Author Archives: lipstick socialist

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About lipstick socialist

I am an activist and writer. My interests include women, class, culture and history. From an Irish in Britain background I am a republican and socialist. All my life I have been involved in community and trade union politics and I believe it is only through grass roots politics that we will get a better society. This is reflected in my writing, in my book Northern ReSisters Conversations with Radical Women and my involvement in the Mary Quaile Club. .If you want to contact me please use my gmail which is lipsticksocialist636

Manchester Irish in Britain Representation Group and Grass Roots Books Radical Bookshop (and later Frontline Books)

Posted on November 20, 2022 by lipstick socialist

In 1981 a new wave of Irish activists became involved in not just the campaign for a united Ireland but also in campaigning for the  civil rights and equality for the Irish in Britain: the Irish in Britain Representation Group … Continue reading →

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My review of “Ireland’s Hidden Diaspora: the “abortion trail” and the making of a London-Irish underground,1980-2000 by Ann Rossiter

Posted on November 9, 2022 by lipstick socialist

Growing up in Manchester in the 1970s I had been subject to my Catholic (largely Irish) secondary school promoting an anti-abortion agenda and encouraging students to get on buses to attend Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child demos. … Continue reading →

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Finding Miss Nellie Kay…

Posted on November 2, 2022 by lipstick socialist

Sheila Rowbotham coined the phrase about women’s absence from mainstream history books as “hidden from history”. The Mary Quaile Club was set up in 2014 in order to put Mary Quaile and other working class women back into the history … Continue reading →

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My review of Liverpool Dockers A History of Rebellion and Betrayal by Mike Carden

Posted on August 15, 2022 by lipstick socialist

    This book  is about Liverpool, about dockers, about their families and communities. It is also about democracy, trade unions and the Labour Party. It is about the past and  the present. Mike Carden was one of the key … Continue reading →

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My review of CAUSES IN COMMON Welsh Women and the Struggle for Social Democracy By Daryl Leeworthy

Posted on August 2, 2022 by lipstick socialist

In this new history book about the role of Welsh working class women Daryl says his aim is to highlight women who “were active in the trade unions and their adjunct organisations; who were involved in the cooperative movement or … Continue reading →

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My review of “The House that Jill Built” by Ethel Carnie Holdsworth

Posted on July 23, 2022 by lipstick socialist

      As a socialist feminist I am always looking around for books and authors to inspire me. I was introduced to Ethel Carnie  by  Ruth and Eddie Frow of the Working Class Movement Library. She was a northern … Continue reading →

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The Manchester and Salford Women’s TUC and the Manchester Sweated Industries Exhibition

Posted on June 20, 2022 by lipstick socialist

    By 1906 the Manchester and Salford Women’s Trade Union Council  was  a well established trade union body   known for its organising  work,  both locally and across the country. They were kept busy supporting working class women to set … Continue reading →

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My review of “Women’s Activism in Twentieth-Century Britain,” Paula Bartley

Posted on May 9, 2022 by lipstick socialist

In the introduction to this wide ranging history of women’s activism Paula stresses that it is an “Introduction to the variety of women’s engagement, not a comprehensive study”. Nevertheless  in 300 pages covering  100 years she has packed in some … Continue reading →

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Irish in Britain; posters of resistance 1985-2000

Posted on May 2, 2022 by lipstick socialist

  The Irish in Britain Representation Group  was an Irish  national  community organisation which during  its lifetime  organised and  took  part in many events up and down the country. The IBRG archive is at the WCML in Salford. This latest … Continue reading →

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Searching for Miss Nellie Kay; Manchester Tailoress and Union Organiser

Posted on January 16, 2022 by lipstick socialist

  Transcribing the Minute Books of the Manchester and Salford Women’s Trades Union Council led me to encounter Miss Nellie Kay. She was appointed as a special organiser for the  Tailoresses Society in June 1901. The address of the Tailoresses … Continue reading →

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