Search Results for 'Celtic nationalism'

UNTIL SINN Féin swept the boards at the 1918 general election, winning 73 seats - the overwhelming majority - the Irish Parliamentary Party had been the dominant force in Irish politics.

“Socialism will confiscate the property of the capitalist and in return will secure the individual against poverty and oppression; it, in return for so confiscating, will assure to all men and women a free, happy, and unanxious human life. And that is more than capitalism can assure anyone today.”

While last week's historic referendum on same sex marriage was undoubtedly the political event of the year in Ireland, earlier this month the eyes in Leinster House were very firmly fixed on events across the Irish Sea and the British general election.

With the schools back, the evenings longer, and summer giving way to autumn, focus is switching to the resumption of the Dáil and to what the political environment will be like over the coming months. Are we facing a winter of discontent or are the dark skies starting to give way to brighter days?

The Irish-American vote used to be a sure thing. If you were Irish-American, you voted Democrat. It was as simple as that. When I was growing up in 1950s Chicago, Republicans were like another species. An analogy from Baseball. As a Chicagoan, you supported either the White Sox or the Cubs. It was a tribal thing. My family were White Sox fans. So I was a White Sox fan. Cubs fans, on the other hand, were weird. Why would anyone support the Cubs? In much the same way, Republicans were weird too. Why would anyone support the Republicans? If you were Irish-American, even to pose the question bordered on the ridiculous.