Hello comrades!

Tonight Militarism & Neutrality are going to be meeting to discuss Militarising Borders! And next week we will have the final session of our Housing group, who will be chatting about the Myths of Housing Policy!

Care & Community are taking a little break, but will be back in November!

Finally, there will also be a special In Defence of Housing event taking place on Tuesday 20 October from 6.30pm at The Bank at The Digital Hub on James’s Street. It will be hosted in the Public Access Library which is at the centre of the Fictions, Frictions & Evictions exhibition.

P.S. New attendees at all of our groups are always welcome, encouraged, wanted!

P.P.S. If you’d like to come along to one of our meetings but would like a little bit more information about how we run our meetings or you’re feeling a bit shy even, please feel free to reply to this email! We’d be very happy to chat about the groups and loop in with you beforehand!

Upcoming dates // readings & info below

Tue 13 October 7PM – Militarism & Neutrality @ Connolly Books

Wed 21 October 7PM – CATU x S&S @ Kirkos

Thu 3 November 6.30PM – Care & Community @ Flux Studios

Love and solidarity,
SAINTS AND SCHOLARS ☘️ 🩷

Militarism & Neutrality

Tuesday 13 October 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Connolly Books, East St E, Dublin 2

Militarising Borders

Core reading:

• Colin Gannon, The European Union Is Embracing Militarisation (25 March 2024), available at: https://archive.ph/buxed
• Niamh Keady-Tabbal and Lynsey Black, Ireland’s hidden border violence: restriction and uncertainty for racialised migrants and asylum seekers (9 March 2026), available at: https://blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/border-criminologies-blog/blog-post/2026/03/irelands-hidden-border-violence-restriction-and
• Abolish Frontex, Stop the Militarisation of Borders, available at: https://abolishfrontex.org/how/stop-the-militarisation-of-borders-and-the-military-industrial-complex/

Further reading: (Optional!)

• Par Yohan Taillandier, Militarisation of Europe’s Borders: The Left Warns About Frontex (19 July 2025), available at: https://europeacontrecourant.eu/en/militarisation-europe-borders-2025/
• European Commission, Staying the course on migration reform (2 October 2026), available at: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/news/staying-course-migration-reform-2026-10-02_en
• Asian Dub Foundation, Fortress Europe (11 January 2022), available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5H-s2qiDaI&list=RDR5H-s2qiDaI&start_radio=1 Lyrics here: https://genius.com/Asian-dub-foundation-fortress-europe-lyrics

CATU v S&S – In Defence of Housing

Wednesday 21 October 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Kirkos, Little Green Street, Dublin 7

Myths of Housing Policy

Readings:

• Book Chapter: Chapter 4 – The Myths of Housing Policy in David Madden & Peter Marcuse, In Defense of Housing: The Politics of Crisis (Verso, 2016), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Chapter-4.pdf
• Article: James Connolly, Landlordism in Towns (October 1899), available at: https://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/1899/11/landlord.htm
• Journal Article: Anushka Dasgupta, Dwelling–in–eviction: Improvised practices of inhabiting Dublin’s private rental sector (November 2025), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Anushka-Dasgupta-Dwelling-in-eviction.pdf

Additional reading (optional!):

• Journal Article: Pierce Daly, Institutional Investment in Housing: Financialisation 2.0 in the Case of Ireland (26 January 2023), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/3-Pierce-Daly__Barrington-FINAL.pdf

Dearest comrades,

Our third session of CATU In Defence of Housing will be taking place next Wednesday and will be looking at oppression and liberation in housing!

After their good and glorious return last week, Care & Community gang will be back again next Thursday and will be chatting about the digital panopticon!

P.S. New attendees at all of our groups are always welcome, encouraged, wanted!

P.P.S. If you’d like to come along to one of our meetings but would like a little bit more information about how we run our meetings or you’re feeling a bit shy even, please feel free to reply to this email! We’d be very happy to chat about the groups and loop in with you beforehand!

Upcoming dates // readings & info below

Wed 7 October 7PM – CATU x S&S @ Kirkos

Thu 8 October 7PM – Care & Community @ Flux Studios

Tue 13 October 7PM – Militarism & Neutrality @ Connolly Books

Love and solidarity,
SAINTS AND SCHOLARS ☘️ 🩷

CATU v S&S – In Defence of Housing

Wednesday 7 October 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Kirkos, Little Green Street, Dublin 7

Residential Alienation

Readings:

• Oppression and Liberation in Housing
  Book Chapter: Chapter 3 – Oppression and Liberation in Housing, in David Madden & Peter Marcuse, In Defense of Housing: The Politics of Crisis (Verso, 2016), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ch…
• Journal Article: Eva Rosen, Philip M. E. Garboden, and Jennifer E. Cossyleon, Racial Discrimination in Housing: How Landlords Use Algorithms and Home Visits to Screen Tenants (August 2021), available at :https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Ro…
• Newspaper Article: Irish Times, Sex for rent offers in Dublin: The landlord wanted me to share a bed with him (19 February 2025), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Se…–-The-Irish-Times.pdf
• Song: a lazarus soul, Long Balconies (14 June 2019) available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8THFYdAsaQ

Care & Community

Thursday 8 October 2026 / 6.30pm-7.30pm //
Flux Studios, Chatham St, Dublin 2

Is ‘the digital panopticon’ a threat to community and social cohesion?

Core reading:

• Book chapter: Byung-Chul Han,The Society of Control from The Transparency Society (2012). Available at: https://www.are.na/block/6062444
• Video essay: Mina Le, Please Stop Filming Strangers (2026). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA3xz5wSJgU
  Essay: Christopher P. Jones, Social Media and the Digital Gaze (2018). Available at: https://archive.ph/gpxfQ

Further reading:

• Article: Mosè Cometta, Digital Capitalism and Friendship (2023). Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376221311_Digital_C…
• Podcast: Polyester Podcast, The Girlification of Surveillance Culture (2026). Available at: https://www.polyesterzine.com/podcast/the-girlification-of-s…
• Article: Adam Maguire, Neighborhood Watch: the Growing Unease with Ring Doorbells (2026). Available at: https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/0627/1580571-ring-amaz…

Hello chickies!

Tomorrow session two of our CATU In Defence of Housing group will be running over in Kirkos. If you couldn’t make the first session, you’re still very very welcome to come along!

On Thursday the wonderful Care & Community gang will be back for the autumn in Flux Studios, and they’ll be chatting about how we can counter the isolation and alienation of social media. 

And finally, next week our Militarism & Neutrality group will be meeting up to chat about Gaming! B)

If you’d like to come along to one of our meetings but would like a little bit more information about how we run our meetings or you’re feeling a bit shy even, please feel free to reply to this email! We’d be very happy to chat about the groups and loop in with you beforehand!

Upcoming dates // readings & info below

Wed 23 September 7PM – CATU x S&S @ Kirkos

Thu 24 September 7PM – Care & Community @ Flux Studios

Tue 29 September 7PM – Militarism & Neutrality @ Connolly Books

Love and solidarity,
SAINTS AND SCHOLARS ☘️ 🩷

CATU v S&S – In Defence of Housing

Wednesday 23 September 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Kirkos, Little Green Street, Dublin 7

Residential Alienation

Readings:

• Book Chapter: Chapter 2 – Residential Alienation, in David Madden & Peter Marcuse, In Defense of Housing: The Politics of Crisis (Verso, 2016), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Chapter-2.pdf
• Article: Rachel McArdle & Michael Byrne, Rootlessness: How the Irish private rental sector prevents tenants feeling secure in their homes and tenant’s resistance against this (November 2022), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/McArdle-and-Byrne-2022-Rootlessness-How-the-Irish-private-rental-sector-prevents-tenants-feeling-secure-in-their-homes-and-2.pdf
• Short Documentary: Luke Daly & Nathan Fagan, Through the Cracks (2018), available at: https://vimeo.com/281291787
• Video: Architects Against Housing Alienation, Atlas of Housing Alienation (6 June 2023), available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW8PxLUfAww

Care & Community

Thursday 24 September 2026 / 6.30pm-7.30pm //
Flux Studios, Chatham St, Dublin 2

How can we counter the isolation and alienation of social media?

Core reading:

• Donatella Della Ratta, “Digital Socialism Beyond the Digital Social: Confronting Communicative Capitalism with Ethics of Care” (2020). Available at: https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/1145

• Anna Gotlib, ‘Main Character Syndrome’ (2024). Available at: https://aeon.co/essays/why-main-character-syndrome-is-philosophically-dangerous
• Jonathon Dean, “From solidarity to self-promotion? Neoliberalism and left politics in the age of the social media influencer” (2023). Available at:https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/200079/10/dean-2023-from-solidarity-to-self-promotion-neoliberalism-and-left-politics-in-the-age-of-the-social-media-influencer.pdf

Further reading/listening: (Optional!)

• Rezgar Akrawi, “The Left and Breaching Capitalism’s Digital Fortress” (2026). Available at: https://countercurrents.org/2026/06/the-left-and-breaching-capitalisms-digital-fortress/
• Joshua Citarella, “Marxist memes for TikTok teens: can the internet radicalize teenagers for the left?” (2020). Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/12/marxist-memes-tiktok-teens-radical-left

Militarism & Neutrality

Tuesday 29 September 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex Street East, Dublin 2

Militarism & Gaming

Core reading:

• Jacobin, The Pentagon Loves First-Person Shooter Video Games, (19 October 2022), available at: https://archive.ph/TuN8G
• The Baffler, War Games: The company behind Call of Duty reps its own bitter fruits (1 September 2021), available at: https://thebaffler.com/latest/war-games-wham
• People Make Games, The Games Behind Your Government’s Next War (5 September 2024), available at: https://youtu.be/lYaDXZ2MI-k [Video, 1 hour 12 mins]

Further reading: (Optional!)

• Business Insider, British soldiers are racing virtual drones through video game mountains and tracks before taking to the skies for real (28 July 2026), available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-troops-video-games-race-tracks-prepare-drone-flight-ukraine-2026-7
• UK Gov, Strengthening Defence Through Wargaming (24 October 2024), available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/strengthening-defence-through-wargaming

Hello chickatees and 100% faithfuls,We’re super super excited to be back! Tomorrow our Housing Group is kicking off for its meeting. It’s gonna be good! 

Next week the Militarism & Neutrality gang will be back, and Care & Community will be back in a fortnight to chat about isolation, alienation and social media. :(( :))

Newcomers are always always welcome, but if you’ve been thinking about coming along for a little while, the first week back is always a nice week to come meet everyone! 

Upcoming dates // readings & info below

Wed 9 September 7PM – CATU x S&S @ Kirkos

Tue 15 September 7PM – Militarism & Neutrality @ Connolly Books

Thu 24 September 7PM – Care & Community @ Flux Studios

Love and solidarity,
SAINTS AND SCHOLARS ☘️ 🩷

CATU v S&S – In Defence of Housing 

Wednesday 9 September 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Kirkos, Little Green Street, Dublin 7

Against the Commodification of Housing 

Readings:

• Book Chapter: ‘Chapter 1 – Against the Commodification of Housing’, in David Madden & Peter Marcuse, In Defense of Housing: The Politics of Crisis (Verso, 2016), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Intro-Chapter-1.pdf
• Article: Colin Gannon, Ireland’s Housing Crisis Is an Indictment of Irish Capitalism (6 May 2023), available at: https://archive.is/20231125152722/https://jacobin.com/2023/05/ireland-housing-crisis-policy-financialization
• Manifesto: People’s Land Policy, A Manifesto for Land Justice (3rd edn, July 2025), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/manifesto_low-res_d-2.pdf
• Song: Gender Chores, Night in the Woods (23 March 2021), available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kisafuMYlSw&list=RDkisafuMYlSw&start_radio=1

Militarism & Neutrality

Tuesday 15 September 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex Street East, Dublin 2

Ireland and the EU Presidency

Core reading:

• Éire 2026, Irish Presidency 2026 Priorities: Security, available at: https://irish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/programme/priority-security/
• Emmet Foley & Christian Kaunert, Ireland and European intelligence: trust and mistrust in Europe’s weak link? (3 August 2026), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ireland-and-European-intelligence-trust-and-mistrust-in-Europe-s-weak-link-.pdf
• Patrick Bresnihan, Europe needs to start treating the climate emergency as a threat to our national security (11 August 2026), available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/08/11/opinion-europe-needs-to-start-treating-the-climate-emergency-as-a-threat-to-our-national-security/

Further reading: (Optional!)

• RTE, Enhanced security planned for EU Presidency, gardaí say (24 June 2026), available at: https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0624/1580009-ireland-eu-presidency/
• Irish Times, Drone wars: Irish Defence Forces watching the skies as EU presidency set to begin (26 May 2026), available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2026/05/26/drone-wars-irish-defence-forces-watching-the-skies-as-eu-presidency-set-to-begin/
• Irish Times, ‘Considerable’ concern Ireland lacks means to defend itself ahead of EU presidency role (11 December 2025), available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/12/11/considerable-concern-ireland-lacks-means-to-defend-itself-ahead-of-eu-presidency-role

Care & Community

Thursday 24 September 2026 / 6.30pm-7.30pm //
Flux Studios, Chatham St, Dublin 2

How can we counter the isolation and alienation of social media?

Core reading:

• Donatella Della Ratta, “Digital Socialism Beyond the Digital Social: Confronting Communicative Capitalism with Ethics of Care” (2020). Available at: https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/1145

• Anna Gotlib, ‘Main Character Syndrome’ (2024). Available at: https://aeon.co/essays/why-main-character-syndrome-is-philosophically-dangerous
• Jonathon Dean, “From solidarity to self-promotion? Neoliberalism and left politics in the age of the social media influencer” (2023). Available at:https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/200079/10/dean-2023-from-solidarity-to-self-promotion-neoliberalism-and-left-politics-in-the-age-of-the-social-media-influencer.pdf

Further reading/listening: (Optional!)

• Rezgar Akrawi, “The Left and Breaching Capitalism’s Digital Fortress” (2026). Available at: https://countercurrents.org/2026/06/the-left-and-breaching-capitalisms-digital-fortress/
• Joshua Citarella, “Marxist memes for TikTok teens: can the internet radicalize teenagers for the left?” (2020). Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/12/marxist-memes-tiktok-teens-radical-left

Hello chickens,Our autumn term is going to be kicking off again next week with our new In Defence of Housing sessions, which we are running in collaboration with 💖 CATU 💖!

The sessions will be drop-in and the sessions will be all standalone, but just so we know how many-ish to expect we are asking that if you are interested in attending to please sign up here: Saints & Scholars x CATU sign up form. (But please don’t worry about coming along if you didn’t manage to fill out the form!)

The week after that our amazing Militarism & Neutrality group will be back and discussing Ireland and the EU Presidency! And we are excited that our Care & Community group will be returning for the autumn too – reading and dates coming soon!

Upcoming dates // readings & info below

Wed 9 September 7PM – CATU x S&S @ Kirkos

Tue 15 September 7PM – Militarism & Neutrality @ Connolly Books

Love and solidarity,
SAINTS AND SCHOLARS ☘️ 🩷

CATU v S&S reading group – In Defence of Housing 

Wednesday 9 September 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Kirkos, Little Green Street, Dublin 7

Against the Commodification of Housing 

Readings:

• Book Chapter: ‘Chapter 1 – Against the Commodification of Housing’, in David Madden & Peter Marcuse, In Defense of Housing: The Politics of Crisis (Verso, 2016), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Intro-Chapter-1.pdf
• Article: Colin Gannon, Ireland’s Housing Crisis Is an Indictment of Irish Capitalism (6 May 2023), available at: https://archive.is/20231125152722/https://jacobin.com/2023/05/ireland-housing-crisis-policy-financialization
• Manifesto: People’s Land Policy, A Manifesto for Land Justice (3rd edn, July 2025), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/manifesto_low-res_d-2.pdf
• Song: Gender Chores, Night in the Woods (23 March 2021), available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kisafuMYlSw&list=RDkisafuMYlSw&start_radio=1

Militarism & Neutrality

Tuesday 15 September 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex Street East, Dublin 2

Ireland and the EU Presidency

Core reading:

• Éire 2026, Irish Presidency 2026 Priorities: Security, available at: https://irish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/programme/priority-security/
• Emmet Foley & Christian Kaunert, Ireland and European intelligence: trust and mistrust in Europe’s weak link? (3 August 2026), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ireland-and-European-intelligence-trust-and-mistrust-in-Europe-s-weak-link-.pdf
• Patrick Bresnihan, Europe needs to start treating the climate emergency as a threat to our national security (11 August 2026), available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/08/11/opinion-europe-needs-to-start-treating-the-climate-emergency-as-a-threat-to-our-national-security/

Further reading: (Optional!)

• RTE, Enhanced security planned for EU Presidency, gardaí say (24 June 2026), available at: https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0624/1580009-ireland-eu-presidency/
• Irish Times, Drone wars: Irish Defence Forces watching the skies as EU presidency set to begin (26 May 2026), available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2026/05/26/drone-wars-irish-defence-forces-watching-the-skies-as-eu-presidency-set-to-begin/
• Irish Times, ‘Considerable’ concern Ireland lacks means to defend itself ahead of EU presidency role (11 December 2025), available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/12/11/considerable-concern-ireland-lacks-means-to-defend-itself-ahead-of-eu-presidency-role

A chairde,Thank you so much to everyone who came to our Killer Robots Panel, and thank you so much to the panel – Niamh Ní Bhriain, Kelly Earley, Patrick Bresnihan and Paulie Doyle!

A big thank you as well to Dr Áine Phillips who led our banner-making workshop over the summer and well done to all who were involved in putting together the absolutely amazing banner!

We’re so excited to be kicking off again for the autumn in two weeks with our new In Defence of Housing sessions, which we are running in collaboration with the wonderful, wonderful CATU!

The sessions will be drop-in and there’s not expectation that you will attend all five meetings, but we are asking that if you are interested in attending to please sign up here: Saints & Scholars x CATU sign up form. It’ll just give us a better picture of numbers so don’t worry about coming along if you didn’t manage to fill out the form.

The following week our amazing Militarism & Neutrality group will be back and discussing Ireland and the EU Presidency! Newcomers are very welcome, and in fact, ENCOURAGED!! xx

Upcoming dates // readings & info below

Wed 9 September 7PM – CATU x S&S @ Kirkos

Tue 15 September 7PM – Militarism & Neutrality @ Connolly Books

Love and solidarity,
SAINTS AND SCHOLARS ☘️ 🩷

CATU v S&S reading group – In Defence of Housing 

Wednesday 9 September 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Kirkos, Little Green Street, Dublin 7

Against the Commodification of Housing 

Readings:

• Book Chapter: ‘Chapter 1 – Against the Commodification of Housing’, in David Madden & Peter Marcuse, In Defense of Housing: The Politics of Crisis (Verso, 2016), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Intro-Chapter-1.pdf
• Article: Colin Gannon, Ireland’s Housing Crisis Is an Indictment of Irish Capitalism (6 May 2023), available at: https://archive.is/20231125152722/https://jacobin.com/2023/05/ireland-housing-crisis-policy-financialization
• Manifesto: People’s Land Policy, A Manifesto for Land Justice (3rd edn, July 2025), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/manifesto_low-res_d-2.pdf
• Song: Gender Chores, Night in the Woods (23 March 2021), available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kisafuMYlSw&list=RDkisafuMYlSw&start_radio=1

Militarism & Neutrality

Tuesday 15 September 2026 / 7pm-8pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex Street East, Dublin 2

Ireland and the EU Presidency

Core reading:

• Éire 2026, Irish Presidency 2026 Priorities: Security, available at: https://irish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/programme/priority-security/
• Emmet Foley & Christian Kaunert, Ireland and European intelligence: trust and mistrust in Europe’s weak link? (3 August 2026), available at: https://saintsandscholars.club/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ireland-and-European-intelligence-trust-and-mistrust-in-Europe-s-weak-link-.pdf
• Patrick Bresnihan, Europe needs to start treating the climate emergency as a threat to our national security (11 August 2026), available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/08/11/opinion-europe-needs-to-start-treating-the-climate-emergency-as-a-threat-to-our-national-security/

Further reading: (Optional!)

• RTE, Enhanced security planned for EU Presidency, gardaí say (24 June 2026), available at: https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0624/1580009-ireland-eu-presidency/
• Irish Times, Drone wars: Irish Defence Forces watching the skies as EU presidency set to begin (26 May 2026), available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2026/05/26/drone-wars-irish-defence-forces-watching-the-skies-as-eu-presidency-set-to-begin/
• Irish Times, ‘Considerable’ concern Ireland lacks means to defend itself ahead of EU presidency role (11 December 2025), available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/12/11/considerable-concern-ireland-lacks-means-to-defend-itself-ahead-of-eu-presidency-role

A chairde,

Tonight our final Capital reading group meeting will be taking place and big massive congrats to those who’ve made it this far! For anyone who is still working through the readings, have no fear, we will be announcing some further Capital discussion events later in the year. In the meantime, everyone is very welcome to join for some drinks after the meeting to review the term and to thank Harun for all of his time and excellent guidance!! <3

Our final Neutrality & Militarism meeting for the summer term will be meeting this day week. There’ll be a break for August and the gang will be returning at the start of September. Newcomers are of course always welcome!

Our second banner-making workshop is this coming Saturday, 11am-1pm, at Fire Stations Artists Studios. If you couldn’t make the first session, you’ve very welcome to join for this session as we move from designing to actually constructing the banner!

And finally, oh boy!, we will have some exciting news to announce next week!! Keep your lil peepers peeled!

Upcoming dates // readings & info below

Tue 7 July 7PM- Capital Vol. 1 @ Connolly Books

Tue 14 July 7PM – Militarism & Neutrality @ Connolly Books

Sat 11 July 11AM – Banner making @ Fire Station Studios

Love and solidarity,
SAINTS AND SCHOLARS ☘️ 🩷

Capital, Volume 1

Tuesday 7 July 2026 / 7pm-8.30pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex St E, Temple Bar, D2

Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DRcwO6jmanINyAjSFF9S…

Required reading:

• Chapters 26-33, and corresponding Harvey chapter (The Secret of Primitive Accumulation)

Militarism & Neutrality

Tuesday 14 July 2026 / 7pm-8.00pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex St E, D2

Space & Militarism

Core Reading/Listening:

• Ciara Finnegan, Space wars: how outer space became a military zone (22 March 2022), available at: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/research/spotlight-research/space-wars-how-outer-space-became-military-zone
• Human Security Centre, The Militarisation and Weaponisation of Space (2 January 2021), available at: https://www.hscentre.org/latest-articles/the-militarisation-and-weaponisation-of-space/
• SpaceNews, SpaceX wins $2.29 billion Space Force contract for military data network (26 May 2026), available at: https://spacenews.com/spacex-wins-2-29-billion-space-force-contract-for-military-data-network/
• The Arctic Institute, The Circumpolar Podcast – Geopolitics of Outer Space (29 April 2026), available at: https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/the-circumpolar-podcast-geopolitics-outer-space/

Further Reading:

• NATO, NATO’s approach to space (30 July 2025), available at: https://www.nato.int/en/what-we-do/deterrence-and-defence/natos-approach-to-space
• Euronews, The new space race: These are the different space strategies across Europe (24 November 2025), available at: https://www.euronews.com/next/2025/11/24/the-new-space-race-these-are-the-different-space-strategies-across-europe
• Namrata Goswami, The Second Space Race: Democratic Outcomes for the Future of Space (25 January 2022), available at: https://gjia.georgetown.edu/science-technology/the-second-space-race-democratic-outcomes-for-the-future-of-space/
• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, The Military Rockets that Launched the Space Age (9 August 2023), available at: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/military-rockets-launched-space-age

EXTRA EXTRA Podcast links:

There are a LOT of recent podcasts about militarism & space from the US Government & armed forces, as well as right wing think tanks. We have attached some links below for anyone who wants to go down the rabbit hole but we won’t be discussing these extra podcasts at the reading group – there will be plenty to discuss with the core & further readings listed above!

• Institute for Policy Innovation: The Militarization of Space with Dr. Dan Garretson (23 Feb 2024), available at: https://www.ipi.org/multimedia/detail/the-militarization-of-space-with-dr-dan-garretson-audio-podcast – IPI is a right-wing think-tank linked to the US Republican Party.
• Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, Are we entering an arms race in outer space? On the evolution of the US Space Force with the Council on Strategic Risks’ CEO Mallory Stewart (10 May 2026) – available at: https://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/starwars/ – Podcast from the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies which is in CUNY.
• Irregular Warfare Initiative, From Orbit to Objective: Space and the Future of Conflict (20 March 2026), available at: https://www.irregularwarfare.org/from-orbit-to-objective-space-and-the-future-of-conflict/ – Podcast sponsored by United States Military Academy, discussing academic research about irregular warfare.
• US Space Force Association, Spacepower Podcast, available at: https://ussfa.org/news-publications/podcasts/spacepower-podcast/ – This is an active PR/propaganda campaign from the US Space Force which started in Jan 2020 (Space Force itself was established in Dec 2019).

A chairde,

We hope you’re all keeping well and wearing sunscreen, okay!!?? 

Our Capital Vol. 1 group is going to be meeting tonight – big hup to the gang who are very nearly there on The Big Book!

Next week Militarism & Neutrality will be meeting up to discuss Film & Militarism, and we’ve the reading below!

Finally, thanks so much to those who came to our first banner-making workshop! We’re really excited to see the final product!! xx

Upcoming dates // readings & info below

Tue 23 June 7PM- Capital Vol. 1 @ Connolly Books

Tue 30 June 7PM – Militarism & Neutrality @ Connolly Books

Love and solidarity,
SAINTS AND SCHOLARS ☘️ 🩷

Capital, Volume 1

Tuesday 23 June 2026 / 7pm-8.30pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex St E, Temple Bar, D2

Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DRcwO6jmanINyAjSFF9S…

Required reading:

• Chapter 25, and corresponding Harvey chapter (Capitalist Accumulation)

Militarism & Neutrality

Tuesday 30 June 2026 / 7pm-8.30pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex St E, D2

Film & Militarism

Core readings:

• LA Times, Roger Stahl Opinion: Why does the Pentagon give a helping hand to films like ‘Top Gun’? (30 May 2022), available at: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-05-30/top-gun-maverick-memorial-day-tom-cruise-pentagon-propaganda
• The Guardian, Nato meetings with TV and film-makers prompt claims it is seeking ‘propaganda’ (3 May 2026), available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/03/nato-meets-tv-and-film-makers-causing-concerns-it-seeks-propaganda?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
• The Guardian, Top Gun for hire: why Hollywood is the US military’s best wingman (26 May 2022), available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/26/top-gun-for-hire-why-hollywood-is-the-us-militarys-best-wingman
• YouTube, TRT World: Deep Dive – Hollywood, the US Army and the military entertainment complex (16 March 2021), available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCPYKEPC5CI&t=478s [12 mins 24 seconds]

Additional Reading:

• PBS, White House’s use of internet memes to promote Iran war sparks criticism (19 March 2026), available at: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/white-houses-use-of-internet-memes-to-promote-iran-war-sparks-criticism
• Tehran Times, General Hollywood: Pentagon’s propaganda operation on silver screen: Part 1 (5 June 2026), available at: https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/527008/General-Hollywood-Pentagon-s-propaganda-operation-on-silver
• Tehran Times, General Hollywood: Pentagon’s propaganda operation on silver screen: Part 2 (6 Juen 2026), available at https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/527047/General-Hollywood-Pentagon-s-propaganda-operation-on-silver
• YouTube, Mashable: Brie Larson was trained by the real life Captain Marvel for her role (14 May 2019), available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUgNbDQKFs0 [2 mins 10 second]
• YouTube, Picture’s Up Productions: How the U.S. Military Bought Hollywood (1 September 2025), available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEhW41CSfRM&t=764s [39 minutes 33 seconds]

A chairde, Our Capital Vol 1 group will be meeting this evening in Connolly Books and next week our Militarism and Neutrality group will be meeting to discuss Music, Sound & Militarism. Readings for both are included below. Also! We are still taking registrations for our banner-making workshops, more info also also below!! Upcoming dates // readings & info below Tue 9 June 7PM – Capital Vol. 1 @ Connolly Books Tue 16 June 7PM – Militarism & Neutrality @ Connolly Books Sat 20 June 11AM – Our first banner-making workshop! Love and solidarity, SAINTS AND SCHOLARS

Militarism & Neutrality Tuesday 16 June 2026 / 7pm-8.30pm // Connolly Books, 43 Essex St E, D2 Music, Sound & Militarism Core readings Stephen R. Millar, ‘Music is my AK-47’: Performing Resistance in Belfast’s Rebel Music Scene (2018), available at: https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/482875849/S.Millar_Open_Access_Music_is_my_AK47.pdf Steve Goodman, Sonic Warfare ‘1944: The Ghost Army’ (2010), available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16Q7e6qp7Dmp_VAKsbhABTvkhr3Z9xcxm/view?usp=sharing The Journal of Music in Ireland, Soundtracking Iraq (1 October 2009), available at: https://journalofmusic.com/focus/soundtracking-iraq Centre for Nonviolent Conflict Research, Estonia’s Singing Revolution (1986-1991) (April 2009), available at: https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/estonias-singing-revolution-1986-1991/ Further reading/watching/listening: Kerrang, The 164 songs that were banned from American radio after 9/11 (10 September 2021), available at: https://www.kerrang.com/here-are-the-164-songs-that-were-banned-from-american-radio-after-9-11 John Pirozzi, Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock & Roll (2014) reading available at: https://www.dtifcambodia.com/info trailer available at: https://www.dtifcambodia.com/trailer full documentary available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxD7fnNRppg&t=5496s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Sounds of Innovation: TIMEly, Living Foundaries | Ep 37 (21 December 2020), available at: https://www.darpa.mil/news/podcast/sounds-innovation-timely-living-foundaries-37 Playlist: Saints & Scholars Music, Sound & Militarism PLAYLIST https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEjD_3N1PW1kUDxqy_3m0ipPW0MhHRqvE Add your suggestions fpr the playlist here! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BAOVLB-aRihrmonpejsEJnFeswdRanC7wxLm5OBfLZs/edit?tab=t.0

Capital, Volume 1 Tuesday 9 June 2026 / 7pm-8.30pm // Connolly Books, 43 Essex St E, Temple Bar, D2 Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DRcwO6jmanINyAjSFF9S… Required reading: Chapters 16-24, and corresponding Harvey chapter (From Absolute and Relative Surplus-Value to the Accumulation of Capital)

Banner-Making Workshops Pre-registration is necessary to attend these workshops. The banner will be created over the full three sessions, so we ask people to please confirm you will be available for all three sessions. Link to sign-up is here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1eFpOFOe6VFLy5wH-xiC8hE0VPf2_ZFq7wV3pGilhrzM/edit Details of Workshops What: We will work together to design and create a banner to display at occasions, celebrations, and demonstrations. Áine will provide materials and will help us execute our ideas. Everyone is welcome and there’s no need for any sort of artistic experience to sign up for these workshops. Just bring your creativity! When: The workshops will take place across three dates in June and July 2026. Saturday 20 June from 11am-1pmSaturday 11 July from 11am-1pmSaturday 25 July from 11am-1pm Where: Fire Station Artists Studios, Lower Buckingham Street, Dublin 1 Information about Áine Phillips Áine is an artist and community organiser based in Galway. Her work explores themes of feminism and social justice. She holds a PhD in performance art practice from NCAD and is the editor of ‘Performance Art in Ireland: A History’ (2015). Áine was part of the Artists’ Campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment and helped create many of the iconic banners which were displayed at marches and organising events during the repeal campaign. She regularly holds banner making workshops with community groups around Ireland, including her recent ‘Reflections’ project with the women of Dún Emer Eastside Collective who created a banner commemorating the Irish women of 1923-1925 as part of the Decade of Centenaries. Áine’s banners have been collected by the National Museum of Ireland and Galway Museum.

A chairde,

Our Militarism & Neutrality group will be meeting tomorrow in Connolly Books to chat about Sports & Militarism, and our Capital Vol 1 group will be meeting in the same spot tomorrow week for their next discussion. Readings for both are included below.

Also we are giddy goats about our upcoming banner-making workshops, more info also also below!!

Upcoming dates // readings & info below

Tue 2 June 7PM – Militarism & Neutrality @ Connolly Books

Tue 9 June 7PM – Capital Vol. 1 @ Connolly Books

Sat 20 June 11AM – Our first banner-making workshop!

Love and solidarity,
SAINTS AND SCHOLARS ☘️ 🩷

Militarism & Neutrality

Tuesday 2 June 2026 / 7pm-8.30pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex St E, Temple Bar, D2

Sports & Militarism

Core readings:

• John Kelly, A Critical Discourse Analysis of Military-Related Remembrance Rhetoric in UK Sport: Communicating Consent for British Militarism (11 November 2020), available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2167479520971776
• Al Jazeera English, How the US military took over American football (10 February 2026), available at: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X9KOyRlyQlM
• National Army Museum, The Army’s Impact on Sport, available at: https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/british-army-and-evolution-sport

Further reading:

• Jacobin, Sócrates Showed Us the Best Way to Bring Politics Into Sports (19 February 2026), available at: https://jacobin.com/2026/02/socrates-football-world-cup-politics
• Tifo Football, Sócrates & Democracia Corinthiana (6 April 2020), available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NLME8esE9w
• Truthdig, The Militarization of Sports and the Redefinition of Patriotism (20 August 2018), available at: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-militarization-of-sports-and-the-redefinition-of-patriotism/
• Propaghandi, Dear Coach’s Corner (15 April 2015), available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xva-cdBi8E

Capital, Volume 1

Tuesday 9 June 2026 / 7pm-8.30pm //
Connolly Books, 43 Essex St E, Temple Bar, D2

Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DRcwO6jmanINyAjSFF9S…

Required reading:

• Chapters 16-24, and corresponding Harvey chapter (From Absolute and Relative Surplus-Value to the Accumulation of Capital)

Banner-Making Workshops

Pre-registration is necessary to attend these workshops. The banner will be created over the full three sessions, so we ask people to please confirm you will be available for all three sessions.

Link to sign-up is here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1eFpOFOe6VFLy5wH-xiC8hE0VPf2_ZFq7wV3pGilhrzM/edit

Details of Workshops
What: We will work together to design and create a banner to display at occasions, celebrations, and demonstrations. Áine will provide materials and will help us execute our ideas. Everyone is welcome and there’s no need for any sort of artistic experience to sign up for these workshops. Just bring your creativity!

When: The workshops will take place across three dates in June and July 2026.

• Saturday 20 June from 11am-1pm
• Saturday 11 July from 11am-1pm
• Saturday 25 July from 11am-1pm

Where: Fire Station Artists Studios, Lower Buckingham Street, Dublin 1

Information about Áine Phillips
Áine is an artist and community organiser based in Galway. Her work explores themes of feminism and social justice. She holds a PhD in performance art practice from NCAD and is the editor of ‘Performance Art in Ireland: A History’ (2015).

Áine was part of the Artists’ Campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment and helped create many of the iconic banners which were displayed at marches and organising events during the repeal campaign. She regularly holds banner making workshops with community groups around Ireland, including her recent ‘Reflections’ project with the women of Dún Emer Eastside Collective who created a banner commemorating the Irish women of 1923-1925 as part of the Decade of Centenaries.

Áine’s banners have been collected by the National Museum of Ireland and Galway Museum.