by Oisín Gilmore and David Landy
Pluto Press
1/20/2025, paperback
SKU: 9780745348759
Inspiring insiders' accounts of modern Irish activism under austerity and beyond
There is much to learn from modern leftwing activism in Ireland. A rich tapestry of movements, including republicans, social democrats, trade unions, Trotskyists and anarchists, have battled 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 seismic victory of 'Repeal' - the campaign for women's reproductive rights. 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.
Reviews:
"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
"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 1889-1898
"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
About the Authors:
Oisín Gilmore is Senior Economist at TASC (Thinktank for Action on Social Change) in Dublin, Ireland. He has participated in various social movements in Ireland, Britain and continental Europe.
David Landy is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology in Trinity College Dublin and Director of the MPhil in Race, Ethnicity, Conflict. He has written for Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies, and Social Movement Studies on the water charges movement, Irish anti-racism and Palestinian solidarity. He is the author of Jewish Identity and Palestinian Rights, and co-editor of Enforcing Silence: Academic Freedom and Criticism of Israel.