Nervous State returns, with our special episode on the state of Irish labour politics in 2022.

The 1990 Industrial Relations Act is the most important piece of legislation that you've never heard of, and defines why Irish trade unionism is in the state it's in. Patrick McCusker spoke to Jimmy Doran of Trade Union Left Forum about how this came about, and what is to be done.

The Debenham's strike lasted for 406 days, and was the longest running picket in Irish history. Patrick McCusker caught up with two strikers to hear the story of the strike, to find out where things are at now, how Mandate failed them, and what the legacy of the strike could be going forward.

James O'Toole recently published a new manifesto for the Labour movement, entitled "The Return of Class War Trade Unionism". Lucas Spiro met him to discuss the contents of this, the weakness of the Irish labour party and why a return to class war trade unionism is crucial to addressing the problems of today.

Bígí linn!

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Nervous State returns, with an hour-long special on Irish neutrality in theory and practice from 3-4pm this Sunday.

The tragic recent events in Ukraine have shook the political landscape across Europe, and brought us closer to a major land war across the continent than at any time since the end of the wars that ravaged the Balkans in the 1990s. Whilst Ireland is far from the frontline of the conflict, we can’t help but to be affected by it, be it by housing thousands of Ukrainian refugees or facing rising fuel prices as a result of disruptions.

Another, less immediate way in which we have been affected by this war is that voices calling for Ireland to abandon neutrality and join NATO have become prominent in our media and politics, with debates on the future of Irish neutrality becoming a fixture on the airwaves and in newspapers. For perhaps the first time since the outbreak of the second world war, the future of Irish neutrality going forward has come under serious question.

We’ll be considering the case for and against Irish neutrality, as well as just why the question has become so prominent in recent months.  We’ll be discussing this with Dr Ben Tonra, Professor of International Relations at UCD, Roger Cole of Peace and Neutrality Alliance Ireland, Paulie Doyle, author of the recent article “The War On Ireland’s Neutrality” in Tribune Magazine and John Dolan, author and co-host of the Radio War Nerd podcast.

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Welcome to Nervous State's first show of 2022. 

Patrick McCusker will be talking to Dr. Harun Šiljak, lecturer in Electrical Engineering at Trinity College Dublin, about his recent article “Opening This Article Voids Warranty”, and just why the right to repair is about so much more than having to replace your phone every time you drop it.

2022 marks the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and the subsequent Irish Civil War. However, far too many people’s knowledge of the Civil War consists of a vague idea of a Collins - De Valera rivalry derived from the film Michael Collins, that the Four Courts were burned and that it’s the basis for the Fianna Fáil - Fine Gael rivalry. Chris Beausang got in touch with Dr Ferghal Mac Bloscaidh, Senior Lecturer in History at St. Mary’s University College Belfast and the author of a number of important books, including Tyrone: the Irish Revolution, 1912-1923 and Dr Kerron Ó Luain, Irish Research Council Fellow at DCU.

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