Activity In Ireland Research Articles

Testing consistency of modelled predictions of the impact of climate change on bats

Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are a cornerstone of climate change conservation research but temporal extrapolations into future climate scenarios cannot be verified until later this century. One way of assessing the robustness of projections is to compare their consistency between different modelling approaches, placing more confidence on consistent rather than inconsistent predictions, especially if they are consistent with recent population trajectories. We compared predicted climate change impacts on nine bat species throughout their European ranges (using SDMs) and their activity (using GLMMs) within Ireland as a focal study region. Five species (N. leisleri, P. nathusii, P. pipistrellus, P. pygmaeus and P. auritus) were predicted to have stable ranges throughout the 21st century with projected increases in activity consistent with recently observed population increases. M. daubentonii and R. hipposideros are also likely to have stable European ranges throughout the 21st century but models predicted a negative impact of climate change on activity in Ireland, contrasting with a stable population trend in M. daubentonii and an increasing trend in R. hipposideros over recent decades. M. nattereri was predicted to maintain its range extent while M. mystacinus was predicted to undergo range contraction by the end of the 21st century under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario. We propose there is utility in comparing predicted trajectories from climate change impact models using different parameters (e.g. range versus activity). Our predictions should inform government and conservation organisations when creating future climate change conservation policy.

"We Can't Keep Painting Over Our Problems": Murals, Social Media, and Feminist Activism in Ireland

"We Can't Keep Painting Over Our Problems":Murals, Social Media, and Feminist Activism in Ireland Rachael A. Young (bio) On 26 July 2016 eighty protestors gathered in the space in front of Dublin's Project Arts Centre. Dressed in black "repeal" jumpers and blue face paint, the group chanted "What do we want? A woman's right to choose!" while holding up photographs of a red heart with the words "Repeal the 8th" written inside. The photos replicated a mural that was painted over the previous day. Activist Andrea Horan had commissioned popular street artist Maser to paint the pro-choice mural, but Dublin City Council announced that the artwork lacked necessary permits. Project Arts Centre director Cian O'Brien was forced to paint over the image, leaving a plain blue wall where the mural had previously resided. But this censorship could not remove Maser's artwork or the idea it represented from the public sphere. Indeed, Irish feminists and activists refused to allow the mural image to be forgotten or erased. Standing in front of the protested space in Temple Bar, one activist argued, "You can paint over the mural. You can cover us up, but the problem is not going away. We're still here. It's not going away with a little bit of blue paint."1 Refusing to be "painted over" anymore, Irish feminist activists and their allies used murals to create both a physical and digital space [End Page 320] to discuss and advocate for women's issues during the repeal movement. This article considers how murals created a forum-like space, both corporeal and virtual, and allowed Irish citizens to interact with feminist issues and debates in their daily lives. Many academics have discussed how art has created a dissident space for feminist activists, exploring how Irish women have created and navigated these spaces to challenge an oppressive patriarchal system.2 In this article I will build on this work, specifically exploring how contemporary feminist murals in Ireland integrate and combine physical and digital space. Replicas of Maser's mural spread across Ireland, creating material locations in which viewers could physically insert themselves into the abortion debate while simultaneously allowing people a digital method to claim the issue as their own via personal social-media accounts. This amalgamated space allowed people to interact with Maser's mural, and through it the repeal movement, in a personal and continual manner. In using both physical murals and their socialmedia interactions, Irish feminists successfully helped to repeal the Eighth Amendment and created a precedent for feminist activism to use street art to engage with other issues concerning female bodies, including the subjects of sexual violence and body positivity.3 This article will examine four murals that all engage with Irish women's struggle to end patriarchal control of the female body. I begin with two pro-choice murals, Maser's 2016 Repeal the 8th and the 2018 Savita by Aches. I then analyze two artworks by street artist Estr, the 2018 work Not Asking For It, which addresses the topics of consent, sexual violence, and rape culture in Ireland, and a 2019 mural depicting singer Lizzo that aims to combat the stigma of shame [End Page 321] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Maser's Repeal the 8th mural after being painted over. The HunReal Issues, (@HunRealIssues), Twitter, 26 July 2016, 12:58 pm, https://twitter.com/HunRealIssues/status/757545602825748480. surrounding female bodies and sexuality by embracing body-positive ideals. Building upon the success of Maser's work, I argue that each of these murals created a combination of physical and digital space that was used by Irish feminist activists as a new tool to challenge patriarchal authority over women and their bodies. Feminist Activism, Street Art, and Social Media: Parallel Functions of Creating Space The 2020 themed issue of Feminist Review concerning abortion in Ireland begins with a familiar feminist cry, a refusal to apologize for creating space "to express the injuries involved in the everyday experience of living as a woman in Ireland's 'police state.'"4 One method...

Development and Application of a Prioritization Tool for Animal Health Surveillance Activities in Ireland.

Decisions around animal health management by stakeholders are often subject to resource limitation, therefore prioritization processes are required to evaluate whether effort is attributed appropriately. The objectives of this study were to develop and apply a surveillance prioritization process for animal health surveillance activities in Ireland. An exploratory sequential mixed research methods design was utilized. A prioritization tool was developed for surveillance activities and implemented over two phases. During the first phase, a survey was conducted which asked stakeholders to prioritize diseases/conditions by importance for Irish agriculture. In the second phase, experts identified the most important surveillance objectives, and allocated resources to the activities that they considered would best meet the surveillance objectives, for each disease/condition. This study developed a process and an accompanying user-friendly practical tool for animal disease surveillance prioritization which could be utilized by other competent authorities/governments. Antimicrobial resistance and bovine tuberculosis were ranked top of the endemic diseases/conditions in the Irish context, while African swine fever and foot and mouth disease were ranked top of the exotic diseases/conditions by the stakeholders. The study showed that for most of the diseases/conditions examined in the prioritization exercise, the respondents indicated a preference for a combination of active and passive surveillance activities. Future extensions of the tool could include prioritization on a per species basis.

Performances of autonomy: Feminist performance practice and reproductive rights activism in Ireland

This article considers feminist performance practices in relation to reproductive rights campaigns in an Irish context. Following the successful campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment in 2018 and the decriminalization of abortion in Northern Ireland in 2019, I explore the significance of feminist performance practices in developing discourses concerning reproductive autonomy and challenging the idealizing of motherhood. Through a discussion of key works by Áine Phillips, Amanda Coogan and myself, I outline how in deploying their bodies in their work live artists make visible the impact of oppressive gendered constructs and resist the policing and shaming of reproductive bodies in an Irish context. I demonstrate how through performing transgressive acts, live artists have ruptured the silencing surrounding both abortion and maternal experience. My article further critically reflects on the performances of the London-based direct-action performance group Speaking of IMELDA, drawing on my first-hand knowledge gained through my participation in the group’s successive performative interventions between 2013 and 2018. I discuss the group’s collective public vocalizations and, sometimes brazen, use of performance to unapologetically advocate for reproductive rights within an Irish context in a variety of social and geographical settings. I situate the performance activist aesthetics of IMELDA in voicing the intergenerational perspectives and solidarities of the London-Irish feminist diaspora as contributing to broadening understandings of Irishness. In outlining how the various performance practices discussed within this article have operated against cultural constructs of femininity and unashamedly advocated for reproductive autonomy, I locate performance as contributing to the development of feminist discourses.

An investigation into the factors affecting investigator-initiated trial start-up in Ireland

BackgroundIn common with many countries, Ireland has seen an increasing trend in the number of clinical trials conducted over the past few years. Yet, as elsewhere, trialists in Ireland face several problems and barriers in the starting-up of clinical trials. These barriers impede trial activity significantly, with consequent impacts on patient care. It is critical to understand these issues, to develop approaches to facilitate trial start up. This study identifies the challenges in conducting clinical trials in Ireland and specifically the contractual, ethical, logistical, and regulatory barriers that hinder the start-up of investigator-led trials in Ireland.MethodsData for this study were collected in two stages. In the first stage, a survey was conducted among trialists in Ireland. A total of 44 trialists responded to the survey, and information was collected about their experience in conducting clinical trials, the scale and nature of their most recently completed trial, and the details of specific barriers they encountered during the starting-up of the trial. In the second stage, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with the awardees of 2018 Irish Health Research Board’s Definitive Intervention Feasibility Award. These interviews facilitated a deeper exploration of issues and problems in conducting clinical trials in Ireland.ResultsThis study identified several issues and bottlenecks in starting-up clinical trials in Ireland with contracts and ethical approval cited as the major issues. The data shows that site identification and activation was also problematic in some cases. Several respondents reported difficulties in accessing dedicated time for protocol development and believe that support in this area can be greatly beneficial. It was reported that availability of skilled staff members like statisticians and data managers was as an issue, especially for small trials.ConclusionThis study found that several factors impact trial initiation and progression in Ireland. Delays associated with obtaining contract and ethics approval are perceived as major barriers. Specialist supports in areas such as ethics and regulatory affairs and availability of specialised staff members in areas such as statistics and data management are key actions to enable enhanced clinical trial activity in Ireland.

Peace and Protest in Ireland: Women’s Activism in Ireland, 1918-1937

ABSTRACT Political violence was a fact of Irish life in the early twentieth century, exacerbated by the sacrificial and martial cultures that grew out of nationalist and unionist politics. The Irish women’s movement developed in this context, adjusting to the demands made on activists by these particular circumstances, and playing a vital role in all the major political movements of the era. Buoyed by the achievement of partial women’s enfranchisement in 1918, Irish women prepared to play an enhanced role in the formal life of the country. However, they quickly found that the rights they believed they had won were less than secure, and they turned to new and existing strategies in their efforts to adjust to the reality of independent Ireland.

Take back the city: Building an interracial class coalition to fight for ‘Homes for All’

This article draws on empirical data collected through in-depth interviews conducted with Irish and migrant activists from the Take Back the City housing coalition to incite the debate about the potential of interracial class coalitions and to point out the challenges of migrant activism in Ireland. Take Back the City was a movement from below, which through the praxis aimed to challenge common sense with good sense. It questioned the commodification of housing in Ireland by reframing the housing crisis as a result of political and economic decisions, as well as in its strategy of occupying empty buildings. Claiming Homes For All, activists noticed that this slogan was not all-encompassing and as such was insufficient to help recognise that it also referred to those who came to Ireland to study, work or seek asylum. As the hegemonic narrative understands the world through concepts such as the nation-state, borders and citizenship, it automatically excludes non-nationals as the people, the subject of rights within a nation-state. This article locates Take Back the City experience within the discussion on race and class dynamics addressed by anti-racist and anti-capitalist scholars and activists.

“We’re not there to protect ourselves, we’re there to talk about workforce planning”: A qualitative study of policy dialogues as a mechanism to inform medical workforce planning

IntroductionTo address a disjuncture between medical workforce research and policy activities in Ireland, a series of national level policy dialogues were held between policy stakeholders and researchers to promote the use of research evidence in medical workforce planning. This article reports on findings from a qualitative study of four policy dialogues (2013–2016), the aim of which was to analyse policy dialogues as a mechanism for knowledge-sharing and interaction to support medical workforce planning. MethodsDescriptive qualitative study design involving in-depth interviews with policy stakeholders and researchers (n = 13) who participated in the policy dialogues; thematic analysis of interview transcripts. FindingsPeriodic policy dialogues, with discussion focused on research evidence, provided an enabling environment for exchange and interaction between policy stakeholders and researchers, and between policy stakeholders themselves. Findings foreground the significance of the policy-making context, in terms of how people interact during policy dialogues, and how research can potentially (or not) inform medical workforce planning. ConclusionPolicy dialogues provide a mechanism for improving knowledge exchange and interaction between policy stakeholders and researchers. Situated within the policy context, policy dialogues also add value to: a) policy-making processes by facilitating interactions between policy stakeholders outside the day-to-day business of formal and sometimes adversarial negotiation; b) research processes, including exposing researchers to the complexity of health workforce planning, and health policy more generally.

Active Students Are Healthier and Happier Than Their Inactive Peers: The Results of a Large Representative Cross-Sectional Study of University Students in Ireland.

Time spent in university represents a period of transition and may be an appropriate time to promote physical activity among young adults. The aim of this study was to assess participation of university students in sport and physical activity in Ireland and to explore the association between physical activity and perceptions of overall health, mental health, and happiness. The Student Activity and Sport Study Ireland was a cross-sectional online survey among a representative sample (n = 8122) of university students in Ireland. Binary logistic regressions were performed to examine associations between self-reported physical activity and gender (predictor variables) and individual perceptions of overall health, mental health, and happiness (binary outcomes). Only 64.3% of respondents met the recommended level of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week with males significantly more active than females (72.1% vs 57.8% meeting guidelines). Those meeting physical activity guidelines were more likely to report greater overall health and higher mental health and happiness scores compared with their inactive peers. Active students enjoy better health (overall and mental) and are happier than their inactive peers. This provides a clear rationale for providing students with opportunities to be active at university. The data provide a baseline to monitor changes in physical activity patterns.

The Society of Jesus in Ireland, Scotland, and England, 1598–1606. "Lest Our Lamp be Entirely Extinguished." by Thomas M. McCoog

Reviewed by: The Society of Jesus in Ireland, Scotland, and England, 1598–1606. "Lest Our Lamp be Entirely Extinguished." by Thomas M. McCoog Freddy C. Dominguez The Society of Jesus in Ireland, Scotland, and England, 1598–1606. "Lest Our Lamp be Entirely Extinguished." By Thomas M. McCoog, S.J. [Catholic Christendom, 1300–1700; Bibliotheca Instituti Historici Societatis Iesu, Volume 78.] (Leiden and Rome: Brill and Institutum Historicum Societatis Iesu. 2017. Pp. xiv, 612. $160.00. ISBN: 978-90-04-33044-3.) Thomas McCoog, S.J., has achieved two historical feats in his books on Elizabethan Jesuits. First, he has provided the most thoroughly researched, even-handed account of early modern English Jesuit activities to date. Second, and just as importantly, his work hearkens back to (unfortunately) bygone days of history-writing that was meticulous, exhaustive, and confident in its ability to describe events as they were, or better put, as the sources suggest they were. His "trilogy" on Elizabethan Catholicism is a testament to McCoog's exemplary scholarship steeped in a rich mix of secondary sources and an unmatched intimacy with Jesuit primary sources, especially those at the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu. The third installment of his magnum opus under review here only confirms that his work should be essential reading for anyone interested in early modern (English) Catholicism, Jesuits, and Elizabethan political culture. Here McCoog starts where he left off in a previous volume, in 1598, when Philip II of Spain died, and describes Jesuit activities in Ireland, England, and Scotland through the third year of James I's reign in 1606. Eight years are covered in over five hundred pages of lucid prose and leisurely summary of (mostly) Jesuit letters, memorials, and printed polemic. The book focuses on two large themes. First, it tells of the many and varied tensions within the English Catholic community centering on arguments for and against Jesuit efforts in England. These tensions [End Page 551] were not new to the period in question, but they reached a fever pitch during the so-called Appellant Controversy, a moment of polemical viciousness between secular priests and Jesuits that spread in print, manuscript, rumor, and face-to-face quarrels throughout England, Flanders, and Rome among several different English Catholic factions. Second, the book studies in great detail the politics of succession leading up to James I's accession to the English throne and the ways in which a range of wary Catholics dealt with that reality after years of wrangling over whom to support when Elizabeth died. A prominent thread used to tie these two themes comes in the form of the indefatigable and perennially controversial figure of Robert Parsons, whose various historical personae as inveterate politico and man of solid faith inspired awe and disdain in equal measure from different quarters. McCoog's contribution is essential amid a historiography that until recently has been confessionally motivated. A thorough reading of the sources has revealed just how lacking black and white portraits (or caricatures) of the past have been. Just as scholarship on Jesuits in general has moved away from a simplified corporate or even military model of the Society, McCoog has shown that British members of the order often disagreed among themselves and that their responses to British questions were varied. In describing this, the author takes issue with one of the great historians of English Catholicism: John Bossy. While Bossy ultimately emphasized the stagnation of "Elizabethan Catholicism," McCoog emphasizes dynamism. Throughout, McCoog ably shows that instead, the sources on Jesuits reveals "flexibility and adaptability more than inertia" (p. 542). There is no greater example of this than Parsons who, though knee deep in political contrivances of all sorts, was nevertheless quite malleable and far from the monochromatic schemer of legend. Each subsequent volume in McCoog's (mostly) Elizabethan trilogy has been bigger than the last. What each has gained in rich description and scholarly rigor has, however, been at the expense of other elements. McCoog, from the first volume of this series, has admitted that there would be an English focus to his work, as demanded by the sources and the importance of the English story for a broader British one. Here, however, sections...

Building research capacity among Irish prehospital practitioners.

<p>The National Prehospital Research Strategy was published in 2008, which aimed to gauge current levels of prehospital research activity in Ireland; ascertain the research strengths that exist in the Irish prehospital community; pinpoint the obstacles to high quality research in the prehospital arena; determine the building blocks for a national prehospital research culture; outline an implementation plan for the strategy; and, identify expected and measurable short and long-term outcomes of implementing the strategy.</p><p>The characteristics of systems that facilitate research productivity include: the promotion of a research culture; mentoring by established scholars; communication with a professional network; rewards for research; and brokered opportunities.</p><p>Almost ten years later, the development of research capacity within the practitioner cohort has not progressed as much as hoped. A culture of research provides a supportive context in which research is uniformly expected, discussed, produced, and valued. We propose that a culture of research does not yet exist among Irish prehospital practitioners. </p>

Improvement in the estimation and back-extrapolation of CO2 emissions from the Irish road transport sector using a bottom-up data modelling approach

Road transport is a major source of CO2 emissions in Ireland and accounts for almost 96% of the total CO2 emissions from the transport sector. Following the recent adopted UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual inventories [24/CP.19], this study applied the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2006 IPCC GLs) tier 3 approach to estimate CO2 emissions from road transport at the vehicle category level, for the first time in Ireland. For this, disaggregated datasets were prepared based on year of vehicle registration and mileage since registration of the vehicle. Such an approach provided a more realistic national scenario in comparison to the use of average mileage degradation in emission calculations. This investigation comprised a recalculation of previous emissions estimates (1990–2012) and an estimation of CO2 emissions in 2013 using a previously unavailable level of data disaggregation for vehicle mileage as well as using vehicle class specific data and an improved bottom-up estimation methodology in COPERT. Historic vehicle fleet data were restructured, annual mileage data were estimated in relation to the fleet data and back extrapolated using a regression approach.The results showed that the mileage degradation was not only subject to fuel technology, engine size, and age but also the emissions class and vehicle category. It was also observed that the disaggregated level of data provided a different CO2 emissions split among the vehicle categories than that of previous estimations which were based on an aggregated level of data. Previous emissions inventories (1990–2012) were shown to have underestimated the share from diesel fuelled passenger cars by more than 56% in 2012. Diesel fuelled passenger cars were also found to account for the majority of CO2 emissions from road transport activities in Ireland in 2013. The level and trend assessment showed that emissions from Euro-II and Euro-III classed vehicles especially for passenger cars, which have a significant contribution to the total emission in 2013 have caused an increase in fleet level emissions in Ireland. In addition, the results also showed that the emissions share from Light Duty Vehicles and Heavy Duty Vehicles were overestimated by previous investigations. This paper highlights the importance of the resolution of data used in emissions inventory preparation which may impact upon future projections and policy formulation. The findings of this investigation are also discussed in relation their implications for road transport policy, including carbon taxation and future policy options aimed at achieving EU emissions target in 2020.

Beyond Nationalism? The Anti-Austerity Social Movement in Ireland: Between Domestic Constraints and Lessons from Abroad

ABSTRACTThe European financial crisis has inspired a wave of social activism, challenging established party politics. In Ireland, a large social protest movement produced a Right2Change political campaign in 2015 that confronted the right-wing consensus in Irish politics. Some activists sought to emulate and learn from the example of new parties like Spain’s Podemos. Yet, to date, the traditional party structure remains intact, and hopes of emulating the success of activists elsewhere remain muted. At the same time, anti-austerity activism in Ireland has seen a conscious attempt to engage in intense dialogue with the pan-European experience. Irish activists have looked to Europe before for inspiration and a sharing of experiences; but the most recent attempt to create a Europeanised public space in response to the perceived ‘blockage’ in the Irish party system is something fairly innovative. This article, based in part on ten semi-structured interviews with politicians and social movement activists, considers the achievements and failings of the Irish anti-austerity movement to date.

‘Madness’ and activism in Ireland and Scotland, a dialogue

‘Madness’ and activism in Ireland and Scotland, a dialogue

The school play and the murder machine: Nationalism and amateur theatre in the work of Patrick Pearse and Rabindranath Tagore

Using as its starting point the performance of Patrick Pearse’s An Rí and Rabindranath Tagore’s The Post Office at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin in 1913, this article explores the importance of performance in the two men’s approach to anti-colonial theory and practice. It argues that this “oddity of Irish theatre history”, as Robert Welch terms it, brought together two parallel traditions of thought and activism in Ireland and Bengal that found fullest expression in the plays made by Pearse and Tagore for their respective schools. Their treatment of cultural identity suggests the ways in which new formations of indigeneity and modernity were set against colonial modes of instruction whilst also marking a distinctive divergence from developing models of nationalist organization in the colonies. Viewing these school plays as political agencies allows a reappraisal of the importance of Tagore’s and Pearse’s educational theories, and of amateur theatres within postcolonial studies more generally.

Indicators of health system coverage and activity in Ireland during the economic crisis 2008–2014 – From ‘more with less’ to ‘less with less’

A new Irish government came to power in March 2011 with the most radical proposals for health system reform in the history of the state, including improving access to healthcare, free GP care for all by 2015 and the introduction of Universal Health Insurance after 2016. All this was to be achieved amidst the most severe economic crisis experienced by Ireland since the 1930s.The authors assess how well the system coped with a downsizing of resources by an analysis of coverage and health system activity indicators. These show a health system that managed ‘to do more with less’ from 2008 to 2012. They also demonstrate a system that was ‘doing more with less’ by transferring the cost of care onto people and by significant resource cuts.From 2013, the indicators show a system that has no choice but ‘to do less with less’ with diminishing returns from crude cuts. This is evident in declining numbers with free care, of hospital cases and home care hours, alongside increased wait-times and expensive agency staffing. The results suggest a limited window of benefit from austerity beyond which cuts and rationing prevail which is costly, in both human and financial terms.

Who operates when, where and on whom? A survey of anaesthetic‐surgical activity in Ireland as denominator of NAP5

The second phase of the 5th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, concerning accidental awareness during general anaesthesia, consisted of a survey of anaesthetic activity in Ireland. A network of consultant anaesthetists co-ordinated data collection from the anaesthetic departments of 46 public and 20 independent hospitals over seven days. Data on patients' characteristics, anaesthetic techniques, staffing, and admission and discharge arrangements were collected on all cases for which anaesthetic care (general, regional or local anaesthesia, sedation or monitored anaesthesia care) was provided. A total of 8049 cases were reported during the survey, giving an annual estimate of 426 600 cases for which anaesthetic care is provided. General anaesthesia constituted 5621 (70%), regional anaesthesia 1404 (17%), local anaesthesia 290 (4%), sedation 618 (8%) and monitored anaesthesia care 116 (1%) of the total number of cases. This survey provides unique data regarding anaesthesia services in public and independent hospitals in Ireland.

Spatialising the contentious politics of ADHD: Networks and scalar strategies in health social movement activism

This paper explores the spatial dynamics of health social movement activism in the context of a specific condition, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Deploying qualitative research conducted with Irish ADHD organisations, it examines how place and space affect activist networks and the dilemmas that emerge when local ‘mobilisations’ converge at national and transnational levels. ADHD activism in Ireland has been predominantly localist in orientation, but certain organisations have shifted their activism to the European scale as a means of gaining further political and epistemic recognition for the condition. The paper suggests that health social movement studies would benefit from an engagement with the geographies of inter-scalar relations in analysing organisations׳ action repertoires.

Irish Americans and the Treaty: The View from the Irish Free State

Irish Americans and the Treaty:The View from the Irish Free State Troy D. Davis Historians writing about the Irish-American response to the Irish Civil War of 1922–23 have emphasized the sense of confusion and dismay felt abroad after the outbreak of fighting between supporters of the Free State created by the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and its opponents, who continued to insist on the establishment of an Irish republic. As Francis Carroll has said, the civil war was "a source of disillusionment to many Irish-Americans who had dreamed of a happy and prosperous Ireland freed from Britain’s grip."1 Elsewhere, Michael Hopkinson has noted that, "The Treaty and Civil War periods caused a vast fall in the membership and importance of exile nationalist organisations in the United States, and also in the relevance of the Irish question in American politics."2 Though many Irish Americans lost interest in Irish affairs following the Treaty split and the subsequent civil war, that does not mean that leaders in Ireland lost interest in the Irish Americans. Anti-Treaty republicans, for example—both "politicians," like Eamon de Valéra, and "militarists," like IRA Chief of Staff Liam Lynch—continued to place great importance on gaining the political and financial support of Irish-American activists. And those republicans succeeded in getting such support from a small but committed group of diehards in the United States, most notably those Irish Americans associated with Joseph McGarrity, whose reorganized Clan-na-Gael financed an ill-conceived and unsuccessful gunrunning scheme designed to provide the IRA with artillery from Germany for use against the Free State army.3 But what of the pro-Treaty side in the Treaty debate and Civil War? To what extent did the Provisional Government and, later, the Free State government attempt to garner Irish-American support for their cause? How much importance did the Free State place on maintaining such support? Did pro-Treaty officials [End Page 84] see Irish-American help as essential to success in their fight against the republicans? To answer those questions, it is helpful to review briefly the nasty divisions that had already developed among Irish-American activists before the Treaty split—i.e., during the Anglo-Irish War, when Irish separatists themselves were still more or less united and striving to end British rule in Ireland. Those divisions became public and very intense during de Valéra’s well-known publicity and fund-raising tour of the United States, which lasted from June 1919 to December 1920. De Valéra arrived in the States to find Irish-American supporters of Sinn Féin and the IRA feuding among themselves over how best to use Irish-American funds in support of the putative Irish republic. On one side, John Devoy and Judge Daniel Cohalan, leaders of the Clan-na-Gael and of the more public Friends of Irish Freedom organization (FOIF), wanted to use the funds primarily for American political purposes—specifically, to fight against President Woodrow Wilson’s efforts to bring the United States into the League of Nations. They argued that the League was a pro-British entity that would require the United States government to support Britain in its efforts to defeat the republic. On the other side, Joseph McGarrity—who had the backing of such Irish republican representatives in America as Harry Boland—wanted the money to be used to help the republic more directly by financing the republican campaign in Ireland. De Valéra ended up siding with the McGarrity faction, as one might expect, given his obvious desire to get as much help as possible for republican activities in Ireland. But de Valéra went much further than that. He essentially took the position that, as president of the Irish republic, he was solely answerable to the Irish people and had the right to expect Irish-American organizations, whose raison d’être was to help establish the republic, to defer to his judgment. In essence, de Valéra seemed to see himself as not only the leader of Irish republican forces in Ireland but as leader of the "Irish race" everywhere, including the United States. Cohalan and...

A quiet revolution? Beneath the surface of Ireland's alternative food initiatives

Getting food to our plates has become a highly complex, industrialised and globalised process. However, transformations in how our food is supplied are not without resistance. Initiatives are emerging that take a step back to simpler, alternative methods of food supply, bringing the producer and consumer closer together. Alternative food initiatives which are commonly found in Ireland include allotments, community gardens, farmers’ markets, farm shops and on-farm food enterprises. Understanding alternative food activities as a social movement can illuminate a fresh perspective on their nature and potential. While briefly considering the broad dynamics of alternative food activity in Ireland, this exploratory paper looks at the question of the nature of resistance and whether a collective vision may exist across initiatives, illustrated by two examples, a community garden and consumer food co-op. Finally some conclusions as to how alternative food initiatives may play a transformative role within the contemporary food system are discussed.