From its explosion onto Dublin's streets in October 2014 the anti-water charges campaign has changed the face of politics in Ireland. As a result of its stunning success it is no longer the case that Irish Governments and opinion formers can take peaceful protest and civil disobedience for granted. The terms of engagement have been altered. The massive success of this campaign is the result of a unique blend of community, trade union and political activism and alternative thinking that, through Right2Water, has caught national and international attention.

This book captures all the colour, noise, and excitement as a nation in ‘national collective trauma’ from a disastrous economic collapse finally finds its voice after years of enforced austerity. From government-controlled efforts to put a €5 billion pension risk on to 6,000 state electricity workers to a water privatisation agenda forced without mandate on a hitherto compliant public, Brendan Ogle describes from his unique vantage point how people decided enough was enough, and a fight back was developed.

From Bended Knee to a New Republic describes how ordinary workers and citizens can defeat corporate greed and State power in spectacular terms. This is the inside story of how a changed, more equal Ireland is emerging and what its place is in the wider European Union and beyond.

About the Author: Brendan Ogle is Ireland’s Education & Development Organiser for the union Unite and one of the founders of the Right2Water and Right2Change campaigns. He is the author of Off the Rails: The Story of the ILDA.