The Dublin Council of Trade Unions and the ICTU Youth Committee are coming together around a simple, blunt question: “Can you afford to live?” For a growing number of workers, the answer is simply “no.” 

Rents swallow wages wholesale, while the overlapping crises in healthcare, housing and public transport are making life unbearable for many. That reality will not change on its own. May Day rallies have historically been an important movement-building tool, creating a space where people can come together, make connections and start to piece together collective strength. 

This year’s march begins at the Garden of Remembrance at 6.30pm and will kick off at 7.00pm, moving to a rally at Beresford Place, outside Liberty Hall and beside the James Connolly statue. 

Speakers are being drawn from a broad coalition that can speak to the theme and include the following:  Hollie Gregg, Co-Chair, ICTU Youth Committee Gerry Rooney, Neutrality and the Triple Lock coalition, Aisling Hedderman, Community Action Tenants Union (CATU), Eddie Conlon, Affordable Ireland Campaign.  

The rally will be chaired by Alison Regan, DCTU President. Music will be provided by Jimi Cullen. 

The emphasis on young workers this year is no accident. These are the workers experiencing the sharpest edge of the crisis - locked out of housing, pushed into precarious work, and often treated as an afterthought. 

All evidence points to an untapped potential for growth for trade unions among young people. RED C research in 2024 found that 44% of 18-34-year-olds in employment stated they would be interested in joining a union. 

Fórsa deputy general secretary Katie Morgan said: “A union movement that cannot root itself among younger workers has no long-term future. May Day is an opportunity to demonstrate that this isn’t just rhetoric.” 

Katie continued: “Movements are sustained not just through formal structures but through relationships, culture, and shared space. If people come once and feel connected, they come back to organise.” 

“So, tell other members. Bring your friends. Bring your banners and bring people who haven’t been before.” 

After the rally, there’s an after-party in the backroom of Clery’s Pub on Amien Street.  Keep your eyes peeled for the line-up which is still under wraps. 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa.