Food for Thought 2025

Afri

Join us for our annual Food for Thought event this Monday, April 7th from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm at St Mary’s Hall, ATU Mayo!

This year, we’re exploring the vital theme of Peace, Justice, and the Environment. We’ve teamed up with the enthusiastic Third-Year Outdoor Education and History and Geography students from Atlantic Technological University to bring you a truly engaging experience.
We have a vibrant morning planned with thought-provoking discussions and opportunities to connect with fellow participants who care deeply about social justice issues. Share your ideas, learn from others, and become part of a community committed to positive change.

We are delighted to be joined by Catherine Connolly TD for an insightful conversation circle – a chance to hear her perspectives and share your own! We will also have captivating music from the talented The Accidental Rapper and Dylan Swift.

We’d love for you to join us and contribute your valuable insights and perspectives. Please register on Eventbrite here.

We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

Statement by the Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine on Gaza and Israel

Afri

The Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine (IAAC-P) is a coalition of 23 Irish civil society organisations representing a collective membership of over one million people across the island.

We mourn, without reservation, the taking of all civilian life, in Gaza, in Israel and across the occupied Palestinian territory; and we condemn all unlawful acts which deliberately target or recklessly endanger civilians, including all acts of collective punishment against a population under siege. Continue reading “Statement by the Irish Anti-Apartheid Campaign for Palestine on Gaza and Israel” →

Neutrality Or NATO – an online book launch & conversation

Afri

The online launch of A Force for Good? Reflections on Neutrality and the Future of Irish Defence took place on Tuesday, June 20th 2023. The book is  a collection of essays by people with long and deep experience of working for peace and against militarism on this island and in the wider world.

Contributors include Nobel Peace Prizewinner Máiréad Maguire; Thomas Pringle TD; UCC Emeritus Professor John Maguire; Dr Karen Devine of DCU; Carol Fox of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance; and Tarak Kauff, former paratrooper with the US Army and now active member of Veterans for Peace.

The book is available from Afri for €10, including postage.

 

 

Peace Cannot be Discussed

Afri

I have just returned from Vienna where I attended a very important event entitled ‘International summit for Peace in Ukraine’, which was organised by the International Peace Bureau and a range of other Peace groups such as the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Sean MacBride was a former President of the International Peace Bureau and I myself was a Board member for a three-year period. Continue reading “Peace Cannot be Discussed” →

Good Friday Agreement reminds us war can end when peacemaking begins

Afri

There are many extreme dangers associated with the war in Ukraine, some too obvious to refer to, but the danger of groupthink around the war is one that is perhaps not sufficiently in some people’s awareness. Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of people make irrational or non-optimal decisions spurred by the urge to conform or the belief that dissent is impossible. Continue reading “Good Friday Agreement reminds us war can end when peacemaking begins” →