Category Archives: Catholicism

My review of “Across the Water Irish Women’s Lives in Britain” (1988) Mary Lennon Marie McAdam Joanne O’Brien

Posted on December 4, 2018 by lipstick socialist

    This  unique history of the role of Irish women in Britain was published  in  1988: Across the Water Irish Women’s Lives in Britain.  It was produced by three women, none of whom were academics, all of them had … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Catholicism, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, North of Ireland, political women, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

IBRG Archive at the WCML. Out of Ireland. Six Irish Film Festivals 1988-93

Posted on November 13, 2018 by lipstick socialist

Out of Ireland was the name given to six Irish Film Festivals that were initiated by the Manchester branch of the Irish in Britain Representation Group  and organised  from 1988 to 1993 with the Irish in Manchester History Group and … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholicism, drama, education, feminism, films, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, North of Ireland, political women, trade unions, TV drama, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

My review of “The Miami Showband Massacre A survivor’s search for the truth” Stephen Travers and Neil Fetherstonhaugh

Posted on August 25, 2018 by lipstick socialist

      On 31 July 1975  as the  popular group,  The Miami Showband, were travelling back home across the border in the North of Ireland, they were stopped by a fake army patrol made up of Ulster Defence Regiment … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, book review, Catholicism, education, human rights, Ireland, North of Ireland, Uncategorized, working class history, young people | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

My review of “Where are you really from” by Tim Brannigan

Posted on May 31, 2018 by lipstick socialist

  In the 1970s I went to a girls Catholic (read Irish) secondary school in south Manchester. Most of the girls were like me, second generation Irish, with a sprinkling of Irish born, like my friends who were had recently … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Catholicism, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, North of Ireland, Uncategorized, working class history, young people | Tagged , | 2 Comments

My review of “Poster Workshop 1968-1971” by Sam Lord with Peter Dukes, Jo Robinson and Sarah Wilson.

Posted on April 29, 2018 by lipstick socialist

It is the May elections this week and the title of this book will resonate with many people: they are that disillusioned with the political process and politicians.  But this book is not about politicians; it is about how people … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, Catholicism, Communism, drama, education, feminism, human rights, Ireland, labour history, North of Ireland, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Irish Collection at the WCML: a new chapter- the role of the Irish in Britain Representation Group. Part One.

Posted on March 23, 2018 by lipstick socialist

  Over the centuries the Irish  have played a key role in the labour and trade union movement in this country. The Working Class Movement Library has some of the most important archives which  document this activity and show the … Continue reading →

Posted in Catholicism, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, North of Ireland, political women, Salford, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Working Class Life: written by working class activists. Read “A Bolton Childhood” by Alice Foley

Posted on March 15, 2018 by lipstick socialist

In this occasional series I want to rediscover the autobiographies of working class people that have been forgotten or marginalised. They are important in understanding how and why people become activists. They are important in asking questions as to why … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, book review, Catholicism, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

My review of Milosz: A Biography by Andrzej Franaszek. (Edited and Translated by Aleksandra Parker Michael Parker)

Posted on August 2, 2017 by lipstick socialist

  Andrzej Franaszek’s biography of  the great Polish poet Czeslaw  Milosz is more than the story of one man’s life: it is a compelling history of Eastern Europe in the  twentieth century.  Milosz was born in 1911 in Lithuania but … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, book review, Catholicism, Communism, human rights, labour history, poetry, trade unions, Uncategorized, working class history | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Read my weekly roundup of radical arts and politics..Johnny Guitar,Dare to be Free, People before Profit and John McGahern

Posted on May 8, 2016 by lipstick socialist

Watch Johnny Guitar (Home). A classic film, looks like a western but isn’t. Made in 1954 by Nicholas Ray it reflects on US society at that time, McCarthyism and the witchhunt of radicals in society. Joan Crawford, 49, plays Vienna, … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, Catholicism, drama, feminism, films, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, novels, political women, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, women, working class history | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review; 1916 Ireland’s Revolutionary Tradition by Kieran Allen

Posted on February 18, 2016 by lipstick socialist

It is 2016 and this year is the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising in Dublin. It was on 24 April 1916 that a group of socialists and republicans struck a blow against the imperial power of Britain and its … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, Catholicism, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, North of Ireland, trade unions, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment