éirÃ*gÃ* occupation of Anglo Irish – Full Report

[We Shall Rise Again]

25/04/10
Scores of people yesterday [Saturday] gathered outside the headquarters of Anglo Irish Bank on St Stephen’s Green, Dublin, in support of six éirígí activists who were staging a symbolic occupation of the building.
éirígí spokesperson Daithí Mac An Mhaistír and Dublin City Councillor Louise Minihan were among those who chained themselves to railings within the headquarters of the failed bank. The action, which began at 10am and ended shortly after 2pm, was taken in opposition to both NAMA and the bank bailout scheme.

April 24 was chosen as the date of the protest as it marks the 94th anniversary of the start of the Easter Rising. It was on this day in 1916 that the Proclamation of the Irish Republic laid out a vision of Irish society that guaranteed equality for all. In contrast, in the Ireland of 2010, the interests of the golden circle are cherished above all others.
As Gardaí moved to cordon off the footpath in front of the bank, passers-by and motorists were keen to show their opposition to NAMA with both words and car horn beeps of support. As news of the occupation spread across the city, dozens of people made their way to Stephens Green. By 12 noon, the advertised assembly time for the protest, upwards of 60 people were outside Anglo Irish, carrying a variety of colourful placards, flags and banners.

Speaking from outside Anglo Irish, éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson called for a sustained campaign against NAMA, the bank bailout and the cuts to public services.
“The Twenty-Six counties is in crisis. Almost half a million people are unemployed while thousands more are being forced to emigrate, tens of thousands are waiting to be housed while countless properties lie idle and the health and education systems are chronically under-funded. And, in the face of all of this, the Dublin government’s sole focus is the protection of the banks and the business class.

“The time for polite debate has passed. We believe that the only way that NAMA, the bank bailout and the cutbacks can be defeated is through a campaign of mass civil disobedience. We hope that the CDPs, the sports clubs, the drug prevention schemes, the youth clubs and all the other organisations which have had their funding slashed in recent months will take it upon themselves to organise similar direct actions aimed at the disruption of the political and banking systems.
“Working people have many means at their disposal to force the Dublin government to reverse its unjust policies. Through rent and mortgage strikes, through mass public protest, through civil disobedience, through the withdrawal of labour we can collectively bring the NAMA Republic to its knees. And, in its place, we can build a country that will truly reflect the vision of the 1916 Proclamation.”

:thumbup1::thumbup1::thumbup1:

[IrishWorker]

Let the banks burn, set the people free!
IRSP show solidarity with éirigi at Anglo Irish Bank.



Members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party attended an éirigi protest and occupation of the Anglo Irish Bank HQ in Dublin yesterday, April 24th.


Over 200 people attended the well organised picket and occupation of the Bank to highlight what is essentially the blind robbery of working people in the form of the government's NAMA proposal.


Members of éirígí stormed the entrance of Anglo Irish Bank and occupied it for nearly four hours, while outside, hundreds of protesters blew whistles,displayed banners and used air horns. There was a minor scuffle with the Gardaí as the protesters escaped from the building, but thankfully all those involved in the occupation of the building avoided arrest.


Outside the Dail IRSP members took the time to talk with homeless people sleeping rough on Kildare St., only a few hundred yards from the Dail's gates. The IRSP has for some time now been campaigning on the issue of housing, and in our nation's capital the contrast between the lives of our political elites and the lives of ordinary people is strikingly evident. This government, the establishment and it's cronies are of the view that throwing billions at our banks and robbing the taxpayer blind through NAMA is 'manageable', but nothing could be further from the truth. While these institutions, who played a major role in this crisis are being bailed out, normal working people continue to suffer. The IRSP believes that this money would be much better spent coming to the aid of struggling families, and in providing homes for those who are suffering the most. It is inexcusable, especially in the context of the collapse of the construction industry with over 300,000 properties lying derelict in Ireland, that Irish men and women must sleep on the streets in their thousands. We would urge all workers, whether private or public sector, to unite and to mobilise to bring about radical and lasting change in this country. Republican Socialists must continue to fight against NAMA and indeed every facet of this system which subordinates the interests of ordinary people to the profiteering and risk-taking of corrupt millionaires.


Let the banks burn, set the people free!

http://rsmforum.proboards.com/index....ay&thread=3757
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[Conghaileach]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4W_edUYJyY

The report and photos from the éirígí protest can be seen at http://www.eirigi.org/latest/latest250410.html

[MaoTseHelen]

Maybe Eirigi should/could dedicate some of their brazenness to raising funds for prisoners, be it North or South. For all the talk of Republicanism, that'd be a way to really contribute.

[RED DAVE]

Why are they not calling for the only kind of action that can stop this shit: mass labor action, including a general strike?

Why all this stuff about "CDPs, the sports clubs, the drug prevention schemes, the youth clubs" and nothing about labor, except the anemic remarks about "rent and mortgage strikes, through mass public protest, through civil disobedience, through the withdrawal of labour," with labor coming last.

RED DAVE

[Andropov]

Why are they not calling for the only kind of action that can stop this shit: mass labor action, including a general strike?
Because they live in the real world and in the real world the working class need tangeable short term goals that can be achieveable.
Bit by bit with these achieveable targets we can move the working class consciousness to such ambitions as general strikes or the like.
Empty sloganeering such as "general strike now" etc is irrelevant when working class consciousness is not at this stage.
Remember the Bolsheviks short term goals were "Peace, Land and Bread" not "General Strike now for the destruction of Capitalism".

[Andropov]

Maybe Eirigi should/could dedicate some of their brazenness to raising funds for prisoners, be it North or South. For all the talk of Republicanism, that'd be a way to really contribute.
There is more than enough Republicans raising funds for POW's and the like and not enough progressive actions like this from Republicans.

[Palingenisis]

There is more than enough Republicans raising funds for POW's and the like and not enough progressive actions like this from Republicans.

I saw somewhere that actually a majiority of the people who voted for the Stickies in the 1980s sympathized also with the Provisionals campaign but of course they voted for the Workers Party and not Sinn Fein because the latter was seen as a "Brits out" party with not much relevance to day to day life in the 26 counties. Also the reality is that there is no progressive/patriotic bourgiouse in modern day Ireland (what existed of one in the 6 counties has been bought off with the "Peace process"). Opposing the occupation/British Imperialism is a very important part of the socialist revolution here but its far from the only part.

[Conghaileach]

Why are they not calling for the only kind of action that can stop this shit: mass labor action, including a general strike?

The trade union leadership in Ireland is very conservative, and is wedded to the government in the Twenty-Six Counties as well as the business class through "social partnership". Recent strike action by workers in the South, including general work stoppages, has been betrayed by union leaders who prefer to beg for scraps from the bosses' table.

éirígí does have a number of trade unionists in its ranks, but they and every radical trade unionist in the country are facing an uphill struggle in getting the unions to really fight in the workers' interest. Right now, the fightback is coming more from working class communities than from the organised labour movement unfortunately.

[Palingenisis]

The trade union leadership in Ireland is very conservative, and is wedded to the government in the Twenty-Six Counties as well as the business class through "social partnership". Recent strike action by workers in the South, including general work stoppages, has been betrayed by union leaders who prefer to beg for scraps from the bosses' table.

éirígí does have a number of trade unionists in its ranks, but they and every radical trade unionist in the country are facing an uphill struggle in getting the unions to really fight in the workers' interest. Right now, the fightback is coming more from working class communities than from the organised labour movement unfortunately.

I think the Independent Workers' Union is great and its coming into being is a very postitive sign...The rest of the Trade Unions though serve to intergrate the working class into the capitalist economy and cant really be said to be organs of working class independence. "The organized labour movement" is the enemy.

[We Shall Rise Again]

Maybe Eirigi should/could dedicate some of their brazenness to raising funds for prisoners, be it North or South. For all the talk of Republicanism, that'd be a way to really contribute.

éirígí's postition on Political Prisoners is clear, and they have supported Republican Prisoners constantly since their foundation.

[We Shall Rise Again]

Why are they not calling for the only kind of action that can stop this shit: mass labor action, including a general strike?

Why all this stuff about "CDPs, the sports clubs, the drug prevention schemes, the youth clubs" and nothing about labor, except the anemic remarks about "rent and mortgage strikes, through mass public protest, through civil disobedience, through the withdrawal of labour," with labor coming last.

RED DAVE

The organisied labour movement i.e the trade union movement in Ireland is in bed with the establishment and has constantly capitulated to their demands.

The quote you mock is an appeal over the heads of the reformist unions directly to communities, community activists, workers and grass roots trade union activists to take part in a new rising themselves, and not wait to be lead from above.

Its a great inititive by éirígí, and shows they are correctly reading the conditions, and sitiuation in Ireland, and have identified who their allies in the coming fight will be.

well done comrades.

[Palingenisis]

éirígí's postition on Political Prisoners is clear, and they have supported Republican Prisoners constantly since their foundation.

Comrade I got the impression that you were a Maoist....Was I wrong?

If so....Why this enthusiasm for Eirigi?

[zimmerwald1915]

The organisied labour movement i.e the trade union movement in Ireland is in bed with the establishment and has constantly capitulated to their demands.
The truth goes even further than this: the trade unions are part of the capitalist establishment and make demands on the working class in concert with the rest of the capitalist establishment. They're the most effective mouthpieces of the bourgeoisie when the latter wants to put out a call for "order", "moderation", "legality", or "sacrifice".


The quote you mock is an appeal over the heads of the reformist unions directly to communities, community activists, workers and grass roots trade union activists to take part in a new rising themselves, and not wait to be lead from above.
But the betrayal of the unions is no reason to stop addressing the working class as a class, capable of real disruption of capitalist society by its class action at the point of production (wow, long time since I've used that phrase; feels good). The refusal to address the working class as a class is more than a recognition of its current political weakness: it is a strengthening of that political weakness. Revolutionaries have a responsibility to always push the class forward in its actions and in its consciousness, no matter their current level. Making oneself feel relevant by addressing "communities and community activists" does not contribute to the class struggle.

[We Shall Rise Again]

The truth goes even further than this: the trade unions are part of the capitalist establishment and make demands on the working class in concert with the rest of the capitalist establishment. They're the most effective mouthpieces of the bourgeoisie when the latter wants to put out a call for "order", "moderation", "legality", or "sacrifice".

But the betrayal of the unions is no reason to stop addressing the working class as a class, capable of real disruption of capitalist society by its class action at the point of production (wow, long time since I've used that phrase; feels good). The refusal to address the working class as a class is more than a recognition of its current political weakness: it is a strengthening of that political weakness. Revolutionaries have a responsibility to always push the class forward in its actions and in its consciousness, no matter their current level. Making oneself feel relevant by addressing "communities and community activists" does not contribute to the class struggle.

Judgeing by their website eirigi dot org, eirígí have no issue addressing the working class as a class.

Infact the have clearly said Ireland is in the midst of a class war, and a new 'rising' is needed to establish a socialist republic.

[zimmerwald1915]

Judgeing by their website eirigi dot org, eirígí have no issue addressing the working class as a class.

Infact the have clearly said Ireland is in the midst of a class war, and a new 'rising' is needed to establish a socialist republic.
Except I wasn't addressing eirigi as an organization. If I wanted to do so, I'd send them an email or a letter. I was talking to you who, as Red Dave pointed out, seems more concerned with talking to "communities" than to the working class as a class, and seems to disbelieve in the objective revolutionary role of the working class in society.

[We Shall Rise Again]

Except I wasn't addressing eirigi as an organization. If I wanted to do so, I'd send them an email or a letter. I was talking to you who, as Red Dave pointed out, seems more concerned with talking to "communities" than to the working class as a class, and seems to disbelieve in the objective revolutionary role of the working class in society.


well i have no issue with addressing the working class as a class, so your concerns are ill founded.

i just recognise that leadership of the working class in ireland will not come from ictu.

my use of the word communities refers to working class communities, it is quite clear you are ill informed on conditions in ireland.

to quote a great leader of our class in ireland 'i owe my allegiange to te working class.'

[Palingenisis]

Except I wasn't addressing eirigi as an organization. If I wanted to do so, I'd send them an email or a letter. I was talking to you who, as Red Dave pointed out, seems more concerned with talking to "communities" than to the working class as a class, and seems to disbelieve in the objective revolutionary role of the working class in society.

Working class people exist outside of the work place...A lot of people have jobs where it is extremely difficult to organize in them or they move from job to job regularly (not necessarily by chioce at all). The idea that working class struggle is confined to the workplace is syndicialism at its very worst.

[MaoTseHelen]

There is more than enough Republicans raising funds for POW's and the like and not enough progressive actions like this from Republicans.
There's people trying, but they get blocked on a pretty regular basis from Shinners. Seems like a great place for Eirigi to intervene and actually contribute to the movement.