CWU Head Office, 575,579 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.
President Higgins to address Robert Tressell Festival in Liberty Hall on Saturday, May 11
• President to remember the Dublin-born author of the classic socialist novel ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’
• Amazon Labor Union leader, Chris Smalls, Jeremy Corbyn MP, and RMT leader Mick Lynch will also address the supported event
The 2nd Annual Robert Tressell Festival takes place in Liberty Hall in Dublin on Saturday (11th May). Following on from a highly successful inaugural event last year the festival of debate, music, and drama includes a range of leading international and Irish labour movement figures.
ICTU General Secretary, Owen Reidy said: “At the Robert Tressell Festival we celebrate all that the labour and progressive movement has to offer in terms of art and practical solutions to the problems workers face. The event allows the trade union movement in Ireland to discuss with our international colleagues the best way forward during these increasingly problematic times.”
Host of the event, historian Liz Gillis, said: “The Robert Tressell Festival is focused on popularising knowledge of Robert Tressell, born Robert Noonan in Dublin in 1870, and the massive impact his great work The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists has had on the trade union movement and wider progressive politics.”
Robert Tressell Festival Organising Committee chairman, Seamus McDonagh, said: “Building on the success of the inaugural Robert Tressell Festival in 2023, the 2024 Festival brings together trade unionists from Ireland, Britain and the US, as well as progressive political activists, to debate and discuss a range of current issues. We are particularly honoured that the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, has agreed to deliver the Annual Robert Tressell Festival Address this year.”
The schedule of day events runs from 11.00 am until 4.30 pm with further information available at https://tressellfestival.ie/
The evening event starts at 6.30 pm and features Amazon Labor Union leader Chris Smalls, Daragh Lynch of the folk group Lankum, Scottish singer and multi-instrumentalist Iona Zajac, historian Liz Gillis, and ICTU General Secretary, Owen Reidy.
The ‘Art of Solidarity’ exhibition will be accompanied by a series of panel discussions and lectures on the life of the Dublin-born author Robert Tressell and his great work of socialist literature, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, as well as trade union organising, solidarity, and history.
The festival is ticket-only and is already sold out. Some tickets may become available on the day due to cancellations. For further information see:
https://tressellfestival.ie/
RTF Organising Committee members:
Alex Klemm – 087 260 6139
Paddy Cole – 087 115 5972
CWU Head Office, 575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1/
