A-Infos (en) Ireland's anarchist paper Workers Solidarity #107 - Organising In Challenging Times

The Cork Grassroots Gathering ---- The Grassroots Gathering is a twice-yearly coming together of 
anarchists and libertarian socialists who are active in political groups and campaigns up and down 
the island of Ireland. The second of 2008's Gatherings was held in Cork on 14th-16th November. The 
90 or so attending, combined with the quality of the discussions, left its organisers very pleased 
with the weekend. It showed that there's a lot of life left in the Grassroots Gathering as a 
show-case for trends and thinking among Ireland's libertarian left. ---- The big issue was the 
attack on the working class currently happening world-wide. The workshop titled 'Kicking Capitalism 
While It's Down - Responses To The Recession' was a particular highlight of the Saturday 
time-table, with almost the whole attendance engaged intensely in a discussion of activities and 
strategies our class might use to fight back against the designs of the rich, as the crisis in the 
capitalist economy unfolds. Thanks are due to the Cork branch of the Workers Solidarity Movement 
for helping organise that part of the weekend's programme, and also to Cork-based socialist 
activists from other left organisations and traditions for organising or participating in many of 
the weekend's activities.

An important part of all the Grassroots Gatherings to date has been the invitation to local 
campaign groups in the host community to showcase their struggles and talk about their community's 
engagement with political ideas through struggle. Cork this November was no different, with members 
of groups as diverse as Cork Women's Right to Choose, Traveller and Settled Solidarity, Niger Delta 
Awareness and Cork Harbour for a Safe Environment among those participating over the weekend. The 
dialogue between all was sometimes heart-rending, occasionally sharp, but always constructive. 
Information, photo displays and book stalls were there too, from a range of interests and campaigns 
from Palestine Solidarity to the Revolutionary Anarchafeminist Group to Shell to Sea to swap shops 
and foods.

While the Gathering is an occasion for friends and comrades to meet for serious talk about serious 
things, there's always time for conviviality and craic, with the pinnacle of entertaining Anarchy 
being Saturday night's Cabaret Éclectique - a “participatory revue” with everything you would 
expect: from boos and cat-calls to calls for encores!
Workers Solidarity Movement - Anarchist communist organisation in Ireland     http://www.wsm.ie
http://www.wsm.ie/news_viewer/4953

The Workers Solidarity Movement is an anarchist communist group based in Ireland. It is involved in 
workplace and social struggles.
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://ainfos.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en