Irish Left Archive Podcast

We talk to activist, writer and academic, Laurence Cox about publications in the archive in which he has been involved, the organisational and political aspects of those projects, and the contexts in Left politics and movements from which they emerged.

Laurence is an activist and writer on social movements, working class community activism, and global justice struggles. He has been involved in several publications included in the archive: An Caorthann, a magazine for environmental and Green movements associated with the Green Party in the 1990s; and Ireland from Below, an independent newspaper for social movements and activists in the 2000s. He is currently an editor of Interface, an online journal for and about social movements internationally. He is Associate Professor of Sociology in Maynooth University. His books include Why Social Movements Matter, published in 2018, and most recently The Irish Buddhist: the forgotten monk who faced down the British Empire, which tells the story of a working class Irish man who became a leading Buddhist reformer and anti-colonial activist.

For more information on Interface, visit their website at interfacejournal.net. The most recent edition, “organising amidst COVID-19: sharing stories of struggles”, has articles from a huge range of movements around the world.

These are the examples of the publications discussed:

• An Caorthann, No. 5
• Ireland from Below, January 2006
• Interface, Vol. 1, No. 1

The Irish Left Archive Podcast looks at Left politics in Ireland, talking to activists, writers, historians, politicians and others involved in Left organisations and movements about their experiences of participating in Left parties and campaigns. The podcast is hosted by Ciarán Swan and Aonghus Storey.

View this episode on our website: #2: Laurence Cox: Left Publications, Social Movements and Activism.