Saturday the 30th of September 2017 will go down as a high point in the fight for abortion rights in the Republic, and that is a struggle that stretches back decades. Years of campaigning and maintaining a focus on the issue, saw a massive crowd of nearly 30,000 people take to the streets for the annual March for Choice as organised by the Abortion Rights Campaign [ARC]. The calls are for action, and the need for Repeal of the 8th Amendment.

The speeches given before and after March for Choice 2016 provided a broad introduction, through the personal stories of the speakers, to the complex intersecting oppressions imposed by the 8th Amendment on women along with some trans-men and non binary people in Ireland. An oppression that doubles up on those who are also in the Asylum system, disabled, or Travellers.  If you are used to protests where the speeches are mostly from politicans telling you what you already know this wasn't one of them.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Dublin Saturday 26th September on the warmest, sunniest day in quite some time, to demand the fundamental right to abortion services on this island. The 4th annual March for Choice, organised by the Abortion Rights Campaign, began with a gathering at the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square.

Last Saturday the 26th of September saw thousands of people take to the streets of Dublin for the now annual March for Choice. The march is organized every year by the Abortion Rights Campaign.

The current key demand is that for the repeal of the Eighth Amendment. This amendment passed in 1983 equates the life of a mother with that of a foetus. It's implementation through the legislation of the Labor Party party and FIne Gail government means in effect that a doctor who helps a pregnant person have an abortion or someone who procures one in Ireland could face a jail sentence of up to 14 years.

September is a terrific month for you to become more involved in the struggle to make access to abortion in Ireland free, safe and legal.

This article was prompted by a number of recent events.  Firstly, the Irish Refugee Council (IRC) organised a meeting on April 3rd to organise a campaign aimed at ending the inhumane system known as Direct Provision . And secondly, ADI (Anti-Deportation Ireland) held a workshop at Dublin’s Anarchist Bookfair on April 6th, followed by an ADI public meeting in Dublin on April 11th.  Both ADI events aimed to build a campaign against deportations in Ireland.

TWO NEW BUZZWORDS have entered the lexicon of the Department of Justice; "dispersal" and "direct provision". The government's "solution" to the crisis of accommodation for asylum seekers in Dublin, like many State solutions, has served to create more problems than it has solved.

IN AN ARTICLE in issue no.3 (Autumn 1998) of the Socialist Party magazine 'Socialism 2000', written by John McCamley, it is stated "The [anti racist] movement has to be national, support has to be well organised and coming from all corners of Ireland. We would have to act fast. There won't be time to make decisions on every single issue at weekly meetings so there would have to be some sort of co-ordinating committee. These are the simple facts and nothing to do with an attempt by anyone to "take control" of the movement in an undemocratic way. There are ongoing discussions in the anti-racism movement on what direction to take from here.

THE GOVERNMENT'S PRO-DEPORTATION policy has been severely dented. Members of the Anti-Racism Campaign, in the immediate pre-Christmas period, halted at least four potential deportations.