The Blanket on line

by Ironic? Fri Jan 09, 2004 19:01

Bit bemused by Davy Carlin of the SWP having an article in the Blanket reporting on the "fictitious" activities of the SWP in the North. I thought the SWP had abandoned their left republican position for a "workers unity" position? Maybe I'm wrong. But contributing to a left republican publication is a bit strange? Maybe you'd like to trry and explain this one Davy "Walter Mitty" Carlin!

by Zoraster Fri Jan 09, 2004 19:07

Maybe its explained by the fictious 2,300 votes Eamon McCann got versus the real 167 votes Barbour got. Will you guys ever get a grip on reality?

by Socialist Fri Jan 09, 2004 22:10

2002 General Election
Socialist Party
Joe Higgins Dublin West 6442 21.5%
Clare Daly Dublin North 5501 12.5%
Lisa Maher Dublin South 1063 2.00%
Mick Murphy Dublin SW 954 2.60%
Mick Barry Cork NC 936 2.10%

Total 14896


Socialist Workers Party
Richard Boyd Barrett Dun Laoghaire 876 1.6%
Ritchie Browne Dublin NC 638 1.6%
Brid Smith Dublin SC 617 1.4%
Jimmy Kelly Waterford 300 0.6%
Shay Ryan Dublin SE 286 0.8%

Total 2717

All of the Socialist Party's candidates received a higher vote than the highest SWP candidate. The situation was similar in the 1999 Local Elections.

Jim Barbour's vote in percentage terms was the same as Jimmy Kelly's. Is anyone here suggesting that Jimmy Kelly was not a very well known, high respected, trade union fighter. How many workers work in Waterford Crystal - 3500 (someone can correct me). Trade Union influence does not automatically transfer into parliamentary votes. I wonder how many votes Davy Carlin would have got if he had stood in West Belfast?

Incidentally, for those interested, Peter Hadden stood in South Belfast in the 1992 General Election and received 875 votes 2.6%.

by 1 of IMC Sat Jan 10, 2004 01:06

Please stop vote-squabbling across multiple threads. What would Trotsky think?

by The real Dave Sat Jan 10, 2004 12:47

Davy Carlin writes, is asked to write, and has wrote in the Blanket, on Indymedia, in the Irish news, Belfast Telegraph, Socialist worker, fourthwrite magazine, the other view, Andersonstown news, south Belfast news, North Belfast news, Ulster newsletter , and many other publications and does so with regularity.

In the last few days he has been interviewed on ITV, BBC, BBC news 24, SKY news, British, European and American newspapers, Irish, British, European and American radio shows and again many others. And today just the two papers I get each morning he is again in the Irish news and Ulster newsletter, the two biggest morning daily’s.

Maybe Davy should only write for the Socialist voice? There is something in the back of my mind and maybe in yours if you dig deep enough,about socialists using platforms to a larger audience, elections, media etc.Did you know that Davy spoke at the PUP conference, maybe he is a loyalist?

Why do so many organisations want to interview him or Barbara, Ryan etc who are also regularly in the media, did they just pick names out of a hat, or maybe it was because they are to the lead of all those 'Fictitious' activities eh?


The NIPSA walkouts, the BAWM, the CAS and the ARN all have Belfast SWP members at the lead working and building large scale Catholic and Protestant working class struggles. You do not have to read it in the Blanket for it is all well recorded in the main stream Northern media On TV, radio in the papers etc which I presume you have not watched or read, or maybe you have but with cries of no, no, no, we should be doing that.

I believe your problem is not as much as these inspiring united catholic and protestant working actions but the fact that the Belfast SWP are at to the lead of them, working with and respected by many organisations in and around Belfast, with the campaigns having mass media coverage and large scale Catholic and Protestant participation.


Just because the SP were not involved in the historic NIPSA walkouts, because they no longer play an active part in the BAWM, because they play no part in the CAS or because they have played no active role whatsoever in the ARN [the acknowledged active and collective voice of anti racism in Northern Ireland] apart from very recently bringing along a banner, because of this there is no point for sour grapes.

Oh by the way the ARN are calling a 'fictitious' rally on Jan 27th in Belfast against racial attacks, you know the one advertised in all the main press and on TV in the last few days. Why not come along and see it not happening.

The Belfast SWP are doing brilliant work on many issues, the SP can get involved but as was said in an earlier Indymedia and elsewhere if they don’t it will make absolutely not one dot of a difference as their presence or not is irrelevant to the various campaigns,

The Belfast SWP are uniting Catholic and Protestant working class people, in large scale, on different issues with increasing regularity, so get over it.

by ec Sat Jan 10, 2004 15:29

http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?search_text=davy+carlin&button=Search+%3E%3E

Also Interesting Debates on this subject at www.sluggerotoole.com

They just linked to Indymedia.ie so this is in the way of payback ;-)

by Zoraster Mon Jan 12, 2004 19:18

How do the SP explain the drastic drop in the CWI vote between 1992 and 2003? An 80% drop is really something.

by Davy fan Mon Jan 12, 2004 19:50

"The Belfast SWP are uniting Catholic and Protestant working class people, in large scale, on different issues with increasing regularity, so get over it."

How can you argue with the words of Davy "Walter Mitty" Carlin?

Next week with everybody's favourite rambling fantasist: How the Workers Party has secretly been leading the provo armed struggle for decades...

by Belfaster Mon Jan 12, 2004 20:48

Davy Fan I agree, it is extremely hard to argue against the facts.

But at least yese are trying and although now falling head first into the sea of political inevitability and thus showing your desperation, at least though it is entertaining watching you attempt to keep your members { those that have not yet learnt to think for themselves} in a false reality.

I suppose you only hope that they do not excess the Northern media archives at the times of specific events as so to keep them in tune with what they are told rather than what are the facts. Yet most already know the reality and I suppose Indymedia and the internet is a curse to such mindsets as it lets people see the reality of the world and of course its organisations for themselves rather that listening to what those organisations believe that their members should hear and repeat and repeat and repeat.

Jesus yese make it so easy, you are so predictable its unreal, from the newest member to the 'leader'.

By the way that was a very sharp reply Zoraster, you must find them so predictable to.

by Another of Davy's psuedonyms Mon Jan 12, 2004 20:59

Speaking of "obvious", Belfaster is also Davy Carlin, one of his many and varied imagined identities.

You see the thing about Davy's world of fantasy is that his name changes but the content remains the same.

No matter who or what Belfast's own answer to Walter Mitty is calling himself in any particular posting he always gives himself away. He feels the need to mix bizarre boasting about the wonderful Belfast SWP with petty sniping about the SP. All of it is, of course, done in Davy/Belfaster/a-hundred-and-one-other-names' own unique rambling style. The only thing that Davy hates more than the Socialist Party is punctuation. And reality.

by Rambling Rover Tue Jan 13, 2004 10:27

Yawn, Jesus yese are still so predictible. They seek him here they seek him there

Yese start of attacking Davy on the first post then bo ho yese start to cry when there is a reply. Yese snipe then cry foul of others sniping!

So predictable

I think though yese have got a gist of the reality in Northern Ireland rather than the attempted keeping of your members in fantasy world. Keep up the good work though. Slan

by D Wed Sep 15, 2004 12:19

This is the link to the article