12 November 2007 

Hello SD,

I enjoyed the weekend school 2 weeks ago. If SD is organising anything in the West of Ireland I can offer support and accommodation. Also I am keen to follow up the chats I had about the health service. If Ann from Dublin produces a leaflet for a hospital campaign could you please ask her to send me the leaflet template so that I could use it locally.

Regards

M
 

Hi SD,

I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the Socialist Democracy weekend school. Even if I am no fan of union bureaucrats, the Saturday speaker was informative and provided an interesting insight into the thinking of Left union officials - legal recognition is the be and end all! 

I also enjoyed Ann McShane's Sunday morning session. The debate it provoked was of a high level. I had not heard about the UDA pro-war protest at the time of the Hillsborough picket. Have you written anything about this before? 

I was perhaps surprised to hear Joe claiming that a united capitalist Ireland would be better than the current divided capitalist Ireland. It would surely depend on how this came about. I could envisage an advanced democratic struggle which brought about a united (capitalist) Ireland. However, I would have thought that from a Trotskyist perspective this smacks of stageism. If unity came about as a result of a deal between the British and Irish ruling classes, it is a moot point whether workers would be better off. Can you explain Socialist Democracy thinking on this point?

Most of all I enjoyed the good company and the craic. Thanks, as well, for the accommodation and food.

If you can send me a copy of Joe's talk, which I missed on the Saturday morning, I would appreciate that.

Cheers,

Allan