ITGWU founded The ITGWU marked the birth of the modern Irish labour movement. Less than 10% of Irish workers were unionised at this time, and most of these were in British-based unions. In Dublin especially, many activists felt neglected by British labour and argued for an Irish-based movement. As an NUDL official, Jim had said … Read more
Brian Hanley asks whether commemoration of the Lockout means that awkward questions about class and power in Ireland are ignored. Over the weekend of 30–31 August 1913, a few days into what was to become a five-month-long lockout, the Dublin Metropolitan Police ran amok across inner-city Dublin, attacking strikers and their supporters. Two men died … Read more
The 1913 Lockout Tapestry is an ambitious, large-scale, collaborative visual arts project to commemorate the Dublin Lockout. During this epic struggle an estimated 100,000 people, one third of the capital’s inhabitants, faced starvation for five months in a battle for workers’ rights. The Lockout of 1913 is unique in the ‘decade of centenaries’ that we … Read more
On 25 November 1913, at the Rotunda Rink in Dublin, the Irish Volunteers were formed, with 3,000 men enrolling that evening. For the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) there is no such simple foundation story. Ronald McNeill, a Unionist MP who appeared on many platforms with Sir Edward Carson and was the first historian of the … Read more
Throughout most of 1913 it was rather difficult for the police and Ulster unionists themselves to define the difference between UVF units proper and Unionist Clubs that were drilling with increasing frequency. Indeed, in South Down there were unseemly demarcation disputes between Unionist Clubs and UVF headquarters over who should appoint officers for the new … Read more