Hello comrades,
Thanks so much to everyone who made it along to the screening of Koyaanisqatsi with BEFF last weekend, and also big grma to everyone who came along to our first (weekly!) ciorcal comhrá and our first session of the Capital reading group!
This week is busy busy busy with Militarism & Neutrality discussing EU Militarisation this evening, and both Film Club and our rescheduled Care & Community groups meeting on Thursday. More info, and our upcoming sessions, below!
Upcoming dates // readings & info below
TUE 10 FEB 7PM – Militarism & Neutrality @ Connolly Books
THU 12 FEB 7PM – Film Club @ Marrowbone Books
THU 12 FEB 7PM – Care & Community @ Flux Chatham St
MON 16 FEB 6PM – Ciorcal Comhrá @ Upstairs in Chaplins
TUE 17 FEB 7PM – Capital Vol. 1 @ Connolly Books
THU 19 FEB 7PM – Care & Community @ Flux Chatham St
————————————
Militarism + Neutrality
Tuesday 10 February 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex St E, Temple Bar, D2
EU Militarisation: “Arming for peace”?
Core Readings:
- Colin Gannon, The European Union Is embracing militarization (25 March 2024), available at: https://jacobin.com/2024/03/european-union-militarization-austerity-defense
- Niamh Ní Bhriain, The EU is on a war path (23 June 2025), available at: https://www.tni.org/en/article/the-eu-is-on-a-war-path
- Irish Independent, Explainer: Ireland joins PESCO… is it the start of an EU army? (17 December 2017), available at: https://archive.ph/xfr5h
Further readings: (optional!)
- European Parliament Briefing, ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 (April 2025), available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2025/769566/EPRS_BRI(2025)769566_EN.pdf
- The Journal, Irish general in top EU role: Military build-up is not about war – it’s about sustaining peace (22 January 2026), available at: https://www.thejournal.ie/general-sean-clancy-eumc-european-union-deterence-for-war-6932137-Jan2026/
- Video: EU Commission, How to improve military mobility in the EU (20 November 2025), available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs63TrYwFxA
- Radio Clip: RTE Radio 1, Debate on PESCO: Ger Aherne, Richard Boyd Barrett TD, Ben Tonra (10 December 2017), available at: https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/21284743/
————————————
Care & Community
Thursday 12 February 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Flux Studios, Chatham St, Dublin 2
The Radical Potential of Friendship – RESCHEDULED
Required reading:
- Carla Bergman, “Friendship, Freedom, Ethics, Affinity” from Joyful Militancy: Building Resistance in Toxic Times. Available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Jo…
- Laura C. Forster & Joel White, “Periodising Friendship” from Friends in Common: Radical Friendship and Everyday Solidarities. Available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Ex…
- Tom Cutterham, “Just Friends” in The New Inquiry. Available at: https://thenewinquiry.com/just-friends/
———-
Thursday 19 February 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Flux Studios, Chatham St, Dublin 2
Jodi Dean’s Comrade: An Essay on Political Belonging
While we usually focus on reading articles in our groups, we decided that we’d dig into this (quite short) book for this meeting. If you need any help accessing the book, please let us know by reply to this email!
————————————
Film Club
Thursday 12 February 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Marrowbone Books, 78 The Coombe, D8
(PS This is a discussion, not a screening!)
Koyaanisqatsi (dir. Godfrey Reggio, 1982) [LINK]
Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.
Suggested reading
- Life Out Of Balance – an interview with Godfrey Reggio: https://thegreatnorthernfestival.com/life-out-of-balance/
- “What Ireland’s Data Center Crisis Means for the EU’s AI Sovereignty Plans”, Louis Boyd-Madsen, techpolicy press, 2025: https://www.techpolicy.press/what-irelands-data-center-crisi…
Further viewing: The other two films in the Qatsi trilogy: Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi, both dir. Godfrey Reggio, 1988 and 2002.
————————————
Ciorcal Comhrá
Dé Luain 16ú Feabhra 2026 / 6in-7in //
Thuas staighre i Chaplins, Sráid Hawkins, Blá Cliath 2
Beidh ár gciorcal comhrá ar siúl gach seachtain i Chaplins. Fáilte roimh chách, agus má bhraitheann tú beagainín neirbhíseach agus mura bhfuil a fhios agat cad le rá, is féidir leat breathnú ar an gclár is deanaí de Ros na Rún agus is féidir linn chat faoi sin! x
Our ciorcal comhrá will be taking place every week upstairs in Chaplins. All are welcome, and if you are feeling a lil bit nervous and don’t know what you will chat about, you can watch a recent episode of Ros na Rún and we will chat about that! x
————————————
Capital, Volume 1
Tuesday 17 February 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex St E, Temple Bar, D2
Sign up form: https://forms.gle/gDCy18k3MA3ivs6Z9
Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DRcwO6jmanINyAjSFF9S…
Couldn’t make the first session? That’s okay – catch up with the week’s reading and come along to session two! We are asking that people commit to ~90% of the sessions, but we aren’t going to be tyrants about it xx
Session Two
Required reading:
- Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of Capital (but most discussion will be on Ch 1 and 2)
- Chapter 1 & 2 of Harvey’s A Companion to Marx’s Capital
Advice for readers:
Read Ch 1 and 2, then Harvey’s Ch 1, then Ch 3, and Harvey’s Ch 2. For those who want to read more, first 200 pages of Heinrich are excellent on the current reading.
———————————————
Love and solidarity,
SAINTS AND SCHOLARS ☘️ 🩷