Last night, in the most expensive city in the United States, the most linguistically and ethnically diverse city in the world, in a place built in large part by emigrants fleeing genocide and the poverty constructed by English colonisation on our island, the people elected an unapologetic socialist as mayor.
Aoife Kilbane-McGowan was the National Coordinator of Youth for Connolly during the recent Presidential election, and is a member of People Before Profit.
Last night, in the most expensive city in the United States, the most linguistically and ethnically diverse city in the world, in a place built in large part by emigrants fleeing genocide and the poverty constructed by English colonisation on our island, the people elected an unapologetic socialist as mayor.
Last week, here at home, we elected one of the left’s strongest voices against the neoliberal policies of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, someone who champions the Irish language, uniting our island, standing in solidarity with the victims of imperialism across the world over economic alignment with the states that fund these genocidal wars, with the largest number of first preference votes in Irish history.
Catherine Connolly and Zohran Mamdani’s victories, and the surging popularity of Zack Polanski of the Green Party in Britain, show that there is a massive appetite for a fighting left vision to confront not only the rise of the far-right but against the failing economic policies of the centre. No where better than Ireland knows the consequences of neoliberal economic policy: where 7 in 10 young people plan on emigrating in the next five years, with the highest rents in the EU, where 2 in 3 people ages 18-34 live in their childhood bedrooms, with healthcare waiting times and staffing in disarray, and a cost of living crisis that has made a night out with a taxi home a major financial decision.
Just yesterday, the Department of Finance issued a new report stating that the housing crisis will last at least another 15 years. All under the assumption that the government actually will hit their housing targets, which despite claiming otherwise in the lead up to the general election last year, has not happened since 2022. These failures and this report are policy decisions made at the highest level of the two parties that have been in government since the foundation of our Republic. They choose, day in and day out, to continue down the same path that has led us to this breaking point.
There is only one thing that can stop them: all of us. It is so easy to check out of Irish politics. To feel hopeless, to only see greener pastures on the other side of the Dublin airport departure gates. That is exactly what the political establishment want you to do. But we can build the Ireland we want to see. An Ireland we can afford to see a future in.
How we achieve this is a harder question, but there are some key lessons from Catherine and Zohran’s campaigns that we can take forward. To focus relentlessly on affordability and easy to remember policies that will improve people’s lives on a long-term, material level. It was astounding to see tens of thousands of young people canvassing for Zohran, ready to list off his priorities: immediate rent freeze, fast and free buses, and free childcare. While our Presidential election is for a ceremonial role, we also saw the power of a grassroots movement with more than 15,000 people across the country volunteering to promote Catherine’s vision for a new, fairer Republic.
In creating a winning movement for economic and political change, our greatest strength is the renaissance of Irish culture that has been building over the past five years, despite consistent public underfunding of our arts. The rise of KNEECAP, Fontaines D.C., CMAT, the
Mary Wallopers, and upcomers Madra Salach have both benefited from and driven a renewed interest in our culture. In the Connolly campaign, we saw a brief glimpse of how this energy can be channelled towards building a new Ireland. The Ceol for Connolly gig in Vicar Street, featuring some of the artists listed above, sold out in half an hour. The audience was amazing to see: young people, young men in particular, coming out in droves to cheer on speeches calling for an end to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s rule.
There is a long road of work ahead, but we can elect a government for the people here in Ireland, too. It’s up to you now to get out and get organising. To finish with the words of socialist and trade unionist Eugene V. Debs, which opened Zohran’s victory speech: “I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.”