Greyfriars Municipal Art Gallery, Wednesday 16th August 2017 at 7:30pm.
Belfast based author and activist Sean Mitchell will launch his book ‘Struggle or Starve’ in the Greyfriars Art Gallery, Waterford, on Wednesday 16th of August at 7.30pm.
This interactive book launch, sponsored by People Before Profit, will tell the story of one of the most divisive moments in Ireland’s working class history.
In October 1932, the streets of Belfast were gripped by vicious and widespread rioting that lasted the best part of a week. Thousands of unarmed demonstrators fought extended pitched battles against heavily-armed police. Unemployed workers and, indeed, whole working-class communities, dug trenches and built barricades to hold off the police assault. The event became known as the Outdoor Relief Riot,-one of a very few instances in which class sympathy managed to trump sectarian loyalties in a city famous for its divisions.
“What happened in Belfast in 1932,” says Civil Rights veteran, Eamonn McCann, “contradicts just about everything conventional history tells us about relations between Catholics and Protestants in the North. Only decade into the existence of the new State, the plain people of the Shankill and the Falls linked arms to fight on picket lines and in the streets for common working-class interests.”
Film maker Ken Loach believes, “This is an important story to tell, part of our lost history. It shows that the interests workers share far outweigh the artificial divisions of sectarianism. It is brilliant that Sean Mitchell has brought these great events backs to life. It will be an inspiration to unite again in today’s struggles.”
Sean Mitchell’s book is a thorough and readable account of events which have an unmistakeable relevance for the Ireland of today, according to People Before Profit.
All are welcome to what is set to be an inspiring and entertaining evening and an opportunity to celebrate the achievements and relevance of people power in making history.
Phone: ++353 (076110 2983)
Email: conornolan@waterfordcouncil.ie
Greyfriars Gallery, Greyfriars Street, Waterford, Ireland.