Urgent financial appeal

Anyone who has visited the Connolly Association website recently will have noticed that it has not been updated for some time. This is due to technical difficulties and a shortage of website skills.

The good news is that the Irish Democrat is setting up its own new, easy to update site as part of a concerted effort to spread our message.

The new website should not be seen as a piece of modish, techno frippery, but as an essential tool for researchers and invaluable extension of our political work.

We cannot afford to maintain the current state of affairs and it is not too dramatic to suggest that the paper's long-term survival depends on us getting this right.

In addition to the start up costs (several hundred pounds), the paper will need to find around £100 per month to pay for the service. We are therefore asking people to consider making a regular commitment, such as a standing order, to support the project. Just ten standing orders of £10 a month would do the job.

That is a considerable amount of money for some of our readers, many of whom already give generously and regularly. However, to others it is not, and we are not asking anyone to consider more than they can afford.

While the regular income provided by bankers orders is our prime objective, donations of all types will be gratefully received. One way or another we have to find the money. Please help us in any way you can.

To take out a new standing order or to make a one-off donation please contact The Irish Democrat at 244 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8JR, tel. 020 7833 3033 or email editor@irishdemocrat.co.uk for further details. (All cheques should be payable to Connolly Publications Ltd.)

There is a brief technical article written by the designers about some of the features of this site.

October/November 2001