Mother Jones Returns to Cork
Spirit of Mother Jones festival 2014.
Jim Green
The 2014 Spirit of Mother Jones festival/ summer school will be held in Cork city from Tuesday 29th July until Friday 1st August 2014. The event is designed to commemorate trade union activist, Mary Harris, better
Si Kahn
known as Mother Jones, who was born in Cork in 1837, it is also “dedicated to inspirational people everywhere who fight for social justice.”
Professor Jim Green of the University of Massachusetts in Boston will deliver the 2014 Mother Jones Lecture. Jim is the author of “Death in the Haymarket”, “Taking History to Heart” and many other labour publications.
Thursday 31st July will highlight the history of miners’ struggles. 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the Ludlow massacre in Colorado and the 30th anniversary of the British Miners strike.
Dave Hopper, General Secretary Durham Miners’ Association will describe the Durham Gala, the largest annual gathering in the world of miners and trade unionists. The battle of Orgreave will be detailed by Paul Winter, a former miner and eyewitness. Betty Cook and Anne Scargill of Woman against Pit Closures will describe the community fight back to prevent pit closures. Other contributors will include Paul H Lemmon from the United Mineworkers of America (UMWA) and the AFL-CIO.
Solicitor Gareth Peirce will describe her many legal battles against injustice on Wednesday 30th July. Claire McGettrick co-founder of Justice for Magdalenes, (now JFM Research) will detail the efforts to ensure justice for the survivors.
A major highlight will be a concert featuring two very famous American folk singers, Si Kahn and Anne Feeney which will take place at the Firkin Crane on Thursday evening 31st July. This should not be missed!
Si Kahn has worked for nearly 50 years as a civil rights, trade union and environmental activist, and is the author of the powerful folk classic Aragon Mill. Acknowledged by none other than Pete Seeger as “one of the best….a solid thinker”, Si will give his sole Irish performance at the festival. Anne Feeney, a labour union activist will join Si for this concert. Utah Phillips once described Anne as “the best labor singer in North America”.
Based at Shandon the event will feature lectures, discussions, workshops, films, several concerts, a ceili and lots of music over the four days. The Cork Mother Jones Committee wishes to acknowledge the support of SIPTU and the trade union movement in the solid development of this unique festival which should appeal to all trade unionists. All events are free (with exception of Si Kahn, Anne Feeney concert) and open to the public.
A full programme of events will appear on the website www.motherjonescork.com or phone 086 3196063 for up to date info.