It should have been a moment of celebration. We launched The Workers’ Voice – Laois to give a platform to the people who are usually ignored,the tenants in slum conditions, the workers on zero-hour contracts, and the families crushed by the cost of living. We registered our domain, theworkersvoice.ie, secured hosting with Orangeweb in Iceland to ensure our independence, and prepared to tell the truth about life in County Laois.
But before we even had a chance to find our feet, the lights went out.
The Wall of Silence
We discovered, purely by accident, that Eir—Ireland’s largest ISP—has blocked our site. We are a .ie domain, registered legally in Ireland, yet Eir has unilaterally decided that their customers are not allowed to see us. We received no warning, no legal notice, and no chance to defend ourselves. We only found out because we use Eir in our own office; if we relied on another provider, we might have been broadcasting into the void for weeks, wondering why our traffic was zero.
Why is a socialist voice from Laois being targeted before we even post our first article?
This is not a technical glitch. It is censorship, plain and simple. Why is a socialist voice from Laois being targeted before we even post our first article? Are they trying to scrub dissenting voices from the internet before the housing crisis gets even worse? By blocking us, Eir has cut us off from a huge percentage of the Irish audience, effectively gagging us before we’ve even spoken. But they made a mistake: they didn't block the people, they just blocked the signal. And the signal is getting through.
Roots in the Trenches
We are not a corporate startup or a political career vehicle. WE have been activist in Laois since the 1980s. Some of us have their teeth in the Anti-Extradition Committee and the first free water campaign back in the day. I Porsonnally have ran in the 2020 General Election not for a job, but to prove that working-class people can fight back. This website is the continuation of that forty-year war against injustice. We don't have corporate backers; we have a history of standing in the picket line and the community hall.
The Crisis on Our Streets
We are here because Laois is in crisis, and the establishment is looking the other way. This isn't abstract policy; this is your neighbor facing eviction because the council won't fix a leaking roof. This is the nurse or the shop worker struggling to pay rent because wages are stagnant while profits soar. We are seeing cuts to public services, unfair treatment by local authorities, and a social welfare system that treats the poor like criminals.
Solidarity Builds Power
We created The Workers’ Voice because real change doesn't come from the Dáil, it comes from organized communities. We are building a space where you can raise concerns anonymously, share your story, and organize collective action. If they block the website, we will print the newsletters. If they shut down the forum, we will hold the meetings.Eir can block a URL, but they cannot block the anger of the working class in Laois. We are just getting started.