Fragments of Victory
The Contemporary Irish Left
David Landy editor Oisín Gilmore editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Pluto Press
Publishing:20th Jan '25
£18.99
This title is due to be published on 20th January, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
There is much to learn from modern left-wing activism in Ireland. A rich tapestry of movements, including republicans, social democrats, trade unions, Trotskyists and anarchists, they have been battling neoliberalism and austerity with vigour, frustration, success and failure.
Fragments of Victory charts these political currents, from the difficult early years of anti-austerity campaigning, to the successful mass campaign to end water charges and prevent water privatisation, and the seismic victory that was 'Repeal' - the campaign for women’s reproductive rights. Looking to the present, the campaign around the brutal housing crisis is also addressed.
Each chapter covers a different campaign or group, written by leading activists who provide insiders' perspectives on how history was made, and share valuable insights that can be applied to international movements everywhere.
'Activists in movements and the left often feel despair because they have never experienced successful mass struggles – unlike the Republic of Ireland. In 2014-16 working-class communities stopped the introduction of water charges through widespread direct action, while 2018 saw mass participation win abortion rights in the teeth of church power. Written by activists, this book tells these and other key stories of Irish movements and left groups as a key resource for struggles elsewhere'
-- Laurence Cox, author of We Make Our Own History: Marxism and Social Movements in the Twilight of Neoliberalism'A partisan work in the best sense of the term. The authors’ sympathies only sharpen their critical analysis of the left’s victories and defeats. There is much to learn here for those who seek to understand and change the world'
-- Paul Murphy TD, People Before Profit'This book captures the sheer energy and diversity of the Irish left at grassroot level and in key campaigns around housing, abortion rights, and public services, bringing clarity to a movement that is rarely given space to explain itself in the mainstream media'
-- Conor McCabe, researcher and editor of The Lost and Early Writings of James Connolly 1889-1898ISBN: 9780745348759
Dimensions: 216mm x 140mm x 16mm
Weight: unknown
224 pages