Rundale

Summer greetings from all of us at Rundale. 

For this issue, we are delighted to share an article from Keith Adams, arguing for an abolitionist response to Irish prisons. As an advocate on penal policy, Keith reflects on recent deaths in Irish prisons, offering a nuanced account of how structural violence is reproduced through the prison system. This article links well with our January article about the Irish Penal Abolition Network. 

Alongside this, we are delighted to share two contributions from Afri’s Doolough Famine Walk, which took place in Louisburgh, Mayo, in June 2026. For those unfamiliar, this is an annual walk that highlights the preventable tragedy of Ireland’s Famine (known in Irish as an Gorta Mór, the Great Hunger) and its parallels with contemporary human rights violations, widespread hunger and genocidal actions. While the event is centred around a commemorative walk, it also features talks and musical performances. We are privileged to share two of these interventions with you.

Donnah Vuma offers a powerful reflection on her journey from fear and isolation to belonging in Ireland. She discusses the fragility of that belonging amidst rising hostility toward migrants and the critical need for empathy and solidarity as essential to building a kinder society.

Rundale’s own Patrick Bresnihan links An Gorta Mór, or the British starvation, with the rise of anti-migrant racism, militarism and social inequality, asking us whether we want an Ireland for empire or an Ireland for republic.

Finally, Donal Kelly’s article links the politics of remembrance with the case for anti-colonial abolition. Marking the 150th anniversary of the Catalpa rescue of Fenian prisoners from British penal servitude, O’Kelly connects Dublin celebrations for the Catalpa rescue in 1876 with the 1990 River Parade of Innocence calling for justice for the Birmingham Six. Ireland’s long experience of colonial incarceration reminds us of why we fight for justice for the 9,600 Palestinian prisoners that remain in the Israeli prison system, many of whom have not even faced trial.

We hope you enjoy these pieces. Please keep an eye on our social media and join our mailing list. We’ll be back towards the end of the summer with another issue and some information on events.

Until then, take care.