Author Archives: lipstick socialist

About lipstick socialist

I am an activist and writer. My interests include women, class, culture and history. From an Irish in Britain background I am a republican and socialist. All my life I have been involved in community and trade union politics and I believe it is only through grass roots politics that we will get a better society. This is reflected in my writing, in my book Northern ReSisters Conversations with Radical Women and my involvement in the Mary Quaile Club. I am a member of the Manchester and Salford National Union of Journalists.If you want to contact me please use my gmail which is lipsticksocialist636

Political women; Maria Brabiner anti-Bedroom Tax campaigner, Labour Party council candidate.

Posted on March 26, 2020

Dear Friends I am reviving this series of interviews trying to find working class women who are activists in their political party, trade union or single issue campaign. It seems to be me they have disappeared from the political scene … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, biography, disabled people's campaigns, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, Manchester, political women, Socialism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

IBRG at the WCML; A Welcome for IBRG at St.Brendan’s Irish Centre.

Posted on March 17, 2020

  In the 1980s when IBRG branches were being   set up across the country one of the biggest problems was finding somewhere to meet. There were many  Irish Centres,  but most of them did not want an Irish group with … Continue reading →

Posted in Cathy Crabb, education, feminism, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, North of Ireland, political women, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

IBRG at the WCML; BBC, Censorship and the Irish Community

Posted on March 2, 2020

The 1980s saw the rise and rise of IBRG as a local and national  grassroots campaigning organisation that exposed not only the racism and discrimination facing the Irish in Britain but drew the links between those issues and Britain’s ongoing … Continue reading →

Posted in education, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, North of Ireland, political women, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

IBRG Archive at the WCML; N.E.Lancs IBRG and Irish Women in Britain.

Posted on February 5, 2020

IBRG was an organisation that reflected the history of the Irish in this country but one that was not frightened off linking up the present with the past – unlike many other Irish organisations in the era of 1981-2003. Branches  … Continue reading →

Posted in education, feminism, human rights, International Women's Day, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, North of Ireland, political women, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Margaret Mullarkey; working class, Boltonian, IBRG activist

Posted on January 19, 2020

  In archiving the history of IBRG it is noticeable how many women were active as national officers as well as playing a more hidden role as the backbone of the organisation at a branch level. Margaret was one of … Continue reading →

Posted in education, feminism, human rights, International Women's Day, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, North of Ireland, political women, Socialist Feminism, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , | 1 Comment

My review of “Betty Tebbs – a radical working class hero” by Mark Metcalf

Posted on November 25, 2019

      Through my friendship with Eddie and Ruth Frow I have met many women like Betty who had been  activists in the CPGB and the trade union movement. We came from different generations – and had quite different … Continue reading →

Posted in Betty Tebbs, biography, book review, Communism, education, feminism, human rights, International Women's Day, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, political women, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

My review of “Sisters in Cells” by Aine and Eibhlin Nic Giolla Easpaig

Posted on September 5, 2019

  Aine and Eibhlin Nic Giolla Easpaig are unique in several ways. They were republican women political prisoners in the 70s – the first women of that era to be imprisoned in England, while their autobiography “Sisters in Cells” is … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, book review, Catholicism, human rights, Ireland, Irish second generation, labour history, Manchester, North of Ireland, political women, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments