Anne McShane

Anne McShane has a long history of involvement in the workers movement, both in Britain and Ireland. She stood in a number of elections in Britain, for the CPGB and the Socialist Alliance.

She was also closely involved in solidarity work with the miner’s struggles of the 1990s and the various women's strike movements such as the Timex dispute in Dundee in 1995. She played a leading role in building the Socialist Alliance and has always been very passionate about the need to build revolutionary unity.

Today Anne lives in Cork, Ireland. She writes regularly for the Weekly Worker on political developments in Ireland and the response of the left. She has also lectured at Communist University.

A member of the United Left Alliance and an activist in the Anti-Household Tax and other anti-government campaigns, she continues to struggle for a united revolutionary party in Ireland. She was a founding member of Hands off the People of Iran campaign in Ireland in 2007.

Anne has always been a dedicated advocate of women's rights and has written and campaigned on abortion rights both in Britain and Ireland. She works as a lawyer and has recently commenced a PhD on the women's section of the CPSU (Zhenotdel) at Glasgow University.

Latest articles by Anne McShane

Danger of World War III: the communist response

Supported by: Ian Spencer, Bob Paul, Andy Hannah, Paul Cooper, Carla Roberts, Anne McShane

Best laid plans go awry

People Before Profit’s long held commitment to supporting a ‘left government’ led by Sinn Féin is heading for the rocks. But, argues Anne McShane, aspirations of becoming junior ministers were always about the lure of careerism and narrow personal advantage

Migrants as a means of diversion

We must reject the scapegoating of asylum-seekers. Anne McShane looks at the facts and figures and issues a call for full citizenship rights and unity

Strengthen those red lines

Left groups are arguing about the class nature of a possible Sinn Féin-led government. Even about joining as coalition partners and getting the perks and privileges of junior ministers. Anne McShane calls for unity around tried and tested principles, not diplomatic fudges

Not within touching distance

Sinn Féin might appear, to some, to be on the cusp of realising the long-held dream of Irish reunification. However, if it happens, there would be a huge price to pay, argues Anne McShane

Media, migrants and mobs

People Before Profit says the state is soft on far-right groups, but failure to deal with the housing crisis is the main problem, argues Anne McShane

Success brings challenges

There is a need to struggle against peaceful co-existence between factions, insists Anne McShane - an observer at last weekend’s Marxist Unity Group congress

What happened to solidarity?

Anne McShane celebrates the fellow feeling with the Palestinians and notes the drift of Sinn Féin into the mainstream pro-Israel consensus

Defending neutrality

What are so-called socialists doing upholding the foreign policy of their ‘own’ bourgeois state? Anne McShane upholds the principles of international socialism

Veiled lessons

Yassamine Mather spoke to Anne McShane at a Hands Off the People of Iran meeting. Given the recent wave of arrests in Iran and new legislation reinforcing the wearing of the hijab, the experience of the Soviet Union’s Zhenotdel in the 1920s is of particular relevance.

Same old road

Do not expect any radical shift, particularly on foreign policy, under a Sinn Féin-led government, warns Anne McShane

Chasing after cabinet seats

Sinn Féin looks set to become the biggest party after the next general election. Anne McShane lambasts its PBP would-be coalition partner

Zhenotdel and its travails

In light of the ongoing Women, Life, Freedom protests in Iran, Anne McShane discussed with Yassamine Mather the lessons that can be drawn from the fight for women’s emancipation in post-revolutionary Russia

Centrality of involvement

In light of the mass upsurge in Iran sparked by protests against the hijab, Yassamine Mather asked Anne McShane to speak about the lessons of history, in particular the fight against bourgeois feminism in the Second International and the role of Bolshevik women in Russia

Extreme opposition, not partners

Treacherous calls for a Sinn Féin-led ‘left government’ should be ditched once and for all, urges Anne McShane

For a disciplined revolutionary party

Marxist Unity Group founding congress report and perspectives

Cliffism to ministerialism

The SWP’s comrades in Ireland are dreaming of joining a ‘broad alliance’ capitalist government led by Mary Lou McDonald’s Sinn Féin. Why does Alex Callinicos so tamely acquiesce to what is a betrayal of elementary principle, asks Anne McShane

Women, wages and reproduction

Critically engaging with Lise Vogel can be useful if we want to develop our understanding of women’s oppression and how to overcome it, argues Anne McShane

Crisis in permanence

Sinn Féin is hailing an historic turning point, but, despite that, Irish reunification is still a long way off. Anne McShane and Kevin Bean look at the results

Westminster is main culprit

Anne McShane is appalled by the systemic institutional abuse that took place in the children’s homes of Northern Ireland over decades. But why has the UK government been let off the hook?

Working women find a voice

Anne McShane looks at 'Rabotnitsa', first published by the Bolsheviks on February 23 1914 to mark International Women’s Day

Disarray over abortion

Anne McShane looks at the right’s assault on abortion in the US, the DSA’s abstentionism and the shameful record of what still passes for the left

No reliance on Good Friday

As shown by the resignation of Arlene Foster, unionism is in profound crisis. But can the left take the lead and build working class unity? Anne McShane reports on the Conference for an Alternative United Ireland

SUPPLEMENT: Reclaim the festival

It is not enough to bemoan the corporate feminists for usurping International Women’s Day, writes Anne McShane. We must show that socialism is a real alternative

Without it we can’t breathe

Anne McShane explains why the ‘cancel culture’ is so badly misdirected

A barometer of progress

NEP had profoundly negative results for the struggle for women’s emancipation, writes Anne McShane.

Rise to the challenge

Sinn Féin might be about to join a grand coalition, but the left should not join Sinn Féin, argues Anne McShane.

Sinn Féin’s success, left’s collapse

Anne McShane assesses the February 8 election and the rush by the Trotskyist ‘left’ to enter a bourgeois government.

Open the borders

We should end the distinction between refugees and economic migrants, declares Anne McShane.

In turmoil over Brexit

The economy is set for a hammering, but the left seems determined to learn nothing, writes Anne McShane.

Time to reassess

The Irish left is still attempting to justify its support for Brexit, notes Anne McShane.

Out of the dark ages

While the divorce referendum has resulted in a marginal improvement, writes Anne McShane, the absence of a fighting working class is still making itself felt

Another round of splits

It is a case of ‘Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose’ for Peter Taaffe’s beleaguered sect. Anne McShane and William Sarsfield look at the mounting problems in the CWI

The will to liberate

Neglect of the woman question in the early Soviet republic was not the result of isolation and economic backwardness, argues Anne McShane

Soviet Russia and women’s emancipation

Just how much progress was made in the fight for equality? Anne McShane focuses in particular on central Asia

Pact with the devil?

Will a deal with the DUP mean an end to the so-called peace process? Anne McShane investigates

No victory for progress

The new taoiseach is anything but progressive, writes Anne McShane. He opposes abortion and women’s rights

The inferno erupts

The struggle for women’s liberation cannot be left to the feminists. The Russian Revolution shows that women’s liberation and the struggle for socialism are inseparable, argues Anne McShane

Right to choose now

Irish women must emulate the militancy of their sisters in Poland, writes Anne McShane

Establishment reaches a deal

The Irish working class needs its own party, writes Anne McShane

Who’s afraid of 1916?

Admiration of James Connolly should be tempered by criticism, writes Anne McShane

Austerity parties punished

Following the indecisive general election, Anne McShane discusses the rise of Sinn Féin and the divisions in the anti-austerity movement

No more apologies

John McDonnell has made an unprincipled retreat, writes Anne McShane

A gay day for equality

Anne McShane celebrates the defeat of the Catholic church and calls for the battle for democracy to include the aim of socialism

Crackdown must be resisted

Anne McShane reports on the Irish struggle against the water tax

Desire to take power triumphs

Anne McShane describes how Sinn Féin has gone about trying to wreck the Right to Water campaign

No more the victim

Anne McShane reports on the resistance to water charges.

Ireland: We need a united Marxist party

The revolt against water charges poses sharp questions for the left, writes Anne McShane

A better way of being

Mass protest looks likely to sink the Irish government's introduction of water charges. Anne McShane spoke to a leading member of the 'Cobh Says No' campaign

Compromise is the losing option

Controversy over the ban on abortion has erupted once again, reports Anne McShane

Kollontai: Leaving behind Menshevik pacifism

She may have been best known for her work on the women question, writes Anne McShane, but Alexandra Kollontai was at the heart of the revolutionary fight against the imperialist war

Ireland: Crisis for government - and for the left

Last weeks defeat of the Irish government in the referendum to abolish the upper house was a major blow for the Fine Gael/Labour coalition

CWI Ireland: Attempt to silence critics

Anne McShane surveys the response to CWI member Craig Murphy's honest and forthright article on the Socialist Party in Ireland

Ireland: No ifs, no buts a woman’s right to choose

Controversy over abortion continues to reverberate throughout Irish society, writes Anne McShane

Alexandra Kollontai: Emancipation through the Russian Revolution

Alexandra Kollontai kept on fighting for women against overwhelming odds. Anne McShane completes her examination of the role of this inspirational Bolshevik leader

Women and revolution: Alexandra Kollontai, a leading fighter for women’s liberation

In the first of two articles, Anne McShane looks at the Bolsheviks most famous writer on the womens question

ULA blow-up: Legacy of sectarianism

As the ULA stares into the abyss, Anne Mc Shane looks back at two years of cynical betrayal

Ireland Magdalene laundries: No to the theocratic state

The release of the McAleese report has further opened debate on anti-female abuse by church and state in Ireland, reports Anne McShane

Ireland and abortion: ULA chickens out

It is a disgrace that the left refuses to campaign openly for abortion on demand, says Anne Mc Shane

Ireland abortion scandal: Scrap the eighth amendment

The current storm that has erupted over abortion rights shows no sign of abating, writes Anne Mc Shane

Sinn Féin and the handshake

Anne McShane reports on the latest step in the 'peace process'

Time for self-criticism

The left missed out on a big opportunity during the fiscal treaty campaign, writes Anne Mc Shane

Sectarian stumbling block

Anne McShane reports on the future of the Irish ULA

ULA: opportunity to lead

The United Left Alliance conference this weekend comes at an important juncture in Irish politics. Anne Mc Shane takes a look.

Keynesian fantasies are no substitute

The Fine Gael/Labour coalition has unveiled the country's fifth austerity budget. Despite that the leading factions of the ULA continue to dither, writes Anne Mc Shane

ULA must take itself seriously

Anne McShane argues that the United Left Alliance must take a lead

No alternative posed

Anne Mc Shane sees the economy and the failing capitalist system as the central question in Ireland

Voodoo and left posturing

Anne Mc Shane reports an exchange of views at the United Left Alliance forum

Governing parties consolidate in NI

Anne Mc Shane calls for a united, federal Ireland

Aiming for a party

Anne Mc Shane demands that revolutionaries must put forward ideas that deal with what is really happening in the world

Now the left has TDs

Anne Mc Shane urges principled unity in a new party

Shattered illusions

The left's general election campaign is beginning to make an impact, writes Anne Mc Shane

Old loyalties under threat

The fightback against the cuts continues to grow, but the left must build a viable alternative to the politics of nationalism. Anne Mc Shane reports in the aftermath of the latest mass demonstration in Dublin

No to nationalist response

There is no solution to the Irish crisis within its own borders. Anne Mc Shane calls for internationalism and solidarity

Budget crisis deepens

Double standards need to be challenged by the left in Ireland, writes Anne Mc Shane

Sinn Féin turns on protestors

Anne Mc Shane looks at 6 Counties' marching season events

Truth still hidden

Anne Mc Shane examines the failings of the Saville inquiry into the Bloody Sunday killings

National question remains

Anne Mc Shane says it is vital to have a clear, democratic platform

Church on the ropes

Pope Benedict XVI claims he is being targeted by a malicious smear campaign. Anne Mc Shane disagrees. The Catholic church is guilty of a criminal cover-up when it comes to child abuse

Pope's Irish child abuse letter met with walkouts

Anne Mc Shane argues that Ireland needs not less but more secularism. The clerical state must go

St Patrick's Day and Cowan's savage cuts

SWP (Ireland) is arguing the politics of reformism, reports Anne Mc Shane

Hopi week of action

Reports from England, Wales, and Ireland by Ben Lewis, Dani Thomas, and Anne Mc Shane

Iran: prospects for the left

Anne Mc Shane reports on a successful meeting in Cork, and looks forward to the February 13-20 Week of Action called by Hands Off the People of Iran

Church attempt to re-invent is an insult

Anne Mc Shane looks at the beleaguered Catholic establishment

Union bosses refuse to fight

Irish trade unions are tied to the establishment, writes Anne Mc Shane

Child abuse, the church and the Irish state

Anne Mc Shane reports on the child abuse scandal engulfing the Catholic church in Ireland. The case for a secular republic and confiscating the churchs property could not be stronger

Masses force leaders to act

The difficulties faced by the Irish working class cannot be understated, writes Anne Mc Shane

We won’t pay for their crisis

Anne Mc Shane reports on a meeting that could be a spark

Hopi: support grows in Ireland

Anne McShane was encouraged by a number of recent meetings on Iran

Advances in Ireland

Hands Off the People of Iran in Ireland held a successful teach-in on November 10 in Dublin. Anne Mc Shane reports

Unity with al Sadr

Anne Mc Shane reports on the "international conference" organised by the Irish Anti-War Movement (IAWM)

Smearing solidarity

The issue of Iran solidarity has provoked controversy recently in the debates on Indymedia Ireland (www.indymedia.ie). Anne Mc Shane reports

Genuine solidarity

Anne Mc Shane reports on the successful launch of Hands Off the People of Iran in Ireland

Blow to Adams' ambitions

The status quo prevails in the aftermath of Ireland's general election, bringing disappointment in particular to Sinn Féin. Anne Mc Shane reports

Irish left must champion women's rights

On May 9 the Irish high court finally ruled that a 17-year-old woman, 'Miss D', may travel to Britain, where she will have her pregnancy terminated. The case has been one of the most inhumane and shocking episodes in the struggle for abortion rights in Ireland. Anne Mc Shane reports

Opportunism in Irish conditions

Socialist Workers Party (Ireland) held its Marxism 2007 event in Dublin over the weekend of March 10-11. The event reflects, as it does in Britain, the current political and organisational state of the SWP. Anne Mc Shane reports

Confident beginning

Hands Off the People of Iran had its official launch in Covent Garden following the February 24 anti-war demonstration. Anne Mc Shane reports

Respect: our new moral guardians

Anne Mc Shane reviews Ariel Levy's Female chauvinist pigs: women and the rise of raunch culture (Pocket Books, 2005, pp240, £7.99)

For the right to choose

Respect gave over the Saturday afternoon session of its annual conference to a public rally on islamophobia. Anne Mc Shane reports

Opportunism and hype

The Socialist Workers' Party's annual Marxism school marked another step along the popular front road. Peter Manson, Anne Mc Shane and Phil Kent report

Wind that shakes the establishment

Anne Mc Shane reviews Ken Loach's The wind that shakes the barley

Obscene apologia

Anybody expecting a debate at the annual conference of the Stop the War Coalition was to be disappointed, writes Anne Mc Shane. The last thing the leadership wants is a challenge to their 'Don't criticise Iran' line

Against war, for democracy

Comrade Jamshid from the Committee to Defend the Iranian People's Rights spoke to Anne Mc Shane about his organisation and the role of the anti-war movement

Clear red water and the CNWP

The first steering committee meeting of the Campaign for a New Workers' Party took place on Saturday May 20, writes Anne Mc Shane. The meeting showed that, much to its dismay, the Socialist Party has only the left groups for company

'Reformism from above'?

Anne Mc Shane compares Respect's election materials to Socialist Worker's 'What the Socialist Workers Party stands for' column

Authoritarian agenda

Anne Mc Shane comments on Tony Blair's latest anti-social crackdown

Church and state against women's rights

Will Italy's Rifondazione Comunista risk upsetting their coalition partners-to-be by defending women's rights? Anne Mc Shane reports from the struggle over abortion rights in Italy

United democratic opposition needed

Principled communists and socialists should start working together in order to combat accustions of islamophobia and treachery, says Anne Mc Shane

Fundamental right to migrate

Steven Brooks joined Michael Lavalette in forming a Respect group on Preston council when he left the Labour Party earlier this year. He voted in favour of the two motions calling for the abolition of immigration controls. Anne Mc Shane spoke to him after the debate

Lethargic decline

Anne Mc Shane reports from the latest meeting of Hackney Respect, which discussed climate change and chose delegates to Respect conference

Loss of a comrade

Cecilia Prosper: February 13 1960 - January 8 2004

No expulsions

Anne Mc Shane of the Socialist Alliance appeals committee welcomes the long overdue dropping of all charges against the Bedfordshire two

Movement needs openness

Andrew Murray and Lindsay German, who effectively form the leadership of the Stop the War Coalition, put the movement in a bad political light this week when they acted as dyed-in-the-wool bureaucrats determined to stifle openness, accountability and democracy, reports Anne Mc Shane