Looks like it.
They’re doing it again. We all remember those YouTube videos that got removed last year, don’t we?
Archive for July, 2011
Can Diageo create a public holiday?
Posted in Uncategorized on July 20, 2011| 5 Comments »
Jello Biafra at the Button Factory.
Posted in Events on July 20, 2011| 1 Comment »
My hearing these days is pretty appalling. This sadly is the end-product of spending your teens listening to music at a level that enabled everyone else on the bus to hear it too. Frequently, it was punk pioneers Dead Kennedys.
California Uber Alles
California Uber Alles
Uber Alles California
Uber Alles California
Dead Kennedys of course called it a day in 1986, and the reformed band does not include frontman Jello Biafra. He’s found himself involved in a mix of spoken word gigs on one hand and sometimes brilliant/sometimes not-so-brilliant musical collaborations.
His latest project, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine is fresh, exciting and latest offering Enhanced Methods of Questioning packs a punch. While we’ll likely never see Biafra on a stage in Dublin with the Dead Kennedys, a chance to see the man should be taken.
Thurs August 11//Button Factory//€20.50
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Poblacht NAMA hÉireann
Posted in Uncategorized on July 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »
This is an interesting one. I passed by Cope Street recently and was struck by something titled ‘NAMAlab’ right next to, ironically enough, the Central Bank. Inside I found an incredible and innovative research exhibition looking at NAMA properties around the city and offering alternative proposals for many of the sites, dotted around our capital.
Hot on the heels of projects like Redrawing Dublin and the public forums around the city and her faults and potential, this is well worth an hour of your time. Drop in.
NAMAlab is a post-graduate architectural and urban research unit based at the Dublin School of Architecture, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) for the next six months.
NAMAlab has started mapping what we believe the NAMA portfolio to be in Dublin. This is the first time such information will be available to the public as a visual document.
NAMAlab currently offers 48 alternative proposals for NAMA sites based on the idea of recapturing the identity of Ireland in a post credit crunch society. These include a new National Contemporary Art Gallery in the abandoned shell of the Anglo Irish Bank, a NAMA jail adjacent to Dublin Castle, a trout farm on Grand Canal Basin, The New Abbey theatre on O’ Connell Street, a National Casino on Fleet Street and many more….
If the aim of NAMA is to maximise asset value, the aim of NAMAlab is to maximise the social
cultural and strategic value of the NAMAlands and set a precedent for change through
Architecture.
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“At least we’ve an away goal.”
Posted in Uncategorized on July 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »
It’s pretty amazing that they did, but two Saint Patrick’s Athletic fans made it to Kazakhstan last week to watch the lads in action. At home, a large crowd squeezed into McDowell’s pub to watch a stream that can only be described as absolutely dire. Twenty seconds of football, followed by thirty seconds of a frozen screen. Giving up, we followed text updates instead.
When we drew level and brought the game to one-a-piece, the place erupted. An away goal really is a huge advantage in European competition. Sadly we ultimately went down 2-1, but there is a feeling of confidence in the camp as by all accounts with regards the weather it’s a different kettle of fish altogether out there.
The return leg takes place this Thursday. I’d encourage all those who may have come down a few years ago or make the odd game to consider returning, and indeed those with just a passing interest in the game of football should seize the opportunity this week creates with Europa League qualifiers on both sides of the River Liffey on Thursday night. If we progress, we’re off to the Ukraine. It’s not been an easy few weeks……
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First solo show from Solus.
Posted in Events on July 18, 2011| 1 Comment »
Solus is among my favourite of the vandals who bring a bit of colour to Dublin’s streets and backalleys. His work can be spotted not only on the streets of the capital, but much further afield, and like the best street artists it’s always easy to spot one of his works as his.
Mis-spent Youth at The Culture Box on Essex Street in Temple Bar is Solus’ first solo show, on the fourth of August. I look forward to dropping in.
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Kings Of Concrete is back.
Posted in Uncategorized on July 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »
This Saturday and Sunday sees the return of Kings Of Concrete to Wood Quay. Music,street art, skating and more besides feature. In previous years it has always been enjoyable, so here’s hoping the weather holds up and the god of the weather doesn’t ‘do a Bloomsday’ on the youth.
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Manchester Calling 6: C.Desomond Greaves on the Irish Catholic Community in Britain
Posted in Miscellaneous, Social History on July 17, 2011| 2 Comments »
Jay Carax will be back from Manchester next week.
C. Desmond Greaves (1913-1988)
Earlier in the week, I came across this fascinating (private) letter from C.Desmond Greaves, editor of The Irish Democrat to Harry Pollitt, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britian (CPGB). Pollitt was asking his ‘comrade’ for information on the Irish Catholic community, their relation to the Church and the influence it has on their politics. Greaves was seen as an expert on the issue.
The letter was a part of a larger collection of files on the relationship between the CPGB, their Catholic members and debates on how they could best approach the Catholic Community.
It was five pages long, I found this to be the most relevant and interesting section:
“The division between English and Irish Catholics is very important. Though divided on class lines English Catholics are in the main better off. The great county for them is Lancashire where Irish Catholics also exist. I estimate 800,000 Catholics who are Irish or of Irish descent. These again vary and cannot be approached in one way only. Broadly speaking however the existence of an unsolved national problem among the Irish gives the possibility of splitting off this section as a democratic reserve. They consist of about a quarter of the total Catholic population and I would say they are a much larger proportion of the Catholics in the Labour Party.
The Irish are subdivided into ‘New’ and ‘Old’. The ‘new’ are 400,000 immigrants since 1924 when the U.S.A. refusing to accept immigrant, diverted the stream of vigorous young Irish to Britain. Those who came since the war (200,000) are a generation which as forgotten 1916 and is less bitterly nationalistic, and more open to progressive ideas than the older ones. The Irish Democrat circulates almost exclusively among these newer sections of the ‘new’ Irish. Irish affairs are very much alive and they have a direct influence on Irish politics by going backwards and forwards, between the two countries.
The old Irish have lost all political interest in Ireland but a vague and often embittered nationalism apart from the number in the L.P. (they mostly vote Labour I think) have now little Irish left about them but religion. Thus the strength of the anti-partition league is largely a consequence of the backing it receives from the church. Hence also the attempts being made to ban Communists out of it. We of the Irish CTTE have not solved the problem of these older Irish. But we think a broad movement could be build round the Irish Democrat on the basis of demanding Democracy in Ireland (esp. The North) though the forms of organisation would have to be flexible in the extreme; it would be a movement rather than an organisation. The content of the paper would have to be modified though not radically changed.
One asset in working amongst the Irish Catholics is the repeated struggles which all the nationalist leaders of Ireland had against the Catholic Church, and Connolly’s ‘Labour, Nationality and Religion’ is a great asset too. I understand that Roddy Connolly would put no obstacles in our way if we wished to republish it. Thus I think there are two main kinds of Democratic forces amongst the Catholics … the working class, and the Irish. These are the reserves we want to get…”
Letter from C. Desmond Greaves to ‘Comrade’ Pollitt. 28 April 1948.
CP/IND/POLL/09/15
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Surely the last thing Temple Bar needs is a McDonalds?
Posted in Uncategorized on July 17, 2011| 8 Comments »
The first one...
The Sunday Times today featured an excellent article from Neil Callanan and Ciara Kenny around a developing storm in Temple Bar, over a submission to Dublin City Council from McDonalds for a proposed three-storey outlet at Frankie’s Steakhouse and Bar in Temple Bar, noting that they believe a branch would “…add to the vitality of the area by attracting foot-fall”
Having a keen interest in the social history of the area, and the massive regeneration of Temple Bar in the 80’s, something that has always irked me is the presence of multinationals like the Hard Rock Cafe and Urban Outfitters in what began as a sort of cultural or (dare I say) almost bohemian quarter. The beauty of Temple Bar is the unusual mix of shops, restaurants and the like within it. It is hardly the ideal location for the Golden Arches, and like the tourist-trap public houses opposite Frankies, it would only contribute to the decline of the area.
Tommy Graham of History Ireland is quoted in the piece as stating “Temple Bar has been over-developed. There are far too many pubs and clubs. The original spirit of it was lost long ago.” It is difficult to disagree.
The story of Temple Bar is such a great one almost as much because of what Temple Bar didn’t become as for what it did. It should not be forgotten that the genius plan of CIE in the 1980s involved demolishing property in the area and to build a bus terminus in its place. Today, this area is home to the Irish Film Institute, the National Photographic Archive and more besides.
For all that is wrong with the area today (and we all know a lot is), surely adding a McDonalds to this corner of Dublin isn’t quite the solution?
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Welcome Casa Rebelde!
Posted in Uncategorized on July 15, 2011| 1 Comment »
Last nights launch party for Casa Rebelde in Temple Bar went swimmingly. I provided the tunes, Ci of this very parish was on hand to do all asked of him (mainly handing out beers, for which everyone is very grateful) and the music kept going for over two hours. I finally have a St. Pauli cap on my head (somehow came back from Hamburg without one) and if last night is anything to go by Casa Rebelde has found a great home for itself. On behalf of ourselves, congrats to all involved!
I’m proud to note the winner of the Keepy Uppy competition was the drummerboy of the Shed End Invincibles 😉
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EUROPE
Posted in Uncategorized on July 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Pats and Bohs: Two sides of the Liffey, one airport.
Saint Patrick’s Athletic versus Karagandy should be live today from 2pm in McDowell’s, Inchicore. Across the Liffey, Bohemian FC versus Olimpija Ljubljana is being streamed into the club bar at Dalymount Park. European adventures are one of the highlights of following the League of Ireland so at different points of the day we’ll all be glued to screens here at Come Here To Me HQ.
……There is no Come Here To Me HQ, for anyone who thought there might be, even just for a second.
BELIEVE.
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Ever seen pictures of Karagandy in Kazakhstan?
Posted in Uncategorized on July 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Me neither.
This is where Saint Patrick’s Athletic of Inchicore find themselves on Thursday. Despite my ambitions of following the lads on a European trip this year, a Euroasia trip is out of the question. Still, there is always the home leg Thursday week in Inchicore!
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Manchester Calling 5: Anti-Fascist Action
Posted in Miscellaneous, Social History on July 12, 2011| 9 Comments »
National Front and members of the 'Squad' (who later went onto form AFA) clash at Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester in the late 1970s. Picture: No Retreat (Milo Books, 2003)
From 1985 – 1997, Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) fought the British far-right to a bloody standstill. Not least in Manchester.
AFA, was initially set up by members of Red Action, the Direct Action Movement (predecessor of the Solidarity Federation, anarcho-syndicalist group) and independent left-wing activists. Workers’ Power, a Trotskyist group, joined AFA in 1989 but left in 1992.
Many of those involved in AFA were of second and third generation Irish. In Red Action’s case, it was joked that being of Irish stock was obligatory for membership. AFA also had a strong relationship with many republican flute bands in Britain as well different Irish Republican groups. (It also has to be said that a number of AFA’s leading militants including Patrick H. and Liam H.became involved in Irish Republican military organisations, the PIRA and INLA respectively)
It is a well-known and documented fact that the British far-right has always had strong links with Loyalist groups both in the six counties and in Britain. What is sometimes overlooked, understandably so as it causes much embarrassment, was that there was a small but not altogether trivial list of Englishmen of Irish Catholic descent who got heavily involved in far right, neo nazi and British nationalist politics.
These include Patrick Harrington (leading member of National Front (NF) in the 1980s), Martin Webster (Young Conservatives, National Socialist Movement and then NF rising to National Activities Organiser), Michael McLaughlin ( British Movement leader 1975 – 1983 who was shockingly son of an Irish republican and socialist who was a veteran of the International Brigades), Eddy Morrison (BM, NF and then British People’s Party) and John O’Brien (NF leader, early 1970s).
Hopefully later in the year I’ll have time to do some more research and write something up on the fascinating story of how scores of British born, Irish working-class males got heavily involved in both fascist and anti-fascist struggles in the 1930s, 1970s/1980s and now.
To learn more about the history of AFA and the political climate of the time, try Beating the Fascists: The Untold Story of Anti-Fascist Action by Sean Birchaill (Freedom Press, 2010), No Retreat: The Secret War Between Britain’s Anti-Fascists and the Far-Right by Dave Hann and Steve Tilzey (Milo, 2003), Anti-Fascist Action: An Anarchist Perspective by an ex. Liverpool AFA member (Kate Sharpley Library, 2007),Bash the Fash : Anti-fascist recollections 1984-93 by K. Bullstreet (Kate Sharpley Library, 2001), Anti-Fascist by Martin Lux (Phoenix Press, 2006) and the Fighting Talk documentary (BBC, 1993).
The following are a couple of AFA based leaflets I found today:
Front 'Cable Street Beat' AFA leaflet. 1989.
Back cover. 'Cable Street Beat' AFA leaflet. 1989
AFA 'Picket-Demo to Stop Race Attacks' leaflet. Early 1990s?
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