies at the University of Ulster.

We discuss Emma’s work and how it intertwines with her activism, and look at how the campaign for abortion provision in Northern Ireland has progressed, from the lead up to the 2019 adoption of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recommendations, the repeal of criminal sanctions and introduction of legal abortion, and the current state of provision.

We also discuss how viewers respond to Emma’s work and how that has changed over time; her involvement in the Array Collective and the activist nature of the group; and the experience of being nominated and winning the Turner Prize in 2021.

You’ll find Emma’s website at emmacampbell.co.uk, where you can see some of the work discussed, and the Array Collective at arraystudiosbelfast.com. The Alliance 4 Choice website is at alliance4choice.com.

In this episode we talk to anarchist activist Gregor Kerr about the Dublin Anarchist Bookfair.

The bookfair was first held in 2006 and organised by the Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM) and continued for a number of years. After a hiatus of a few years, the Irish Anarchist Network (IAN) and independent anarchists have come together to organise the fair for 2023, which will take place in the Teachers’ Club on Saturday 20th May.

Gregor Kerr is an anarchist activist and trade unionist who was involved with the WSM when the original anarchist bookfair started and is part of the group organising this years’ event. We discuss the panels and workshops taking place this year and the organisations and campaigns that will be taking part. We also discuss the history of the Dublin Anarchist Bookfair, how it helps to bring campaigns together and its role in campaigning and organising, and the orientation towards international anarchists and other parts of the broader left.

The bookfair is on Saturday 20th May 2023. You can find more details on the IAN website or follow on Instagram @anarchist_bookfair_dublin.

If you’re interested in anarchism in Ireland, we previously spoke to Aileen O’Carroll of the Workers Solidarity Movement in episode 31,Jason Brannigan of Organise! in episode 38, and to members of the Irish Anarchist Network a couple of months ago in episode 47.

In this episode we talk to Dublin City Council historian-in-residence Mary Muldowney about left approaches to history. Mary discusses her research and public dissemination of history; her advocacy of oral history and its particular utility in bringing out working class histories and history ‘from below’; attitudes to history in Irish academia and how they have changed; and some of the events of the left and trade union movements that merit greater analysis and recognition.

We previously spoke to Mary about her own political background and experience as an activist and trade unionist in episode 7 of the podcast.

Mary mentioned the Robert Tressell Festival, which is taking place in Liberty Hall on 6th May, and includes panels and talks on Tressell, his novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, and on contemporary organising, as well as music and drama. You can find out more on the website at tressellfestival.ie.

In this episode we speak to two members of the Irish Anarchist Network, Nestor and Saornil. The Irish Anarchist Network was formed in 2022 by a number of independent anarchists.

We discuss the formation and growth of the network and how they went about organising and structuring it; their orientation towards direct action and the balance between practical activism and theoretical discussion; their own individual backgrounds and attraction to anarchism; and contemporary issues in Irish society and approaches to the far-right.

You can find out more about the Irish Anarchist Network on their Instagram @irish_anarchist_network or Twitter @acrataireland.

Our guests also mentioned a trans squat in Dublin, which you can support by getting in touch on Instagram :@macabratz.

In this episode we talk to Mickey Moran. Mickey is a member of Éirígí and is the party’s representative for the midlands. He has been politically involved since his late teens, initially in activism in Limerick and Cork with animal rights, anti-war, anti-fascist and anti-globalisation campaigns. Moving to London in 2008, he was involved with the anti-fascist movement and then joined the Revolutionary Communist Group (RCG). He subsequently joined Éirígí and returned to Ireland where he has been active with the party since.

We discuss Mickey’s background and the left political scene in Limerick and Cork in the early 2000s; experiencing the European anti-fascist movement when playing gigs with a punk band in various countries; working with anti-fascists in London and countering the EDL; joining the RCG and what drew him to party organising; joining Éirígí and the politics and campaigns the party focuses on; and how Republicanism informs his politics.

This interview was recorded in November 2022.