The Irish Worker

Last updated

The Irish Worker
TypePolitical Newspaper
Publisher ITGWU
Irish Worker League
EditorJames Larkin
James Connolly
Founded1911
Political alignmentLeft Wing
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publication1932

The Irish Worker was a newspaper produced by James Larkin, initially edited by Larkin and published in 1911 as The Irish Worker and Peoples' Advocate, [1] it was suppressed in August 1914. [2] James Connolly edited the paper when Larkin was in jail during the 1913 Dublin Lock-out. Many public figures and writers featured in the paper, like the actor Andrew Wilson who was sub-editor, [3] the journalist and historian Standish O'Grady and playwright Seán O'Casey whose early writings were published in the paper. [4] The artist Ernest Kavanagh provided cartoons for the paper. The Irish Worker was relaunched in 1923 following Larkin's return to Ireland. It was used to launch his political party Irish Worker League.

The last edition of The Irish Worker was published in March, 1932.

Related Research Articles

James Connolly Irish republican, trade unionist and socialist revolutionary

James Connolly was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. Born to Irish parents in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, Connolly left school for working life at the age of 11, and became involved in socialist politics in the 1880s.

<i>Irish Independent</i> Irish daily newspaper

The Irish Independent is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.

Irish Citizen Army Former group of trained trade union volunteers from the Irish Transport and General Workers Union

The Irish Citizen Army, or ICA, was a small paramilitary group of trained trade union volunteers from the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) established in Dublin for the defence of workers' demonstrations from the Dublin Metropolitan Police. It was formed by James Larkin, James Connolly and Jack White on 23 November 1913. Other prominent members included Seán O'Casey, Constance Markievicz, Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, P. T. Daly and Kit Poole. In 1916, it took part in the Easter Rising, an armed insurrection aimed at ending British rule in Ireland.

James Larkin Irish socialist and trade union leader

James Larkin, sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party along with James Connolly and William O'Brien, and later the founder of the Irish Worker League, as well as the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) and the Workers' Union of Ireland. Along with Connolly and Jack White, he was also a founder of the Irish Citizen Army. Larkin was a leading figure in the Syndicalist movement.

Communist Party of Ireland Irish political party

The Communist Party of Ireland is an all-Ireland Marxist–Leninist communist party, founded in 1933. The party is a member of the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties.

Events from the year 1913 in Ireland.

Events in the year 1911 in Ireland.

The National Labour Party was an Irish political party active between 1944 and 1950. It was founded in 1944 from a rebel faction of the Labour Party, inspired by the intransigence of the incumbent leadership of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) against the majority of the party on the basis that communists had infiltrated Labour at the turn of the 1940s.

Dublin lock-out Major industrial dispute which took place in Irelands capital city of Dublin

The Dublin lock-out was a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers which took place in Ireland's capital city of Dublin. The dispute lasted from 26 August 1913 to 18 January 1914, and is often viewed as the most severe and significant industrial dispute in Irish history. Central to the dispute was the workers' right to unionise.

Irish Transport and General Workers Union Irish trade union

The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland.

William OBrien (trade unionist) Irish politician and trade unionist (1881–1968)

William O'Brien was a politician and trade unionist in Ireland. While rarely dominating the political spotlight, O'Brien was incredibly powerful and influential behind the scenes, maintaining a firm grip over Ireland's trade unions for many decades. Besides his leadership in the trade unions, O'Brien was a founder, alongside James Larkin and James Connolly, of the Labour Party of Ireland. In later years a rift formed between Larkin and O'Brien that would last the rest of their lives and often divide the labour movement in Ireland.

William Martin Murphy Irish politician and businessman

William Martin Murphy was an Irish businessman, newspaper publisher and politician. A member of parliament (MP) representing Dublin from 1885 to 1892, he was dubbed "William Murder Murphy" among the Irish press and the striking members of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union during the Dublin Lockout of 1913. He was arguably both Ireland's first "press baron" and the leading promoter of tram development.

The Workers' Union of Ireland (WUI), later the Federated Workers' Union of Ireland, was an Irish trade union formed in 1924. In 1990, it merged with the Irish Transport and General Workers Union to form the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU).

The Worker's Party of Ireland (WPI) was a communist party in Ireland. It was founded in 1926 by former members of the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) and other communists. Among its members were Roddy Connolly, who served as party leader, Nora Connolly, Tom Lyng, the trade unionist P. T. Daly, Walter Carpenter Jnr, and Jack White. Many of the members had been active in Jim Larkin's Irish Worker League, and the party attempted to affiliate with the Communist International in place of the IWL.

Irish Worker League Defunct political party in Ireland

The Irish Worker League was an Irish communist party, established in September 1923 by Jim Larkin, following his return to Ireland. Larkin re-established the newspaper The Irish Worker. The Irish Worker League (IWL) superseded the first Communist Party of Ireland and became Ireland's affiliate with the Communist International.

Tom Maidhc O'Flaherty was an Irish Communist politician in the early 20th century, a supporter of the Trotskyist James P. Cannon, and writer in English and Irish. In 1919, he, along with John Reed, Jim Larkin and others, helped to found the Communist Labor Party, a precursor to the Communist Party USA.

The Irish People was the title of a number of mostly political newspapers in Ireland and America.

Delia Larkin

Delia Larkin was a trade union organiser, journalist and actress, born to Irish parents in Liverpool, England. She was influenced by the activities of her brother, James Larkin, to move to Ireland, and was prominent during the 1913 Dublin Lockout. She was active in Irish trade union activities and was a founding secretary of the Irish Women Workers' Union.

Revolutionary Workers' Groups (RWG) were left wing groups in Ireland officially founded in 1930 with the objective of creating a Revolutionary Workers' Party. Formed initially as the Preparatory Committee for the Formation of a Workers’ Revolutionary Party, it changed its name in November 1930. It was helped to be established by Bob Stewart and Tom Bell from the Communist Party of Great Britain and Comintern. In 1933 they disbanded and established the Communist Party of Ireland.

The Irish Worker's Voice is an official newspaper of the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI). The paper is published weekly on and off by the various guises under which the Communist party of Ireland was constituted. The first issue was on the 4th of April 1931 initially published by the Revolutionary Workers' Groups and edited by Tom Bell, the paper was relaunched when the W. T. Cosgrave government fell in March 1932, with Brian O'Neill as editor. The paper became the publication of the Communist Party of Ireland founded in 1933. The paper was named the Irish Workers' Voice to distinguish it from Jim Larkin’s The Irish Worker. The Irish Worker along with other left wing and republican newspapers were banned in Northern Ireland in 1940.

References

  1. 'A History of the Irish Working Class' by Peter Berresford Ellis, Pluto Press, 1985.
  2. A Life James Larkin
  3. In the sacred name of the oppressed by James Curry, Irish Times, September 11, 2013.
  4. He who would be free must strike the blow - History of the Irish Worker by Paul Dillon.