Left politics and labor / Irish Left Archive
Irish Left Archive
Movement documentsArchives and custodyLabor actionactive
The archive's reading. The archive reads it as an organ in #1725's sense at the scale of a national left: it keeps defeated and splinter organisations' documents under their own names next to their rivals', with a timeline of the organisations and participants' own accounts, so a position can be read later in its own words. The holder is an independent online archive outside any of the organisations it keeps.
| Kind | an online archive of materials relating to Irish left politics, freely accessible and easy to download and reproduce |
|---|---|
| Operator | not named beyond its origin: the archive states it was initiated by the Cedar Lounge Revolution; podcast episodes and commentary are posted by Aonrud |
| Unit of record | a document (a periodical issue, pamphlet, statement or leaflet) attributed to the organisation that issued it and dated; also organisation, publication and person records, demonstration records, collections, articles and personal accounts |
| What it records | materials of Irish left politics: documents of organisations and parties (the Communist Party of Ireland, the Socialist Workers' Party, the Irish Workers' Party, the League for a Workers Republic, the Irish Republican Socialist Party, People Before Profit among those shown), the British left's documents on Ireland, documents from demonstrations, and first-hand accounts of activists; a timeline of Irish left organisations and parties from 1900 to the present |
| Whose record it keeps | the documents of Irish left organisations, parties and campaigns, and of British left groups writing on Ireland, as their issuers published them |
| Who holds it | the Irish Left Archive, initiated by the Cedar Lounge Revolution; freely accessible; content is submitted through a Content Submissions route; the terms are on a Copyright page that was not saved |
| The losing side | it keeps rival organisations' documents side by side under their own names: the saved home page shows the Communist Party of Ireland and the Socialist Workers' Party, The Leninist group (CPGB) and the Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee), the British and Irish Communist Organisation; a collection 'shows some of the positions taken by the British left'; a timeline records organisations and parties from 1900; participants add accounts and comments (one commenter states they were one of the five who produced Focalín). The saved text does not describe splits or expulsions as a category |
| Method | online archive built from submitted materials (Content Submissions) and personal accounts invited from participants, with organisation, publication and person records updated over time and comments open on records |
| Coverage | geography: Ireland, with the British left on Ireland; period: 1900 to the present (the timeline); documents on the home page date from 1967 to 2026 |
| Count | value: 1231 documents, 436 organisations, 47 internationals, 217 publications, 875 people, 20 demonstrations, 10 collections, 12 articles; as_of: 2026-10-31 |
| Holdings | 1231 documents from 436 organisations, 217 publications and 875 people; an interactive timeline of Irish left organisations and parties from 1900 to the present; a bibliography of Irish left periodicals; Snapshots of Political Action, documents from demonstrations, with Irish Election Literature; collections: The British Left on Ireland, Wood Quay Protests, The Hunger Strikes; personal accounts and a podcast (episode 72 on 30 October 2026) |
| Stated limits | the personal accounts depend on contribution: 'The Irish Left Archive hopes to collate first-hand political reminiscences or observations from people involved in Irish Left political activity over the years' |
| Data access | free online access with documents to download and reproduce; advanced search by section and years |
| Licence | not stated in the saved text; a Copyright page is linked |
| Lifecycle | state: active; detail: records updated on 26 October 2026 and 23 October 2026; podcast episode 72 on 30 October 2026; the former address clririshleftarchive.org redirects to leftarchive.ie |
What its record can settle
- what a named Irish left organisation published, in its own documents, and when
- which organisations and parties existed on the Irish left from 1900, as the timeline records them
- what positions British left groups took on Ireland, in their own documents
What it cannot settle
- how complete any organisation's run of documents is
- membership or electoral strength of the organisations
- how a dispute between organisations was settled, beyond what their documents say
Kept apart
- NOT the archive of one party: it holds documents of hundreds of organisations side by side
- NOT a record of membership or votes
- NOT a counted dataset of protests: its demonstrations section holds documents from 20 demonstrations
Evidence
- kind (the resource's own statement):
The Irish Left Archive is an online archive of materials relating to Irish left politics , freely accessible and easy to download and reproduce .
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - operator (the resource's own statement):
It was initiated by the Cedar Lounge Revolution .
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - count (the resource's own statement):
1231 Documents 436 Organisations 47 Internationals 217 Publications 875 People 20 Demonstrations 10 Collections 12 Articles
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - timeline (the resource's own statement):
An interactive timeline of Irish Left organisations and parties from 1900 to the present.
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - bibliography (the resource's own statement):
Bibliography of Irish Left Publications A list of left periodicals in Ireland
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - doc_cpi (the resource's own statement):
Irish Socialist, No. 123 January 1973, from the Communist Party of Ireland.
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - doc_swp (the resource's own statement):
Socialist Worker, Vol. 2, No. 146 Socialist Workers’ Party, 2001
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - doc_iwp (the resource's own statement):
Essays from the 50th Anniversary of the 1916 Rising, from the Irish Workers’ Party
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - doc_lwr (the resource's own statement):
Workers' Republic, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1969) League for a Workers Republic
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - doc_1967 (the resource's own statement):
Joint Memorandum on Citizens’ Rights in Northern Ireland (1967) Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Northern Ireland Labour Party
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - doc_pbp (the resource's own statement):
House Sick: TCDSU's Transition from Protest to PR (2025) People Before Profit
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - doc_2026 (the resource's own statement):
Silence = Death (2026) Conradh na Saoirse Náisiúnta
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - rivals_irsp (the resource's own statement):
Irish Republican Socialist Party, The Leninist group (CPGB)
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - rivals_cpgb (the resource's own statement):
Updated: Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee) Organisation | 26th October 2026
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - rivals_bico (the resource's own statement):
Cathy Winch on "British and Irish Communist Organisation" | 1st August 2026, 08:02
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - british_left (the resource's own statement):
This collection shows some of the positions taken by the British left over the course of the last several decades.
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - collections (the resource's own statement):
The Hunger Strikes Materials relating to the Hunger Strikes of 1980/1 in the archive.
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - demonstrations (the resource's own statement):
Snapshots of Political Action A project from Irish Election Literature and the Irish Left Archive Documents from demonstrations
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - personal_accounts (the resource's own statement):
The Irish Left Archive hopes to collate first-hand political reminiscences or observations from people involved in Irish Left political activity over the years.
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - participant_comment (the resource's own statement):
I was one of the 5 who produced Focalín.
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - submissions (the resource's own statement):
Content Submissions Copyright Privacy
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - podcast (the resource's own statement):
Episode 72 Kevin Rooney: IrishBorderPoll.com Fri, 30 Oct 2026
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - podcast_author (the resource's own statement):
ILA Podcast #72: Kevin Rooney: IrishBorderPoll.com By: Aonrud ⚘ | Fri, 30 Oct 2026 10:54:35
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - latest_update (the resource's own statement):
Updated: Independents 4 Change Organisation | 23rd October 2026
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088… - search (the resource's own statement):
Select All Deselect All Years: From to
https://www.clririshleftarchive.org/ · read 2026-10-31 · http 200 · sha256 908865463c70f088…
Unchecked
the About page: /about/ and /about both answered 404 at leftarchive.ie, so the operator's own account of the archive, its submission terms and its copyright terms are unread; the timeline, the organisation records and the documents themselves; the Copyright and Content Submissions pages
Cite: Lee Sharks, ed. "Irish Left Archive." Mary Lee Labor meta-aggregator: left politics and labor, maryleelabor.org, compiled 2026-10-31. https://www.maryleelabor.org/aggregators/irish-left-archive