2013
Ireland Politics
Leah Colsch
Ethnographic Research-Cross Cultural
Psychology
5/6/2013
The “not-so-independent” Republic of Ireland
As I walk the streets of Dublin, I am handed a flier for a protest happening this Saturday. I see a
sticker placed on a local stoplight imitating Barack Obama’s “hope” slogan. I hear couples in a coffee
shop discussing whether abortion is right and just. There are signs everywhere in Dublin that people are
really passionate about the current issues, but when I attempted to discuss the actual formation of
Ireland’s politics, people seemed to have very little to say. Ireland has a very complicated history
consisting of fighting for their independence which led to the complicated state they are in today. With
the European Union membership, the struggle to gain control of Northern Ireland, trying to find its own
structure while struggling with the influence of British government and currently dealing with the bank
bailout and Savita Halappanavar’s abortion case, Ireland is lost in its search of finding its own political
identity with its own strong morals.
Ireland has been accused of depending greatly on its membership of the European Union. An
effect of this is their consistency in sharing like morals and laws as the European Union or
Europeanization. Europeanization is a term used by many analysts describing the dramatic changes of
European policy. It is used very similarly in context as globalization. It is describing the European
integration of any customs or policies throughout all European countries. (Featherstone, 3) This greatly
affects all countries involved with the European Union, including Ireland.
The European Union’s foundation is comprised of a plethora of treaties and a 3 pillar structure.
(Featherstone, 86) The first pillar is European Communities pillar handles all economic, social and
environmental policies. The second pillar is the Common Foreign and Security Policy pillar takes care of
foreign policies and military issues. Third, the Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJCC)
focus more on eliminating crime throughout Europe. The policy menu is extensive and isn’t completed
often due to the need of all EU members and institutions agreements. This causes an overlap of powers,
thus leading to conflict among the countries.
Ireland joined the European Union in 1972. Some believe this was beneficial, others believe this
had little effect. Ireland recently took over the presidency of the European Union in January 2013 as
well. Some believe this has little effect, and they see it as just an obligation Ireland is trying to complete
in order to keep being a European Union member. On the other hand, some citizens see this as a time
for the political party to focus on the other goals they made.
This would be the time for Ireland to show their independence. They have a chance to
implement all laws that they consider important to themselves. Stephen Boyd, a professor at Institute of
Art and Digital Technology-Dun Laoghaire, believes Ireland is still looking for an identity and isn’t going
to find it till they stop following other EU members decisions. Ireland’s veto ratio to EU adaptation ratio
was very similar in a study conducted in 1998. They were about 3% difference, meaning Ireland was
pretty consistent in choosing exactly what the EU would do. (Featherstone, 134) At this rate, Ireland will
need to make the difference much larger in order to show their confidence in being an actual
independent country.
One of Ireland’s struggles in gaining complete independence has shown in their attempts to
control Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland has been in constant conflict as well. Between having to
separate from the Republic of Ireland over British rule and the Protestants versus Catholics struggles,
Northern Ireland has been through a lot of terrible events. These events haven’t stopped occurring, and
Northern Ireland is still left today as a country filled with fear, anxiety and sorrow.
During Britain’s reign of Ireland in the 1500’s, many English Protestants settled at the northern 6
counties. There, they held much of the land as well as most of the jobs. They hated the idea of Ireland
being its own country separate of England; they liked the influence England had on Ireland. Those
people who strongly identified with British values and the monarchy called themselves “Loyalists.”
(McNaughton, 130) This was just the beginning of conflicts between the “Loyalists” and the
“nationalists.”
Protestants chose to move to Northern Ireland due to its oak landscape and its prime location
on the Merrimac River. They liked Ireland, but they weren’t fond of Eamon De Valera’s constitution for
Ireland Free State, where he created many guidelines based off of the Catholic principles. This caused
the Protestants to feel even more distant from the Catholic population of Ireland. With these cultural
differences growing, it was easier for Ireland to become a Republic and not have any ties with Britain.
This was just the beginning of a never ending religious dispute in Northern Ireland.
In 1688, the Catholic King of England, James II, was replaced by the Protestant, William III. James
II then wanted his throne back and took a stand in Londonderry. He led a revolt with “no surrender” as
his motto. William III then sent an army to put an end to this, and created a Protestant assembly that
backed him. Eventually, James II sent 13 boys out to surrender for him (Derry Walking Tour). There were
tensions lasting after, but they eased after a Protestant priest donated much of his money to the
Catholic population, so they could build their first Catholic Church in Londonderry.
Over 3 hundred years later, there are still religious conflicts in Northern Ireland. The years
following 1921 were some of the toughest years to live in Northern Ireland. These were known as the
Troubles. During this time, Northern Ireland operated much like England. The protestant unionists held
100% of the power and would make all laws in their favor. There was discrimination in the homes, pay,
sports and schooling in Northern Ireland. Neighborhoods were designated a certain religion. Some
Catholics lived in the protestant neighborhoods, but they were eventually pushed out due to their
weakness. At one point there were 35,000 soldiers on Shankle Road, the Protestant neighborhood in
Belfast, which lead to many murders. Today, the neighborhoods still exist, but the social economic
classes of both sides have switched. When one tours Belfast, they will notice the difference in
neighborhoods by the buildings. The Catholic neighborhoods seem to be more stable, clean, and with
fancier homes. The Protestant homes were more run down and very cluttered. These roles used to be
flipped years ago. The Protestants were seen as more of the higher class, while the Catholics were seen
as more of the lower (Norman). These neighborhoods would also be marked with either a British flag if
they were protestant or and Irish flag if they were Catholic. The families who grew up here would most
likely live here for the rest of their lives.
In Belfast, there is a peace wall that divides these neighborhoods. It is a wall that was put up to
prevent any damages being done to each other’s houses by the opposing religion. Stones have been
used to throw of the wall to vandalize their houses, so the government recently had to add an extra 10
feet to the peace wall. At the end of the peace wall, there are gates that are closed every night at 10pm
and don’t open till 7am to keep any “trespassers” into either neighborhood. (Belfast Taxi Tour). The
peace wall today is used as a reminder to the community that they have a ways to go before they
actually reach peace in the community. It is filled with vibrant colors and quotes of letting peace
happen, but until the conflicts between religions are over, the wall is not coming down.
Another way people would mark their territories
back then would be through the use of murals painted
on the side of buildings. The murals are pictures
depicting the issues going on at that moment in time.
They are painted over with new murals often. These
murals are placed everywhere in the communities of
A mural in the heart of the Protestant Neighborhood in
Belfast reflecting the 35,000 wide British military
presences in 1921.
Northern Ireland. People of Northern Ireland are reminded
of these terrible events every day they walk by them.
These murals still exist today and are respected by the community living by them. Some say they are
used as reminders of how far the community has come, yet how far they still have to have peace.
Murals would reflect events such as the troubles. The troubles continued in 1968 when the
Loyalists marched right up to the Civil Rights Association (Catholic Republican Association) in
Londonderry and violence broke out. On October 5, people wanted to get fair voting rights. Prior to this,
one had to be 21 years of age to vote and the number of votes they got depended on how much land
they owned. A maximum for a household could’ve been 14 votes back then. Gay O’Brien, along with
others, was fed up with the discrimination and filmed the march up for equal voting that day. He caught
video of the police force, RUC, using water cannons on the marchers. They just wanted 1 vote per 1
man, but it ended in a terrible sight involving much too much harms.
Conflict continued in 1969 with the Bogside Riots that took place in Londonderry. Everyone was
fighting the police force and they police were fighting back. On August 12, the police were stomping
through and seriously beating anything in their way. There was chaos, fear, tears, and pain brought by
the police force in Northern Ireland. The community was pushed to the point where they had no choice
but to erect barricades in a way to keep out the police.
Many dreadful events kept happening in Northern
Ireland. In 1971, a protestant bomb was set off in a Belfast
Bar and killed 15 Catholics. (McNaughton, 133) Annette
McGavin, 14 years old, was the first person killed by the IRA
in Londonderry on September 6. The government then
established a rule stating people can be locked up in their jail
system without any notification to outside relatives for any
A mural in the heart of Londonderry. Placed
right outside of the Free Derry sign;
reflecting the event that took place on
January 30, 1972.
length of time period. This lead to an increased British military presence in Northern Ireland, which
lasted for 38 years.
January 30, 1972 was one of the most fatal days in Northern Ireland’s history. That day, an
organized group of marchers formed by the NICRA (Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association) were
planning on marching from Chragen to Free Kerry to hear speeches by other civil rights activists. They
made it about half way on Williams St in Londonderry when a riot broke out. The British had planned
“Operation Motorman,” where they would break down those barricades built by the community
members and attack from there. Tear gas was thrown and the British Parliament opened fire, which
ended up in killing 14 citizens. (Derry Walking Tour) The sight was nothing anyone could imagine. There
were more than 100,000 troops in this city all attacking. People were hysterical, determined and lost. So
many lives were affected by this raid. This day became known as Bloody Sunday.
In 1981, Bobby Sands along with other prisoners in the
Belfast prison participated in a hunger strike. This hunger strike was
to bring attention to the prisoners’ 5 demands: 1) to be recognized
as a Prisoner of War 2) to gain rights to an education 3) to not be
forced to work in prison 4) to not be forced to wear prison’s clothes
and 5) to understand half remation. (Norman) Bobby Sands was the
first to die of the group after not eating for 66 days. As these
strikers died of starvation, riots continued to break out in the
A flier given to the public in Belfast
during the 1981 Hunger Strikes.
streets of Belfast.
Amongst all of these riots and deaths, there have been some attempts at peace initiatives in
Northern Ireland. In 1973, the Sunningdale Agreement was made to implement meetings between the
British and Irish governments regarding Northern Ireland affairs and cross boarder plans. In 1982,
Ireland and Britain agreed that Northern Ireland couldn’t unite with Ireland without its people’s consent,
thus creating the Anglo-Irish Agreement. (McNaughton, 138) In 1993, Britain then decided to become
neutral in any Ireland/Northern Ireland disputes. Then in 1998, there was the Good Friday Agreement.
This ended the option to use any violence in meetings with each other, removing any laws pertaining to
one religion over the other, and an agreement to better cooperate with each other. Even with these
attempts, Northern Ireland hasn’t reached peace yet, and some reasons include the fact that political
agreement can’t be reached, the British government is treated poorly by both sides, security forces are
not being treated equally and ultimately, everyone wants the political control.
Today, Northern Ireland still has conflicts, but they are making progress towards a solution.
Their government today consists of Unionists and Nationalists as well as cross-community parties such
as the Alliance and Green Parties. Their voting system is now single transferrable votes to make a
proportional representation of Northern Ireland. Their assembly is composed of 44 unionists, 45
nationalists, and 9 others in different parties. The House of Commons has 9 unionists and 9 nationalists
as well. Stephen Boyd, a professor at IADT and a child raised from Northern Ireland, described Northern
Ireland’s politics as “representing UKs government but with their own interests.” (Northern Ireland Info
website)
Protests are still occurring, but recently they are over whether the British or the Irish Flag should
be hung outside of their city hall. Northern Ireland is still struggling to find an identity due to half the
population still claiming to be Catholic and Irish or claiming to be British and Protestant. In Northern
Ireland, people have to deal with dual citizenship because of this. Most of the conflict is happening
within the working class presently. Despite all of this negative events happening throughout the country,
people have high hopes in achieving peace in the future. This is represented in the way the country
builds bridges or statues, how the citizens discuss it and how the behaviors have calmed.
After years of fighting to own Northern Ireland, Ireland is still a country struggling to find its own
independence. Although it is politically independent now, it is still leaning on the European Union for
support and guidance. It’s having a difficult time trying to establish its own ideas and morals of the
country. The government is constantly in conflict with the people of Ireland. It’s nearly impossible for
Ireland to establish an identity.
It all started in 1916, when the republicans of Ireland had enough of British rule. For four days,
Irish volunteers and the citizen army held positions in major Ireland cities such as Dublin to show the
independence they can have. The leaders of this rebellion were later executed, but the support for the
republicans continued to grow. In January 1919, the Irish members of Sinn Fein were able to form a
large enough group to break off of British rule and start their own republic. As anticipated, this was not
accepted well by the British government.
Thus led to the Irish War of Independence in 1919.To get rid of the British monarchy, firings,
property damages and raids by the IRA and other Irish volunteers occurred and lasted for 23 months.
They hoped for Westminster to fight back and they were pushing the limits. On November 21st, 1920,
Michael Collins, a head figure for the IRA, had a crew shoot and kill 19 people assumed to have
connections with the British Intelligence Agency. This tragic event was known as “Bloody Sunday.” (BBC)
This was one of the most horrid events in Ireland’s history, but the war didn’t stop until British
negotiations convinced the IRA that the violence isn’t doing anything but hurting their own volunteers.
Ireland was officially free of British rule in 1921.
In 1922, Ireland was invited to London by British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Part of
Ireland was still in conflict. The people couldn’t agree on who they want to rule the country, so they
eventually agreed to split up the country. This was when the London treaty was signed. Northern
Ireland was left ruled by the British, which left 26 of Ireland’s 32 counties as its own independent
country. Michael Collins signed the treaty as a representative of the Fine Gael party while Eamon De
Valera signed as a representative of Fianna Fáil.
People who disagreed with this treaty stood up and began a civil war soon after the signing.
Many of the anti-treaty group was IRA members. It was mainly dominated by Fianna Fáil, who believed
Northern Ireland shouldn’t be under British rule. On June 16, 58 seats were pro-treaty, and 35 were
anti-treaty. Violence continued and Sir Henry Wilson, a pro-treaty member, was killed. The Free State
army ruled Fine Gael at this time and was committing most of the violence. Michael Collins retaliated,
but was soon assassinated, which ended the war in May of 1923. (United Kingdom)
Since then, Sinn Fein members started standing more with their individual morals and found
more differences than shared ideals. Some members still wanted to bring Northern Ireland back into the
Republic of Ireland, but through peace this time. Sinn Fein proceeded to break into 2 more groups. The
radical group is what Sinn Fein remains as today, and the less radical, which was settled by De Valera, is
now Fianna Fáil. They have yet to succeed in bringing Northern Ireland back as a part of the Republic.
Today, the Republic of Ireland has a parliament for its government called the Oireachtas. Their
government consists of 1 Prime Minister (the Taoiseach), a deputy prime minister (the Tánaiste) and 2
houses: Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. Both of these houses are elected by the people of Ireland, and
the number of representatives a county has in the Seanad is affected by the number of seats in the Dail.
Amongst the 2 houses, there are 4 parties competing for control: Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn
Fein. Fianna Fáil has been the most powerful political party in Europe by holding power of Ireland 71 out
of the 85 years it has existed. This streak ended just recently when they were “ripped out of power” as
Fianna Fáil student worker, Stephen Brady, would say. They are blamed for ruining Ireland’s economy
with the bank crisis, which makes them holding the lowest majority in the government currently.
Ireland’s Labour party is now in control, with Eamon Gilmore serving as the Taoisch. This might all turn
around though, after Labour party was caught breaking many political promises they made in 2011.
Stephen Brady observed there is more faith growing in the smaller, left wing parties now, as everyone
seems to be repeatedly disappointed by the major parties. That is, if voting turn out improves.
On the other hand, people seem to thinking that voting in Ireland isn’t convenient, which causes
for the voting turnout to be very low. The legal age to vote in Ireland is 18 years old, yet when students
were asked in a classroom to raise their hands if they voted, I observed that only 1 in a class of 25 had.
The majority of those who do vote are of the older generations. When I asked students at the Institute
of Art and Digital Technology in Dun Laoghaire, no one could share with me any knowledge they had of
Ireland’s politics. They were more aware of America’s politics than their own. Those who do know about
their politics say they keep informed through the radio more than the television. Typically, the political
party affiliation is passed down through family members. This could explain why Fianna Fáil has held so
much power, but recently this trend in families has started to change as well with the loss of trust in
their government.
Although Ireland has technically been an independent country since 1922, it still is quite
independent on their membership of the European Union. It is a child learning to walk on its own. With
Britain’s major presence in Ireland’s history, it is apparent their influence is still affecting their choices
today. Within the past 4 months, there have been many issues risen that could considerably affect Irish
laws. Ireland is a small country that is that needs to learn to operate on its own. After being under
British rule for so long, it is hard to find who your own country really is and what its morals are. These
current issues have helped define a bit of Irish nationalism.
In 2008, the Irish government had an idea to write blank checks to all Irish banks to provide a
way for them to stay open much longer. This had caused an obscene amount of borrowing money by
the banks, which inevitably ended up with no money coming in, nonetheless, money to give out new
loans. Ireland’s property assets were declining with the property market. Ireland’s major banks had very
fragile cash flows. They needed extreme help. This help consisted of €3.5 billion bailout for two of
Ireland’s major banks. In 2011, Ireland’s Taoiseach Brian Cowen officially requested support from the
European Union.
As you can imagine, this caused a decline in approval rate for the Fianna Fáil party. This was a
significant set-back in Ireland’s attempt to become a more independent country. In the January 17, 2013
edition of the Metro Herald newspaper, Lyndsey Telford writes “Ireland is due to pay €3.1 billion of its
€28 billion debt on March 31.” She proceeds to explain that Ireland is seeking an extension agreement;
they don’t feel able to pay their dues on time. Six days later, an article in the Metro Herald was stating
the extension deal won’t even be enough, but there are negotiations being made. The European Bank
system now gives very little credit to Ireland’s banking system, but as Stephen Brady, a student
employee for Fianna Fáil, described, “This bank guarantee scheme had a domino effect in the whole
euro bank system and propped it up with much support.” Ireland is now faced with renegotiating with
the European Union to rebuild the trust they lost in this bank scheme.
One of the issues frequently in Ireland’s
headlines involves the Croke Park II act. In order to make
up for the money they lost in the bank bailout, the
government created the following cuts in spending:
reduction in overtime rates from time and a half to a flat
A teacher’s protest in 2013 as a reaction to the
Croke Park II decision.
rate, reduction in Sunday premium payments from double time to time and a half, abolition of Saturday
rate and twilight payments, 3 Year full increment freeze, compulsory exits, redeployment to 100 km,
reformed pension entitlements for serving staff, eliminations of allowances, significant pay cuts, an
increase of 5 extra hours for all employees and a wide range of reform measures across all sectors. (1,
Labour Relations Commission) This is all supposed to help the government gain €25 billion, so their
deficit decreases. This plan affects all areas of government employees including the guarda and
education system employees.
This was a way to decrease the gap between spending and
revenue, but this increased the power distance between the
government and its employees. This draft has been turned down by
union after union. On April 16, 2013, the 8th Labour union had rejected
the idea. There have multiple protests throughout any of the major
cities. On Saturday February 9 at 1:30 pm, there was a national protest
Handouts given to the public of
the local protests happening
because of the Croke Park II
decision.
taking place in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Sligo.
Their handout given prior to these protests states the following: “So far,
the average EU citizen has paid 192 to cover the cost of their bust banks. But our bank bailout has cost
every Irish citizen almost 9000—nearly 50 times the EU average! And we are expected to pay more!”
(Irish Congress of Trade Unions) The effected government employees make up just about 1% of Europe’s
population, but they feel as if the burden is being put on them only. They also believe this is a corrupted
plan led by the seniors in the government, who earn the most in our economy. The bank bailout was
seen as the prevention of the European banking system, yet the Irish are still seen to blame. Currently,
the news is filled with stories of protests and labour unions rejecting the idea. Much time will pass
before these employees negotiate on an appropriate adjustment in their benefits and pay.
In other news, Ireland’s abortion laws are
being challenged by the family of Savita
Halappanavar. In October 2012, Savita
Halappanavar died due to septicemia after giving
birth in Galway University Hospital. Earlier that
year, went into an abortion clinic in Ireland hoping
Protests broke out in India as well after the news of
Savita’s death.
find alternative options. She was denied the request
to
due
to the fetus lacking a beating heart. Dr. Katherine Astbury has been accused of denying Savita’s request
by saying “Ireland is a Catholic country.” (Stack) This death has caused a huge reaction between all
groups making them create a stronger identity with their morals regarding pro-life or pro-choice.
Protests have been occurring throughout Ireland and even India (Savita’s country of origin). A panel was
put together to reevaluate Ireland’s abortion law. Originally 7, the panel is now down to 4 experts after
Savita’s husband had anyone involved in the case or that could be bias removed.
This event hurt the Catholic Church in Ireland once again. Many people who have come here to
live do not share the Church’s position on abortion. This is becoming more prominent as more of the
younger generations of Irish are becoming less concerned with defending the pro-life side of things or
do not even support the pro-life position. It not only has hurt the church, but also the country as a
whole. The Labour party chooses to be more radical, when Fine Gael chose a more traditional approach.
Children tend to lean more liberal and be more pro-choice while the elderly population generally
chooses more to be pro-life. This event has shaken and split up the country of Ireland even more.
This wasn’t the only event causing uproar in Ireland’s society today. Their own government has
been guilty of breaking many promises that led to them being elected. In an interview with RTE channel
six news, Eamon Gilmore, the leader of Ireland’s Labour Party, claimed, “The first difference people
would see would be a government that would focus on families.” Ireland’s Labour Party had made
promises such as free education in the 3rd level, but all Ireland has seen has been a rise in prices and an
anticipated €250 increase as well. The increasing price of education in Ireland has made Ireland the
second most expensive country in Europe regarding education. This is now causing a downward spiral as
for employment rates for students as well. (Caldwell) With the European Union losing trust and Ireland’s
own citizens losing trust in their government, Ireland has been in a major internal conflict.
Ireland is legally an independent country, but it is struggling to economically prove this. Ireland
is in a time, where they are highly dependent on other European countries. The years leading up to this
were years of conflict over claiming an identity. The complicated influence of the European Union mixed
with the struggles in Northern Ireland leaves Ireland lost and confused. Their current issues even reflect
their lack of an identity. Ireland is leaving the current population in a gaze, struggling to understand the
government and their structure. Once Ireland gains the trust and confidence from the EU, Northern
Ireland and their people, they can finally become an independent country they have been striving for.
Works Cited
Scholarly:
Chubb, Basil. The Government and Politics of Ireland. 3rd ed. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 1992. Print. 18
Apr. 2013
Featherstone, Kevin, and Claudio M. Radaelli, eds. The Politics of Europeanization. Oxford: Oxford UP,
2003. Print. 18 Apr. 2013.
McNaughton, Neil. Understanding British and European Political Issues: A Guide for A2 Politics Students.
1st ed. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2003. Print. 18 Apr. 2013.
United Kingdom. The National Archives. The Cabinet Papers. Print. 17 Apr. 2013.
Popular Media
Telford, Lyndsey. "Refusal to Pay Bank Debt 'is Not an Option'" Metro Herald [Dublin] 17 Jan. 2013: 4.
Print.
"Loan Deal 'falls Short'" Metro Herald [Dublin] 23 Jan. 2013: 4. Print.
Aug. "Croke Park II - Negotiations Start Today." Web log post. Work in Progress Political World. Political
World, 14 Jan. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.politicalworld.org/showthread.php?13628-Croke-Park-II-Negotiations-StartToday&s=0cb1900b0ecc314fc7c4e6f4781fcd38>.
Gerry Adams Raises Issue of Tragic Death of Savita Halappanavar. Perf. Gerry Adams.YouTube. Sinn Fein
Ireland, 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy9wIYvf2no>.
Gilmore's Pre Election Lies. Dir. Adam Caldwell. Perf. Eamon Gilmore. YouTube. RTE News, 14 Nov. 2012.
Web. 30 Mar. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmjQ9BODQuo>.
Stack, Sarah. "Abortion 'approved for Savita'" Metro Herald [Dublin] 10 Apr. 2013: 1-5. Print.
"The Anglo-Irish War." BBC News. BBC, Web. 20 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/easterrising/aftermath/af04.shtml>.
Interviews
Gaynor, Emma. Personal interview. 30 Jan. 2013.
Norman. "Belfast Taxi Tour." Personal interview. 21 Feb. 2013.
Damien. Personal interview. 9 Mar. 2013.
Hardy, Stephen. Personal interview. 21 Mar. 2013.
Boyd, Stephen. Personal interview. 11 Apr. 2013.
McGann, Mark. Personal interview. 11 Apr. 2013.
Artifacts (1 more)
Belfast Protestant Murals, Belfast. Personal photograph by author. 21 Feb. 2013.
Derry Bloody Sunday Murals, Derry. Personal photograph by author. 22 Feb. 2013.
Kerry Public Service Workers Alliance. No to Croke Park II Protest. Dublin: Kerry Public Service Workers
Alliance, 5 Mar. 2013. Print.
Randall, Frank. 1981 Bobby Sands Campaign Poster. 2011. Photograph. Mikophoto, Dublin. 22 Apr. 2013
McDonald, Henry. Demonstrations in Delhi. 2012. Photograph. The Gaurdian, Delhi. 22 Apr. 2013.
Teachers Protest. 2013. Photograph. BreakingNews.ie, Dublin. 26 Apr. 2013.