The years following the Easter Rising of 1916 were highly political in Ireland. The Easter Rising itself linked the petit-bourgeoisie – shopkeepers, poets and schoolteachers – organised as the Irish Volunteers officered by members of the bourgeoisie and petit-bourgeoisie, fighting alongside the armed forces of labour represented by the Marxist-led Irish Citizen Army whose officers were elected from the working-class. These two armies were to fight the might of the British Empire for one week and laid the foundations for revolution in Ireland during the twentieth century. One such potentially revolutionary episode was the Limerick Soviet 1919.
In 1918 the senior British representative, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord French, determined he would force through conscription in the country. Britain was fighting Imperial Germany in the First World War and needed more cannon-fodder for the slaughter. French decided for the first time that Ireland would provide the sacrificial lambs. Although the war ended in November of that year the seeds of contempt for the British and opposition to conscription were well and truly sewn. An election was held in December resulting in an overwhelming victory for Sinn Fein, the republican party, winning 73 of the 105 seats for Ireland. On January 21st 1919 the first Dail Eireann sat on the back of this election result, it was declared illegal. On the same day a group of volunteers, now styling themselves the Irish Republican Army, headed by Dan Breen, shot two policemen at Soloheadbeg in Co. Tipperary. This was the beginning of the revolutionary War of Independence.
On 6th April 1919 IRA volunteers in Co. Limerick went into action. Their task was to free one of their numbers, an officer, Robert Byrne, who was also a trade unionist and member of the trades council. The IRA itself was a very broad church politically and Byrne belonged in the socialist camp. Byrne had lost his job as a telegraph operator for trying to unionise the workforce, though the official reason given was attending the funeral of veteran republican John Daly without permission. He was absent from work without leave, so this was the reason the employers gave for his dismissal. Byrne had also been found guilty by a British court-martial of possessing a pistol. Robert Byrne epitomised the dual membership and activism of IRA membership and trade unionism. There were also those within the ranks of the IRA who opposed trade unionism with a fury, hence the broad-church membership. In short, the attempt to rescue Byrne failed, resulting in the deaths of one policeman and mortally wounding of another. Byrne was also shot and succumbed to his injuries later at the Workhouse Hospital in Limerick.
After the Russian Revolution, October (or November depending which calendar is used) 1917 and with the end of hostilities in Europe a year later political strikes in the former belligerent countries were becoming common. Socialist and communist parties were springing up all across the continent aping the Bolshevik Party which had taken power in Russia. The word “soviet” was becoming part of regular discourse (Soviet is the Russian word for Council) as organisations, not least in Germany, tried to imitate the events in Russia. These events did not go unnoticed in Ireland.
After the ill-fated attempted rescue of Robert Byrne, the British military declared martial law in and around Limerick. These restrictions were to begin on Tuesday 15th April and would affect many workers who would be required to hold permits in order to get to and from their place of work. On Saturday 12th April workers at the Condensed Milk Company’s Lansdowne Factory went on strike against the permit system. This strike, involving upwards of 15,000 workers, was very much rank and file organised with little if any support from the leaderships of Sinn Fein, the ITGWU, the Labour Party or the TUC none of whom played any roll in its inspiration.
In 1918 the senior British representative, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord French, determined he would force through conscription in the country. Britain was fighting Imperial Germany in the First World War and needed more cannon-fodder for the slaughter. French decided for the first time that Ireland would provide the sacrificial lambs. Although the war ended in November of that year the seeds of contempt for the British and opposition to conscription were well and truly sewn. An election was held in December resulting in an overwhelming victory for Sinn Fein, the republican party, winning 73 of the 105 seats for Ireland. On January 21st 1919 the first Dail Eireann sat on the back of this election result, it was declared illegal. On the same day a group of volunteers, now styling themselves the Irish Republican Army, headed by Dan Breen, shot two policemen at Soloheadbeg in Co. Tipperary. This was the beginning of the revolutionary War of Independence.
On 6th April 1919 IRA volunteers in Co. Limerick went into action. Their task was to free one of their numbers, an officer, Robert Byrne, who was also a trade unionist and member of the trades council. The IRA itself was a very broad church politically and Byrne belonged in the socialist camp. Byrne had lost his job as a telegraph operator for trying to unionise the workforce, though the official reason given was attending the funeral of veteran republican John Daly without permission. He was absent from work without leave, so this was the reason the employers gave for his dismissal. Byrne had also been found guilty by a British court-martial of possessing a pistol. Robert Byrne epitomised the dual membership and activism of IRA membership and trade unionism. There were also those within the ranks of the IRA who opposed trade unionism with a fury, hence the broad-church membership. In short, the attempt to rescue Byrne failed, resulting in the deaths of one policeman and mortally wounding of another. Byrne was also shot and succumbed to his injuries later at the Workhouse Hospital in Limerick.
After the Russian Revolution, October (or November depending which calendar is used) 1917 and with the end of hostilities in Europe a year later political strikes in the former belligerent countries were becoming common. Socialist and communist parties were springing up all across the continent aping the Bolshevik Party which had taken power in Russia. The word “soviet” was becoming part of regular discourse (Soviet is the Russian word for Council) as organisations, not least in Germany, tried to imitate the events in Russia. These events did not go unnoticed in Ireland.
After the ill-fated attempted rescue of Robert Byrne, the British military declared martial law in and around Limerick. These restrictions were to begin on Tuesday 15th April and would affect many workers who would be required to hold permits in order to get to and from their place of work. On Saturday 12th April workers at the Condensed Milk Company’s Lansdowne Factory went on strike against the permit system. This strike, involving upwards of 15,000 workers, was very much rank and file organised with little if any support from the leaderships of Sinn Fein, the ITGWU, the Labour Party or the TUC none of whom played any roll in its inspiration.
The union leaders were unenthusiastic about political strikes and the broad-church Sinn Fein were unenthusiastic about any strikes, believing, in many cases, they hampered the war effort. There were exceptions, Constance Markievicz who would become Minister for Labour, was sympathetic and many of the IRA and Sinn Fein’s left-wing were supportive.
It was the unions that represented most of the Lansdowne workers – the ITGWU and the Irish Clerical & Allied Workers Union – that were most vehement the next day, when the United Trades and Labour Council held a special meeting on the issue at the Mechanics institute (The Story of the Limerick Soviet: The1919 General Strike against British Militarism, D.R. O’Connor Lysaght P.15).
At this meeting it was resolved to call a General stoppage of work for the city of Limerick until the ending of martial law. Sean Cronin, the chair of the United Trades and Labour Council, threatened also to call out the railwaymen, citing the 48 hours they needed to obtain permission from their Executive in London preventing him doing so immediately. In truth they had already given notice to their executive in London, threatening strike action if permission was given. Compare and contrast this request for permission by Sean Cronin with the revolutionary strategy of James Connolly who, permission or not, would have called the railwaymen out! This would perhaps have been a better strategy.
“The United Trades and Labour Council transformed itself into the Strike Committee, Cronin as its Chairman remained at its head in its new form” (ibid). A printing press was acquired which made publishing propaganda and making placards all the easier. Getting information out to the general public, countering the bourgeois press, was now abundantly possible. As with any strike, political or otherwise, getting information to the public explaining the situation is vital. A skeleton staff were organised for the maintenance of the gas, electric and water supplies to the citizens of Limerick. The strike committee issued their own permits for these workers and those given responsibility for escorting journalists to report on the workers side.
The Unionist newspaper the Irish Times described the workers efforts and ensuing results as “a Soviet”, something which Cronin never denied. This was probably the paper, on behalf of the Conservatives and Unionists, scaremongering by using the Russian word thus creating the impression that what was happening in Limerick could, through the revolutionary leadership, evolve into the events which had occurred in Russia. Of course, what happened in Russia had certain traits with the Limerick Soviet, both were anti-war – Lenin pulled Russia out of the imperialist slaughter – and the Soviet even though the war was over opposed the very idea of conscription. Due to the certain amount of class collaboration the soviet was dubbed by the same Unionist press a “front for Sinn Fein.”
There was a fear of food shortages which would have to be addressed by the Strike Committee. This was always going to be a problem and would test the ability of the committee to govern competently. Their response to the problem was to allow the shops to sell bread, milk and potatoes between the hours of 2pm to 5pm by permit only. This was the Strike Committee setting up its own permit system for progressive reasons. The committee also allowed the butchers to open for the sale of meat and on Wednesday 16th the coal merchants were to open similarly. To prevent “panic buying” by the population it was clear more organisation would be needed. To avoid a food shortage, the Strike Committee established a subordinate body of four city councillors who would have under their control the local IRA volunteers to organise the supply of essentials in Limerick. The Strike Committee “opened a food depot on the north bank of the River Shannon to take supplies from the farmers of Co. Clare, whose supply organisation was run by Fr. William Kennedy of Newmarket-on-Fergus” (The Story of the Limerick Soviet: The 1919 General Strike Against British Militarism D.R. O’Connor Lysaght P. 18).
Another sub-committee was soon formed to organise the supply of money, a necessary evil, which was needed to both purchase goods from the outside and maintain their circulation inside the city. This committee was comprised of accountants and employees whose jobs of work were in the finance sector of Limerick City. As can be ascertained the self-organisation by the working-class and their representatives was working as a different form of governance began to take hold.
In Limerick at the time a form of dual power had developed. On the one hand the British state was trying to maintain its grip on control, using considerable military forces including a tank and armoured car. The routes into the city were blocked by barbed wire and the enforcement of military rule was the governments priority. On the other hand, there was the full force of organised labour now supported by an, initially cautious, Sinn Fein. The people, communities, backed the Strike Committee and all public houses were, and remained, closed for the entire fortnight. The picture houses were allowed to open with all profits going to the soviet, perhaps with a little imagination and less prejudice the same could have been done with the public houses. The petit bourgeoisie participated with the working-class in the strike, and the big bourgeoisie accepted what was happening. The City Council, representative of local bourgeois democracy was now irrelevant. Any instructions the bourgeoisie – business – received from the British authorities they referred to the committee for consideration. After short deliberations these instructions would be revoked!
There was a possibility – which would unfortunately be realised – that the bourgeoisie would infiltrate and take over the leadership. This would dilute the militancy of the working-class and ultimately result after two weeks in the defeat of the soviet. On the evening of April 20th Easter Sunday, at a meeting called by Mayor O’Mara Sean Cronin offered, on behalf of the Strike Committee, to hand over power to members of the Labour Party’s National Executive. This was a mistake, the party were no longer the revolutionary organisation formed in 1912 by, among others, James Connolly. The delegation from the NEC stated it had no power to call a national General Strike, which was what Cronin hoped for, without the authority of a special conference of the Party and Congress. For the soviet to survive and progress a revolutionary General Strike, nationwide, was essential. The Labour Party were not up to this. Over the next few days more members of the National Executive arrived and the reformist, bourgeois takeover was arguably completed.
The Limerick Soviet proved, certainly in its early days, how the working class can take over the reins of government and run society. For the Soviet to ultimately succeed a General Strike nationally was essential, this was not forthcoming. Perhaps the next time we would see working-class organisation on a similar scale would be the events in Britain during the 1984-85 Miners Strike. As in the case of the Limerick Soviet committees were set up, many staffed by women, and dual governmental power in the mining areas existed for the year of the strike. The Women’s Support Groups (WSGs) were active in many fields. They:
“The United Trades and Labour Council transformed itself into the Strike Committee, Cronin as its Chairman remained at its head in its new form” (ibid). A printing press was acquired which made publishing propaganda and making placards all the easier. Getting information out to the general public, countering the bourgeois press, was now abundantly possible. As with any strike, political or otherwise, getting information to the public explaining the situation is vital. A skeleton staff were organised for the maintenance of the gas, electric and water supplies to the citizens of Limerick. The strike committee issued their own permits for these workers and those given responsibility for escorting journalists to report on the workers side.
The Unionist newspaper the Irish Times described the workers efforts and ensuing results as “a Soviet”, something which Cronin never denied. This was probably the paper, on behalf of the Conservatives and Unionists, scaremongering by using the Russian word thus creating the impression that what was happening in Limerick could, through the revolutionary leadership, evolve into the events which had occurred in Russia. Of course, what happened in Russia had certain traits with the Limerick Soviet, both were anti-war – Lenin pulled Russia out of the imperialist slaughter – and the Soviet even though the war was over opposed the very idea of conscription. Due to the certain amount of class collaboration the soviet was dubbed by the same Unionist press a “front for Sinn Fein.”
There was a fear of food shortages which would have to be addressed by the Strike Committee. This was always going to be a problem and would test the ability of the committee to govern competently. Their response to the problem was to allow the shops to sell bread, milk and potatoes between the hours of 2pm to 5pm by permit only. This was the Strike Committee setting up its own permit system for progressive reasons. The committee also allowed the butchers to open for the sale of meat and on Wednesday 16th the coal merchants were to open similarly. To prevent “panic buying” by the population it was clear more organisation would be needed. To avoid a food shortage, the Strike Committee established a subordinate body of four city councillors who would have under their control the local IRA volunteers to organise the supply of essentials in Limerick. The Strike Committee “opened a food depot on the north bank of the River Shannon to take supplies from the farmers of Co. Clare, whose supply organisation was run by Fr. William Kennedy of Newmarket-on-Fergus” (The Story of the Limerick Soviet: The 1919 General Strike Against British Militarism D.R. O’Connor Lysaght P. 18).
Another sub-committee was soon formed to organise the supply of money, a necessary evil, which was needed to both purchase goods from the outside and maintain their circulation inside the city. This committee was comprised of accountants and employees whose jobs of work were in the finance sector of Limerick City. As can be ascertained the self-organisation by the working-class and their representatives was working as a different form of governance began to take hold.
In Limerick at the time a form of dual power had developed. On the one hand the British state was trying to maintain its grip on control, using considerable military forces including a tank and armoured car. The routes into the city were blocked by barbed wire and the enforcement of military rule was the governments priority. On the other hand, there was the full force of organised labour now supported by an, initially cautious, Sinn Fein. The people, communities, backed the Strike Committee and all public houses were, and remained, closed for the entire fortnight. The picture houses were allowed to open with all profits going to the soviet, perhaps with a little imagination and less prejudice the same could have been done with the public houses. The petit bourgeoisie participated with the working-class in the strike, and the big bourgeoisie accepted what was happening. The City Council, representative of local bourgeois democracy was now irrelevant. Any instructions the bourgeoisie – business – received from the British authorities they referred to the committee for consideration. After short deliberations these instructions would be revoked!
There was a possibility – which would unfortunately be realised – that the bourgeoisie would infiltrate and take over the leadership. This would dilute the militancy of the working-class and ultimately result after two weeks in the defeat of the soviet. On the evening of April 20th Easter Sunday, at a meeting called by Mayor O’Mara Sean Cronin offered, on behalf of the Strike Committee, to hand over power to members of the Labour Party’s National Executive. This was a mistake, the party were no longer the revolutionary organisation formed in 1912 by, among others, James Connolly. The delegation from the NEC stated it had no power to call a national General Strike, which was what Cronin hoped for, without the authority of a special conference of the Party and Congress. For the soviet to survive and progress a revolutionary General Strike, nationwide, was essential. The Labour Party were not up to this. Over the next few days more members of the National Executive arrived and the reformist, bourgeois takeover was arguably completed.
The Limerick Soviet proved, certainly in its early days, how the working class can take over the reins of government and run society. For the Soviet to ultimately succeed a General Strike nationally was essential, this was not forthcoming. Perhaps the next time we would see working-class organisation on a similar scale would be the events in Britain during the 1984-85 Miners Strike. As in the case of the Limerick Soviet committees were set up, many staffed by women, and dual governmental power in the mining areas existed for the year of the strike. The Women’s Support Groups (WSGs) were active in many fields. They:
told the gas and electric boards, and unions, that they’d form a picket round any house threatened with disconnection. The electricity board back off when they see the support group because we were an organised body (Striking Similarities Kevin Morley P.201).
The companies tended to back off when they saw women’s pickets and did so in this case. Like the Limerick Soviet the miners were let down by the leadership of Labour Party in Britain and the TUC.
The Limerick Soviet serves as a shining light to working-class organisation which modern trade union leaders should heed and encourage. They should remember any trade union is nothing without rank and file organisation, epitomised by the shop stewards committees. The shop stewards are the spine of any trade union and instead of stifling independent rank and file activities the leaderships of the unions should be promoting such actions.
The Limerick Soviet serves as a shining light to working-class organisation which modern trade union leaders should heed and encourage. They should remember any trade union is nothing without rank and file organisation, epitomised by the shop stewards committees. The shop stewards are the spine of any trade union and instead of stifling independent rank and file activities the leaderships of the unions should be promoting such actions.
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Caoimhin O’Muraile is a member of |
Independent Writers' Union, Dublin
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