Between comrades: James Connolly, letters and correspondence, 1889–1916 Donal Nevin (ed.) (Gill & Macmillan, €29.99) ISBN 9780717142231 At last! After decades of calls to action, a beginning has been made. In this volume nearly all of James Connolly’s letters are collected. In addition, the first pages contain much correspondence unconnected with him save insofar as … Read more
Divisions in the Irish trade union movement opened up following the return of Jim Larkin from the USA in 1923. As a revolutionary socialist, Larkin had objections to the Free State settlement and the way the labour leadership both supported and accommodated itself within it. In addition to these political objections, however, Larkin also displayed … Read more
The early to mid-1920s was a period of despondency for the Irish labour movement. The victory of the Free State regime in the Civil War was accompanied by an all-out assault on the wages and conditions of Irish workers. Major strikes involving postal workers, Dublin dockers and Waterford farm labourers were just three of a … Read more
As the First World War was entering its final stages, a pandemic of unprecedented virulence, which we now know to be the H1N1 influenza virus, infected one billion people around the globe and may have killed approximately 100 million. It spread with remarkable speed, striking in three almost simultaneous waves in various parts of the … Read more
It is strange that a life like James Connolly’s has not inspired more documentaries, but the fact remains that this new DVD stands almost alone in its field. One of its notable features is evident early on: a strong emphasis on Edinburgh, where not alone Connolly himself but his socialism was born and reared. Scottish … Read more